ABSTRACT
Assuming that nonlinear loads keep a steady expansion as load increases, harmonics on distribution systems are expected to grow as electricity demand increases. Modern industrial and commercial networks are increasingly influenced by significant amounts of harmonic currents produced by a variety of nonlinear loads like variable speed drives, electric and induction furnaces, and fluorescent lighting. Transformers are a particular case of power equipment that has experienced an evolution that allows them to operate in electrical environments with considerable harmonic distortion. The common construction of telephone lines built underneath power conductors on electric utility distribution poles makes them prone to a number of interference phenomena. Similar to transformers, rotating machines are exposed to thermal effects from harmonics. Generators used in the electric power industry are fundamentally designed to feed linear loads. Power conductors used in distribution systems must be able to carry fundamental and harmonic currents without developing conductor overheating that would be translated to excessive losses.
