Dirty Power & Appliance Failure | Agulhas Utilities Corporation

Why Your Appliances Fail

Understanding Dirty Power • Protecting Equipment • Demanding Accountability

🔌 Everyday Symptoms of Dirty Power

Why does your TV screen become speckled? Why do lights flicker unpredictably? Why does your microwave stop working and then resume as if nothing happened? Why don’t your fridge, freezer, or washing machine last as long as they used to? The short answer: today’s electricity supply is no longer “clean.”

⚙️ What Is Clean Power?

In a balanced three-phase network, voltage and current magnitudes should be equal across all phases, with each phase shifted symmetrically by 120 degrees. When this balance is disrupted, appliances suffer. Voltage and current unbalance can affect hundreds of customers—even from a single substation—and in severe cases, entire provinces.

🌍 Global Standards vs Local Reality

In the United States, voltage variation is limited to ±5%. In most European countries, it’s ±10%. South Africa’s standards? Eskom’s Quality of Supply document discusses the consequences of unbalanced voltages, but doesn’t clearly define acceptable voltage variation limits.

📊 Harmonics, Flicker & THD

NRS 097-2-1:2017 (Grid Interconnection of Embedded Generation) references Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) and flicker, citing IEC-61000-3. IEEE standards 519 and 1547 also specify acceptable harmonic levels. THDu (voltage distortion) should not exceed 8%.

But who enforces this? In Gauteng, I recently encountered a case where THD far exceeded the 8% threshold. And if it’s happening there, it’s likely happening elsewhere—on feeders and substations across the country.

📉 Who’s Responsible?

Utility companies are tasked with monitoring and maintaining power quality. But in practice, this is rarely done. Effective monitoring requires more than equipment—it demands skilled professionals who know where to look, how to interpret data, and most importantly, how to act quickly.

            “Power quality issues are not just technical—they’re economic, operational, and deeply personal. They affect
            every home, every business, and every bottom line.”
        

🛠️ What Can Be Done?

Agulhas Utilities Corporation offers advanced Power Quality Monitoring solutions. Our instruments record up to the 40th harmonic and track dozens of parameters including:

Voltage and current imbalance
Phase-shift variations
Total Harmonic Distortion (THD)
Flicker, inrush current, and power factor

We recommend a one-week monitoring period. Once data is collected, we analyze it and provide actionable insights. If upstream utility issues are detected, we assist in escalating the matter with the relevant providers.

            “Clean power isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity. Let us help you protect your assets and restore reliability.”
        