TEEAM 56th ISSUE Challenges and Opportunities in Electrical Industry - Part 13 This paper is prepared by Ir Chew Shee Fuee, TEEAM Vice President. Power Factor Correction Related PF Penalty Imposed on MV JUMLAH CAJ (Total Charge) PELARASAN ANGGARAN (Estimated Adjustment) Issues Industrial Tariff E PELBAGAI CAJ (Various Charges) ower Factor (PF) Correction is one of PENALTI (Penalty) It is customary for the electrical supervising BIL SEMASA (Current Bill) the basic requirements to ensure engineers to advise their clients to look out TUNGGAKAN (Arrears) Psuffcient voltage level as well as for any PF penalty in the TNB monthly bills. CAGARAN TAMBAHAN (Additional Collateral) efficient distribution of energy. It is important Previously the low PF penalty is easily noted JUMLAH (Total) to note that capacitors do not last very long on the first page of the bill. Since the end of PENGENAPAN (Settling) JUMLAH YANG PERLU DIBAYAR (Total needs to be paid) and with the modern equipment that produces 2008 this format had been slightly altered. It more harmonics currents the life span of each is less obvious to notice the low PF penalty However when there is a surcharge for poor/low capacitor can be very much shortened . In my charge on the first page of the bill. The power factor it will not be listed with any of the past articles I have mentioned about keeping individual items for billing are recorded on above items. It is listed on the Page 2 of the bill. the system voltage at the lower end which had page two of the bill. proven to prolong the life span of capacitors. The Manager of a plant has the ability to pick This time we need to address the improvement One of my clients was paying low PF penalty up PF surcharge if he reads the entire two of PF with the perspective that it is a measure for a few months before noticing them. My pages otherwise he will discover it much later. monthy visits and visual inspection of the of energy efficiency. Imagine if the required It is our opinion that PF surcharge should PF meters did not discover the low PF. PF PF is 0.85 which is mandatory and you can either be listed or inserted under PELBAGAI measurement is made by the accumulated improve it to 0.90. There is a 5% increase in CAJ or PENALTI for easier identification. the total energy distributed. It is correct to say KVARH (Kilo Voltage Amperes Reactive that this improvement will benefit the Hour) consumed. The reason for the low PF Further to the above we believe that if the electricity supplier but it will also mean that was due to failures of capacitors. The actual monthly PF can be prominently the overall distribution in the area or region capacitors are only checked once in two years displayed in the bill even if there is no PF will improve and voltage profile can be better and in this case there were also some new surcharge it will prove to demonstrate the managed. equipment added to the installation. The low efficient use of electricity in the installation. PF situation and charges are expected but it This will also indicate to the client if their PF There are two related issues recently will be in the best interest of everyone if the is descending or getting closer to the limit encountered and from them we can find PF reading can be displayed in the bill for surcharge. We may even suggest in the solutions and provide improvements to our irrespective of whether any penalty is future that high PF in any installation be electricity supply system. charged. It will serve as a measure to rewarded with some monetary value. determine the performance of the PF The above proposal is made on the basis that PF Penalty Imposed on LV correction board. Commercial Tariff B we can promote Energy Efficiency by TEEAM’s Proposal to TNB on PF encouraging consumers to maintain high PF The large number of TNB commercial in their installations. consumers’ meters were not capable of The above issues were discussed in the There is also a request that off peak MD measuring the PF previously. These old meters TEEAM Council Meeting. We are in the (Maximum Demand) be listed even though are being replaced by the modern electronic process of making a formal proposal to TNB. this item is not chargeable. Again this will version and if any consumer’s PF is lower than The contents will be as below. assist the consumer in knowing their actual 0.85 a penalty will be imposed. The section in JUMLAH KECIL has the usage during off peak hours and make the The electrical appliances and equipment used following items: necessary adjustments. in these offices do not have good PF individually and there is a high possibility that PF in general will not meet the 0.85 minimum Ir Chew Shee Fuee B.Sc. (Hons) (Strathclyde), PEng, CEng, FIEM, MIEE Member, IEEE Member, requirement. 