Techno-Economic Analysis of Low Power Factor Penalties Due to Photovoltaic Integration

This paper presents a techno-economic analysis of low power factor penalties for prosumers and distribution companies. Prosumers are consumers who install distributed generators, typically photovoltaic systems. Penalties related to low power factor infractions at the point of common coupling may be imposed on this category of consumers, which they had not encountered in their energy bills prior to the installation of the photovoltaic system. Additionally, distribution companies can face penalties if there is a reduction in the power factor of high and medium voltage substations. In the paper, an optimization model is employed to determine the power factor adjustment of photovoltaic inverters used by prosumers. This adjustment can mitigate power factor violations at the point of common coupling without the need for reactive power compensation devices. As a case study, an urban distribution feeder of a metropolitan region in Sao Paulo, Brazil is selected, considering five photovoltaic generation scenarios for a typical day of operation and a 30% penetration of photovoltaic systems in the electric grid. The findings suggest that distribution companies should devise strategies to incentivize prosumers to improve their power factor.