Os modernos sistemas de mediÃÃo, proteÃÃo, comando, controle e supervisÃo (MPCCS) tÃm contribuÃdo de forma significativa para o aumento da seguranÃa, confiabilidade e continuidade de serviÃo dos sistemas elÃtricos de potÃncia. O sistema de proteÃÃo à parte relevante desse sistema multifuncional, o qual tem como objetivo principal manter a integridade do sistema elÃtrico quando submetido a um distÃrbio, garantindo a seguranÃa de pessoas e assegurando a continuidade de serviÃo da porÃÃo nÃo envolvida no problema. Para tanto, o sistema de proteÃÃo deve atender a alguns requisitos bÃsicos tais como: boa seletividade e coordenaÃÃo, rapidez na atuaÃÃo, sensibilidade para proteger a maior zona de proteÃÃo possÃvel e confiabilidade. No sistema de proteÃÃo, um componente assume uma posiÃÃo de destaque: o relà de proteÃÃo digital. à neste componente que sÃo configurados os ajustes necessÃrios para o correto funcionamento do esquema de proteÃÃo de um dado sistema elÃtrico. Os relÃs de proteÃÃo digitais sÃo equipamentos multifuncionais, que possuem diversas funÃÃes de proteÃÃo, mediÃÃo de grandezas elÃtricas, registros oscilogrÃficos, supervisÃo, controle e comunicaÃÃo. AlÃm de todos estes recursos, os relÃs digitais dispÃem de mÃltiplos grupos de ajustes que podem ser previamente configurados conforme necessidade operacional. A mudanÃa de grupo de ajuste de um relà à um recurso amplamente utilizado pelas Ãreas de proteÃÃo das empresas do setor elÃtrico, possibilitando uma otimizaÃÃo do ajuste do sistema de proteÃÃo, compatibilizando-o Ãs diversas topologias assumidas pelo sistema elÃtrico apÃs uma falta ou retirada intencional de algum componente da rede. Atualmente este procedimento à realizado de forma manual, tornando-o vulnerÃvel à falha humana, podendo ter como consequÃncia desligamentos de grandes blocos de carga por falha de coordenaÃÃo, com graves prejuÃzos para os indicadores da qualidade de serviÃo de duraÃÃo e frequÃncia de interrupÃÃo, DEC e FEC, e para a imagem da empresa. Neste trabalho à apresentado um sistema, baseado em Redes de Petri Coloridas, capaz de realizar a mudanÃa automÃtica entre grupos de ajustes de um sistema de proteÃÃo a partir da mudanÃa de topologia do sistema elÃtrico. O sistema desenvolvido monitora a topologia da rede elÃtrica, em tempo real, a partir das informaÃÃes de estado dos disjuntores. Para qualquer alteraÃÃo na configuraÃÃo da rede elÃtrica, que caracterize necessidade de alteraÃÃo no sistema de proteÃÃo, automaticamente sÃo enviados sinais de comando para os relÃs, alterando os grupos de ajustes ativos de um conjunto predefinido, de modo a se obter a melhor graduaÃÃo de proteÃÃo possÃvel para a porÃÃo correspondente do sistema elÃtrico afetado pela alteraÃÃo de topologia. / The modern systems of measurement, protection, command, control and supervision (MPCCS) have contributed in a meaningful way to increase the security and reliability of the power systems. The most important part of this multifunctional system is the protection system, which has as the main goal to maintain the power system integrity when it is under a disturbance, assuring the peopleâs safety as well as the continuation of the services to the part of the system not involved in the disturbance. For this, the protection system must fulfill some basic requirements such as: proper selectivity and coordination, prompt response, sensitivity to protect the largest zone as possible and reliability. In a system protection, one component takes on a prominent position, given its functional importance: the digital protection relay. It is in this device where the necessary adjustments are configured for proper operation of the protection scheme of a given electrical power system. The digital relays are devices that have several protection functions, with multiple levels of settings, measurements, oscillography, supervision, control and communication. Besides all these features, the digital relays have multiple groups of settings that can be previously configured and switched among them, according to operational needs. The changing of setting group in a relay is a very important resource at a protection system, extensively used by protection sectors of companies in the power sector, allowing the optimization of the protection system setting, making it compatible to a new topology taken on by the system after a fault or an intentional removal of some system component. Nowadays this procedure is performed manually, making it vulnerable to human errors that might occur as a consequence of an outage, with serious effect in the system performance indices. In this sense this work presents a system, based on Colored Petri Nets, able to automatically change the setting groups of a protection system when the power network topology changes. This system monitors in real time the status of the circuit breakers in order to take the decision whether a meaningful change in the network topology has taken place. If so, a command is automatically sent to the relays to change the active group setting so as to maintain a suitable coordination of the protection system.

