Reactive power compensation: a strategic approach to electrical efficiency at SEDA Huánuco

Abstract

In the company SEDA Huánuco, high consumption of reactive energy, attributed to the intensive use of motors, was identified, negatively affecting the power factor, which ranged between 0.73 and 0.77, and posing a significant challenge. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between reactive energy compensation and the electricity billing of SEDA Huánuco S. A. in Tingo María, 2024. The hypothetical-deductive method was applied with a quantitative approach and classified as applied research with a non-experimental design and a correlational-causal level of longitudinal scope. To obtain the data, the electric energy meter code No.74677479 of the company SEDA Huánuco was selected as a sample due to its high consumption of inductive reactive energy. Its behaviour during months of high and low demand was observed to determine the optimal amount of energy to compensate. After designing and simulating tariffs, it was identified that the MT3 tariff, with two energy charges and one power charge, was the most suitable for optimising billing costs in relation to the new power factor of 0.965. In conclusion, reactive energy compensation is significantly related to electricity billing, supported by the acceptance of the alternative hypothesis (H1), leading to the installation of a 73.5 kVAr capacitor bank in parallel at 440 V, distributed in three stages: one of 10.5 kVAr, two of 21 kVAr, and two of 10.5 kVAr.