Voltage quality — Introduction

Electricity is a particularly flexible and adaptable form of energy. It can be converted into other forms of energy (heat, mechanical energy, chemical energy) and forms the basis of new technologies (computing, telecommunications).

Electricity, except in the case of low power, cannot be stored; its production is constantly adapted to meet demand. It reaches the customer via a generation, transmission and distribution system. Every component of the system is vulnerable to damage or breakdown. In particular, climatic conditions can affect the parameters that define the characteristics of the electricity product. In addition, many characteristics can disrupt or damage customer equipment. Some of these characteristics are linked to transient phenomena inherent in the network itself, caused by faults, switching or atmospheric phenomena (lightning in particular).

Thus, the quality of electricity, defined as its ability to provide a continuous and satisfactory supply to the appliances that use it, depends on the performance of the networks. But unlike other products, electricity performance also depends on how it is used, not only by a given user, but also by other users connected to the same circuits. Moreover, quality also depends on the characteristics of the customer's internal network, which then becomes an important partner in the joint effort to maintain quality.