I detta examensarbete utreds möjligheten att med hjälp av nya smarta elmätare få en ökad inblick i elkvalitén i elnäten samt att ge nätägare möjligheten att automatiskt eller via fjärrsignal koppla bort solcellsanläggningar i de fall de orsakar dålig elkvalité. Motiveringen till studien har varit att en ökad utbyggnad av solcellsanläggningar med tilhörande växelriktare och en trolig framtida ökning av snabbladdare och andra olinjära laster i näten ökar utmaningen för elnätsföretag att klara gällande krav på elkvalité. Samtidigt har utvecklingen av elmätare gjort att de idag har många funktioner som elnätsföretag kan dra nytta av på sätt som tidigare inte varit möjligt. Studien inleddes med en litteratur-studie där information om vad elmätare idag är kapabla till togs fram. Ett praktiskt test genomfördes på en solcellsanläggning där en elmätare installerades och konfigurerades att koppla bort solcellerna vid över-spänning. Studien har visat att smarta elmätare bör kunna användas som ett långsammare, sekundärt skydd som kopplar bort solceller i de fall som växelriktarna brister i sina säkerhetsfunktioner. Elmätarna kommer också kunna ge nätägare en mängd intressant information om elkvalitén. / In this thesis the possibility for smart meters to give utility companies an increased knowledge about the power quality in the grid has been investigated. During the investigation the possibility to use smart meters to automatically or by remote control disconnect solar power units in case of poor power quality caused by the production units has also been researched. The motivation to perform the study was that a future increase in distributed generation, rapid chargers for electric vehicles and other non-linear loads will make it harder for utility companies to meet the demands concerning power quality. At the same time electricity meters has developed over time and are today capable of providing grid operators with functions that has not been possible in the past. The first part of the study focused on obtaining information about what smart meters are capable of today through a literary study. A practical test was conducted on a solar power unit where a smart meter was installed and configured to automatically disconnect the solar power unit in case of over voltage. The study has shown that smart meters could be used as a slower, secondary protection that disconnects the solar power units in cases where the solar inverters safety functions fails. The smart meters will also be able to give grid operators a large amount of information about the power quality in the grid.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This dissertation proposes two methodologies for the phasor estimation on protective relays in Electrical Power Systems. Firstly, a theoretical introduction of signal processing, the structure of a protective relay and phasor estimation algorithms is presented, including some of the algorithms used on the electrical system, as well as the two proposed methodologies. The first one makes use of the concept of curve-fitting, while the other uses Artificial Neural Networks, both with the goal of performing the real-time estimation of the signal amplitude and phase angle. Secondly, it is made a comparative analysis of the two proposed methods with four well-known and currently used algorithms. This comparison is made through the creation of several test signals with different simulation parameters. From these simulations, six performance indexes are used for the quantitative evaluation of each algorithm, from where the most effective method can be determined through the arithmetic mean of these indexes. Lastly, after all the simulation cases have been presented, a summary of the characteristics of each algorithm is made, based in their numerical results. Then, based on the values obtained on each performance index, the strong and weak points are highlighted, as well as the general classification of each method. / Essa dissertação propõe duas metodologias para a estimação fasorial em relés de proteção em Sistemas Elétricos de Potência. Primeiramente é apresentada uma introdução teórica ao processamento de sinais, à estrutura do relé de proteção, e aos algoritmos de estimação fasorial propriamente ditos, incluindo alguns dos algoritmos utilizados no sistema elétrico, assim como as duas metodologias propostas. A primeira delas faz