What is Reactive Power Penalty?

A reactive power penalty is an extra cost on the electricity bill that applies when the ratio of a facility's reactive energy to active energy exceeds the legal limit. Inductive loads such as motors, transformers and ballasts draw reactive power to build a magnetic field, alongside the active power that does the useful work; this power needlessly burdens the grid. Distribution companies penalize reactive consumption to limit that burden.

Under Turkish regulation there are two limits: inductive reactive consumption may not exceed 20% of active energy, and capacitive reactive consumption may not exceed 15%. Industrial and commercial facilities above 30 kVA installed power are subject to these limits. When a limit is exceeded, the excess reactive energy is billed at the reactive unit price.

A reactive penalty can be prevented with a correctly sized compensation system and continuous monitoring. Most facilities only notice the penalty when the invoice arrives; real-time monitoring instead warns as the limit is approached, giving a chance to intervene.