Meshing power quality and electromagnetic compatibility for tomorrow's smart grid

With the onset of the smart grid, electric utilities and their customers are engaged in millions of dollars of research on smart grid technologies. There are hundreds of smart grid topics being studied by dozens of organizations including the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). One of the topics in the electric utility industry that has been (and still is) of significant importance to utilities is power quality (PQ). The reliable and compatible performance of end-use equipment requires, in part, quality power at the power frequencies of 50 or 60 hertz up to about 3 kHz. Compatibility with the surrounding electromagnetic environment above 3 kHz (i.e., up to 10 GHz and beyond) is also a must in today's changing environment. Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) is paramount if electronic loads - used to operate the grid and in customer facilities - are to interoperate with the power system and other loads on the grid. This article will help the reader to understand why EMC, bundled with PQ, must be co-addressed as the smart grid takes shape in the next few decades.