uso do conceito de ajuste de curvas, enquanto que a segunda utiliza Redes Neurais Artificiais, ambas com o objetivo de realizar a estimação da amplitude e ângulo de fase de um sinal em tempo real. Em um segundo momento, é feita a análise comparativa dos dois métodos propostos com quatro algoritmos bastante conhecidos e utilizados nos relés numéricos. A comparação é feita através da criação de diversos sinais de teste com diferentes parâmetros de simulação. A partir dessas simulações, são usados seis índices de desempenho para a avaliação quantitativa de cada algoritmo, de onde, a partir da média aritmética destes índices, pode-se determinar o método mais eficaz para cada caso. Por fim, após todos os testes terem sido realizados, com base em seus resultados numéricos, é realizada uma condensação das características de cada algoritmo. Com base nos valores obtidos em cada índice de desempenho, são destacados os pontos fortes e fracos, bem como a classificação geral de cada método.

Orientadores: Walmir de Freitas Filho, José Carlos de Melo Vieira Júnior / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Elétrica e de Computação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-19T11:09:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Delvecchi_EsloanyDaisyCarniatto_M.pdf: 1048681 bytes, checksum: 837e57f3ee3363dd7bb9f49a72408fe1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: Geradores síncronos conectados em redes de distribuição de energia elétrica estão sujeitos a operarem de forma ilhada após a ocorrência de distúrbios na rede elétrica. Ilhamento ocorre quando uma parte da rede de distribuição torna-se eletricamente isolada da fonte de energia principal (subestação), mas continua a ser energizada por geradores distribuídos conectados no subsistema isolado. A prática atualmente utilizada pelas concessionárias e recomendada nos principais guias técnicos é desconectar todos os geradores tão logo ocorra um ilhamento. Tipicamente, é necessário detectar uma situação de ilhamento em menos de dois segundos, dependendo, principalmente, do tempo de operação dos religadores automáticos. Os métodos mais comuns e baratos para detectar ilhamento compreendem relés baseados em medidas de freqüência (sub/sobrefrequência, taxa de variação de frequência e "salto de vetor") e o relé de tensão. No entanto, esses relés podem falhar se os níveis de desbalanço de potência ativa e reativa no subsistema ilhado forem pequenos. Portanto, o objetivo dessa dissertação é investigar a potencialidade de novos sinais para detectar ilhamento de geradores síncronos distribuídos, como forma de substituição ou complementação aos dispositivos de proteção anti-ilhamento convencionais. Os sinais analisados neste trabalho são taxa de variação da potência ativa (dP/dt), a relação Volts por Hertz (V/Hz), a variação da impedância (Z) medida no ponto de acoplamento comum (PAC), e a diferença angular ('delta' 'teta') entre as tensões medidas no PAC e na subestação. A investigação é baseada no levantamento de um conjunto de curvas relacionando tempo de detecção e desbalanço de potência ativa/reativa e nas zonas de não detecção, as quais fornecem os pontos de operação para os quais o relé em estudo falha na detecção do ilhamento. As curvas e as zonas são obtidas através de simulações de transitórios eletromagnéticos trifásicas considerando diferentes perfis de carga-geração na rede ilhada. Os resultados obtidos mostram que os sinais analisados têm um grande potencial para esse tipo de aplicação, porém são sujeitos à atuação indevida no caso da ocorrência de eventos que não sejam ilhamentos na rede de distribuição. Assim, uma análise de falsa operação também é conduzida e são propostas melhorias para minimizar e/ou eliminar a atuação indevida desses relés aqui investigados / Abstract: Synchronous generators connected to distribution power networks are likely to operate islanded following faults clearance in the system. Islanding occurs when a portion of the distribution system becomes electrically isolated from the substation, yet it continues energized by distributed generators connected to the islanded system. Utilities and standards recommend the disconnection of distributed generators immediately after islanding occurrences, otherwise it can lead to a number of problems to the generator and the connected loads. Typically, it is required to detect an islanding