1st Grade Electrical Engineer (Competent up to above 500 kV). Therefore there is a need to address this Ir Chew is the Vice President (Engineering Construction and Services) of The Electrical and requirement now. There are obviously two Electronics Association of Malaysia (TEEAM). He was TEEAM President for 2001 - 2003 and solutions that come to mind. The first is to 2003 - 2005 He is the Past President of the Asean Federation of Electrical Engineering Contractors find out the equipment with low PF and (AFEEC). connect the relevant capacitors to provide the compensation. The second is to provide an Ir Chew is the Managing Director of G. H. Liew Engineering (1990) Sdn Bhd and QATM Engineering automatic PF correction board. This will Services Sdn Bhd. He graduated from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow with a B. Sc (Hons) require PF correction relay and a bank of in Electrical & Electronics Engineering. He is a Professional Engineer and is also licensed by Energy Commission as a competent engineer (without voltage limits) and a service engineer to capacitors to be switched in for the purpose. carry out electrical testing up to a voltage of 500 kV. There may be another alternative to have a fixed amount of capacitors to be switched on Ir Chew has more than 30 years experience in electrical control and relay protection. He is also during office hours only so that PF correction specialised in electrical site tests on power equipment, electrical fault investigation, service and can be provided at a cheaper solution. maintenance of electrical switchgear and relays. His work also includes electrical supervision of It is the TNB which highlighted the above substations and electrical audit. He presents lectures on electrical apparatus and the protection need to TEEAM and I hope we can provide system. He can be reached at E-mail: [email protected] the necessary solutions to those in need. 596967 TEEAM 56th ISSUE Is Light Pollution Killing Our Birds? Colin Henshaw and Graham Cliff believes that light pollution is reducing the numbers of insects on which many birds rely. n 1994, the Journal of the British Astronomical Association carried be wholly granivorous but recent a letter from one of the authors (Colin Henshaw) entitled The research by Dr. Kate Vincent has IEnvironmental Effects of Light Pollution. The letter concluded by shown that hatchlings in fact feed predicting that the anticipated reduction in the insect population caused on insects (or spiders) to obtain by light pollution would affect predators higher up the food chain. protein, so, if they do not get enough insects when young, they Recent research has shown a reduction in the populations of moths, do not survive. spiders, sparrows and amphibians, supporting the case for light pollution being considered a threat to the environment as well as to Spiders, too, feed on insects, so if astronomers - who find the glare interfering with their observations - the number of insects goes down, spider numbers will likewise European light pollution at night circa 1998. and householders - who complain of the visual intrusion caused by Photo courtesy of P. Cinzano and F. Falchi security lights and insensitive street lighting. decline. And a discussion of (University of Padova, Italy), C. D. Elvidge (National insects cannot overlook recent Geophysics Data Center, NOAA, Boulder, Colorado, It is common knowledge that street and security lights attract insects: reports on the populations of USA). Copyright Royal Astronomical Society. indeed, 2000-watt light traps are used by scientists to study insect British moths. For instance, the environmental group Butterfly species in the Brazilian rain forest. The authors think that the increasing Conservation has found a decline of a third in the larger moth species numbers of urban street and security lights must have a measurable in Britain since 1968; some have been reduced by as much as 98%. impact on the environment, as insects fly around the lights all night and eventually fall to the ground exhausted, no longer having the energy This decline in moths and sparrows has mirrored the expansion of street to feed themselves or to procreate. Consequently, with lights often lighting in the UK, and elsewhere around the world. As more and more left on all night, 365 nights a year, the number of insects must be conurbations have leaked out more light into the environment, the effect significantly reduced. on the insect population must have been devastating. One German study presented at a symposium in 2003 concluded that a single streetlight “As a child, I was amazed by the profusion of insects to be seen in the would kill, on average, 150 insects per night.