What is Capacitive Reactive Power?
Reactive power pushed back to the grid by capacitor and cable capacitance, which can cause a capacitive penalty at low load.
Capacitive reactive power is the reactive component that capacitive elements (capacitors, long cables, over-compensation) push back to the grid. It is opposite in direction to inductive reactive power. A controlled amount of capacitive power balances inductive reactive power to provide compensation; but an excess creates a problem.
In Turkey, if capacitive reactive consumption exceeds 15% of active energy, a capacitive penalty applies. This penalty usually comes from compensation capacitors left engaged when production stops (night, weekend): with no load, the engaged capacitive power pushes back to the grid and triggers a penalty.
The way to prevent a capacitive penalty is to ensure the reactive power relay disengages capacitor steps under low load. Monitoring the night and weekend scenario, and getting a warning as the capacitive threshold is approached, prevents this penalty.
In-depth reading
How to Reduce Inductive and Capacitive Power Penalties →See it in your own data
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