situation faster than two seconds after the island formation, depending, mainly, on the operation time of automatic reclosers. The most common and economical methods to detect islanding include the relays based on measures of frequency (under/over frequency, rate of change of frequency and vector surge) and voltage. However, these relays can fail if the active and reactive power imbalance levels in the islanded system are small. Therefore, the objective of this thesis is to investigate the potentiality of new signals to detect islanding of distributed synchronous generators, as replacement or complement to conventional protection anti-islanding devices. The signals analyzed in this research are the rate of change of generator active power (dP/dt), the ratio Volts per Hertz (V/Hz), impedance variation (Z) measured at the point of common coupling (PCC), and the angular difference ('delta' 'teta') between the voltage angle measured at the PCC and at the utility substation. The investigation is based on a set of curves, which relate time of islanding detection and active/reactive power imbalance and on the nondetection zones, which provide the operating points for which the relay fails to detect the islanding. These are obtained through electromagnetic transient three-phase simulations considering different profiles of generation-load in the islanded network. The results show that the signals analyzed have a huge potential for this type of application, however, their performance can decrease in case of occurrence of non-islanding events in the distribution system. Thereby, an analysis of false operation is conducted in order to propose improvements to minimize and/or to eliminate improper behavior of these relays / Mestrado / Energia Eletrica / Mestre em Engenharia Elétrica

En tranmissionsledning är delen av elsystemet som överför ström från kraftverk till slutanvändare. Därför är det av vikt att en transmissionslinje alltid ska vara skyddad. Syftet med detta examensarbete var att utveckla och prova en konfiguration av teleskyddsschema med kommunikation mellan två reläskydd med distans- och jordfelsskydd över längsdifferentialskyddets kommunikationskanaler. Detta för att skydda elnätet och koordinera utlösningstiden.  Konfigurationen av reläskydden har utvecklats med mjukvaran ABB PCM600, och funktionerna som valdes är adekvata funktioner för distansskydd, jordfelsskydd och teleskyddsschema.  Provningen delades till två delar. Först verifierades funktionaliteten av distansskyddet och jordfelsskyddet på var och en av reläskydden som självständig skydd, detta för att säkerställa självständiga funktionaliteten av var och en av reläskydden med distans- och jordfelsskydd i fall teleskyddschemat inte var fungerande. Därefter har teleskyddsschemats sändnings- och mottagningsfunktionalitet mellan reläskydden för både distansskyddet och jordfelsskyddet kontrollerats att möjligtvis fungera genom att endast använda en fiberoptisk kabel. Ett fungerande och pålitligt teleskyddsschema med kommunikation mellan två reläskydd kunde säkerställas fungerande genom användning av längsdifferentialskyddets kommunikationskanaler för distans- och jordfelsskydd. Teleskyddsschemat förstärkte distansskyddet och jordfelsskyddet genom accelerering av utlösningssignal, och som en konsekvens samordna utlösningstiden mellan reläskydden vid felavkänning, vilket förbättrade skyddet ännu mer. Direkt kommunikation mellan reläskydden har visat sig vara användbar och tillämpbar, och en användning av sådan implementation är möjlig för isolerade linjer och anläggningar samt mikronät som inte kräver en kontinuerlig övervakning och kontroll. / A transmission line is the part of the electrical system that transfers current from power stations to the end-user. Therefore, it is of importance that a transmission line stays always protected. The purpose of this bachelor thesis is to develop and test a configuration for teleprotection scheme communication between two protective relays with distance and earth fault protection using line differential protection communication channels, that is to protect the electrical grid and coordinate tripping time. The configuration has been developed with the software ABB PCM600, and the chosen functions are adequate functions for distance and earth fault protection and the Teleprotection scheme. The testing has been divided into two parts. Primarily, the functionality of distance and earth fault protection has been tested and verified on each one of the protective relays, that is to ensure the independent functionality of each one of the protective relays with distance and earth fault protection in case there is no Teleprotection scheme functioning. next, the sending and receiving functionality of the teleprotection scheme between the protective relays with distance protection and earth fault protection has been controlled to be possibly functioning through using only a fiber-optic cable. A functioning and reliable Teleprotection scheme with communication between two protective relays could be verified functioning through using line differential protection communication channels for distance and earth fault protection. The Teleprotection scheme strengthened the distance protection and earth fault protection through acceleration of trip signal, and as a consequent coordinating the trip time in case of fault detection. Direct communication between protective relay using fiber-optic cable has proven to be useful and applicable, and a using of such implementation is possible for isolated electrical line and facilities and also micro grids that does not require continuous monitoring and control.

Thesis (M.S.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Com novas normas, incentivos governamentais e preocupação com questões ambientais, é esperado um crescimento no número de unidades de geradoras conectadas a rede a partir dos consumidores. Algumas questões técnicas relacionadas à elevada penetração de geração distribuída nos alimentadores de distribuição preocupam as concessionárias de energia, as quais buscam meios de prevenir possíveis efeitos indesejados no sistema elétrico. Esta pesquisa apresenta o desenvolvimento de um relé digital aplicado à proteção da conexão de geração distribuída na rede elétrica, com foco em microgeração e minigeração proveniente de geradores síncronos, assíncronos e inversores. O relé digital contempla as principais funções de proteção exigidas pelos procedimentos e normas de acesso nacionais, incluindo algoritmos anti-ilhamento. O seu funcionamento se dá pela medição das grandezas elétricas no ponto de conexão entre a geração distribuída e a rede elétrica, filtragem digital dos sinais e processamento dos algoritmos das funções de proteção. Como num relé digital convencional, as funções de proteção podem ser configuradas individualmente, permitindo construção de expressões lógicas e de bloqueio. O protótipo pode ser monitorado e controlado localmente, através de uma aplicação instalada em um computador e utilizando a rede Ethernet. O protótipo permite controle remoto pela concessionária através de uma rede de telecomunicação em malha instalada no sistema elétrico de distribuição, utilizando protocolo ZigBee. É apresentada uma revisão bibliográfica sobre os efeitos e os problemas da geração distribuída no sistema elétrico, contextualizando o futuro das nossas redes de distribuição em relação a situação de países mais desenvolvidos nesse tema. Em seguida, são apresentadas as principais técnicas de processamento digital de sinais para relés digitais e o funcionamento das funções de proteção. Os detalhes do desenvolvimento do hardware, estratégias para filtragem digital e implementação dos algoritmos de proteção são apresentados. Algumas técnicas no algoritmo de filtragem e nas funções de proteção, como a medição de frequência trifásica utilizando a transformada de Clarke, são discutidas e avaliadas. Os resultados dos testes de funcionamento do protótipo, realizados em laboratório, são apresentados. Concluiu-se que o relé digital contempla um conjunto de proteções que abrange as principais normas para o acesso de geração distribuída no Brasil, pode ser utilizado como proteção de retaguarda para sistemas já dotados de proteções internas, como inversores, além de possibilitar o controle remoto de geração distribuída através da rede de telecomunicação em malha com protocolo ZigBee. / With new standards, government incentives and concerns about environmental questions, is expected the growth of the number of generating units connected to the grid from consumers. Some technical issues related to the high penetration of distributed generation on distribution feeders concerns the power utilities, which look for solutions to prevent possible unwanted effects on the electrical system. This research presents the development of a digital relay applied to protect the interconnection of distributed generation in the grid, focusing on micro and mini electricity generation plants from synchronous and asynchronous generators, and inverters. The digital relay contains the main protection functions required by PRODIST and utilities standards, including anti-islanding algorithms. Its operation is given by the measurement of electrical parameters at the point between the distributed generation and grid, followed by digital signal filtering and protection algorithms processing. Like a conventional digital relay, the protection functions can be individually configured, it’s possible to build logical and blocking expressions with them. The prototype can be monitored and controlled by a personal computer connected in the same local network. The computer must run an interface program. The prototype allow remote control by the utilities, this communication is done by a mesh network installed along the electric distribution system, using the ZigBee protocol. It’s presented a review about the effects and problems caused in the electrical power system by the distributed generation, giving the context of the future Brazilian distribution network in relation to the actual situation of more experienced countries on distributed generation. Following, it’s presented the main technics of digital signal processing applied to digital relays and operation of the protection functions. So then, the details of the hardware development, digital filtering strategies and the implementation of the protection algorithms are presented. Some technics applied to the filtering algorithms and protection function, as the three-phase frequency measurement using Clarke’s transformation, are discussed and evaluated. The test results of the prototype operation are presented, the tests were done in laboratory. The digital relay contain a set of protection functions that covers the main standards of distributed generation access in Brazil, it’s possible to use as a backup protection for systems with protections embedded, as grid tie inverters, and the possibility of remote control of distributed generation through the mesh network with ZigBee protocol.

Adding Power Electronic Interfaced Devices (PEID) generation to grids is an increasing trend because of the concurrent development of better power electronic converters and a greater interest in a better utilisation of energy resources. Small and dispersed energy sources that would previously not be worth introducing into the grid is becoming more and more viable and other potential benefits such as better control of voltage levels and smoothing out load changes also spur this development. But while there are great potential benefits of the controllability of these devices there are also risks when existing protection systems are made for the linear behaviour of traditional synchronous generators. This thesis describes the peculiarities of the short circuit behaviour of PEID generators and how this affects the short circuit energy levels in terms of short circuit current, I2t and incident arc energy. Using simulation, it is shown that in the case of the specific mine grid studied, the incident arc energy increases substantially and that this need to be considered when evaluating installation of PEID generation. / Användningen av nätansluten omformardriven generering ökar alltmer i takt med att bättre omformare utvecklas och intresset för ett effektivare nyttjande av energiresurser ökar. Små och utspridda energiresurser som tidigare inte var värda att ta vara på tillgängliggörs alltmer, och fördelar som bättre spänningsreglering och lastutjämning driver på utvecklingen. Men med de fördelar som kommer av omformarnas reglerbarhet så kommer också risker beroende av deras olinjäritet, eftersom existerande skyddssystem är anpassade till det linjära beteendet hos traditionella synkrongeneratorer. Den här avhandlingen behandlar säregenheterna i kortslutningsbeteendet hos effektelektroniska omformare och hur det påverkar kortslutningsenergin i bemärkelsen I2t, händelseenergin vid ljusbågar samt kortslutningsströmmen. Via dynamisk simulering så visas att händelseenergin i vissa fall kan öka avsevärt och att detta behöver övervägas vid installation av omformardriven generering.

Demand for electrical power is increasing everyday. Along with the increase in power demand, the characteristics of the loads are also changing. From being high power consuming, simple, robust loads, today loads are more efficient, but at the same time more sensitive. The performance and life of these highly sensitive loads depend a lot on the quality of power supplied to them. <p>Power quality is any deviation of the voltage or current waveform from its normal sinusoidal waveshape. These disturbances include, but are not limited to, sag, undervoltage, interruption, swell, overvoltage, transients, harmonics, voltage flicker and any other distortions to the sinusoidal waveform. Occurrence of one or more of such disturbances is called a power quality event. Automatic classification of these disturbances is important for quick determination of the causes and to characterize possible impacts of the disturbances.<p>Modern microprocessor based protective relays have numerous integrated functions that allow them to provide information on power quality events. It is proposed to utilize the existing numerical relays to analyze the quality of power at any point in the power system. The numerical relays can be programmed to capture the oscillographic waveform or any disturbance on the analogue signal or change of state of the digital signals and store it in the form of Common Format For Transient Data Exchange (COMTRADE) format. These records are then transferred to a central monitoring workstation for off-line analysis. <p>This thesis describes a technique to automate the classification and analysis of the power quality events using relay recorded data. The technique uses voltage duration and magnitude (as specified in the IEEE Std. 1159 - 1995, IEEE Recommended Practice for Monitoring Electric Power Quality) of three phases to detect and classify the events. The classified results are then presented in a user-friendly graphical form. Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) is used to estimate the fundamental frequency and harmonic components in power systems. The graphical user interface of the power quality analysis tool is developed using Microsoft Visual C++ IDE and the algorithms are programmed in C++. <p>The proposed technique was tested using data obtained by simulating different power system disturbances as well as on the data recorded by relays. The algorithms were able to classify the power quality events accurately. In the future, this facility will: enhance the real time monitoring of power quality and provide statistical analysis of available power quality data. From the utility viewpoint, it would allow them to monitor power quality in a cost effective manner and assist in preventive and predictive maintenance besides helping them to fix differential tariff based on the quality of the delivered power. It may also turn out to be a smart tool for them to penalize the consumer polluting the power quality.

Demand for electrical power is increasing everyday. Along with the increase in power demand, the characteristics of the loads are also changing. From being high power consuming, simple, robust loads, today loads are more efficient, but at the same time more sensitive. The performance and life of these highly sensitive loads depend a lot on the quality of power supplied to them. <p>Power quality is any deviation of the voltage or current waveform from its normal sinusoidal waveshape. These disturbances include, but are not limited to, sag, undervoltage, interruption, swell, overvoltage, transients, harmonics, voltage flicker and any other distortions to the sinusoidal waveform. Occurrence of one or more of such disturbances is called a power quality event. Automatic classification of these disturbances is important for quick determination of the causes and to characterize possible impacts of the disturbances.<p>Modern microprocessor based protective relays have numerous integrated functions that allow them to provide information on power quality events. It is proposed to utilize the existing numerical relays to analyze the quality of power at any point in the power system. The numerical relays can be programmed to capture the oscillographic waveform or any disturbance on the analogue signal or change of state of the digital signals and store it in the form of Common Format For Transient Data Exchange (COMTRADE) format. These records are then transferred to a central monitoring workstation for off-line analysis. <p>This thesis describes a technique to automate the classification and analysis of the power quality events using relay recorded data. The technique uses voltage duration and magnitude (as specified in the IEEE Std. 1159 - 1995, IEEE Recommended Practice for Monitoring Electric Power Quality) of three phases to detect and classify the events. The classified results are then presented in a user-friendly graphical form. Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) is used to estimate the fundamental frequency and harmonic components in power systems. The graphical user interface of the power quality analysis tool is developed using Microsoft Visual C++ IDE and the algorithms are programmed in C++. <p>The proposed technique was tested using data obtained by simulating different power system disturbances as well as on the data recorded by relays. The algorithms were able to classify the power quality events accurately. In the future, this facility will: enhance the real time monitoring of power quality and provide statistical analysis of available power quality data. From the utility viewpoint, it would allow them to monitor power quality in a cost effective manner and assist in preventive and predictive maintenance besides helping them to fix differential tariff based on the quality of the delivered power. It may also turn out to be a smart tool for them to penalize the consumer polluting the power quality.