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Understanding Temporary
Overvoltage on Distribution Systems
This white paper explains how temporary overvoltage (TOV) events occur on modern distribution networks—and why they matter for reliability, equipment life, and customer experience. By connecting field waveforms to root causes, it helps engineers recognize conditions such as open neutrals, ferroresonance, and control errors that drive sustained voltage elevation. With clearer identification of these mechanisms, utilities can strengthen protection settings, improve claims evaluation, and reduce damage from prolonged overvoltage exposure.
Key topics covered:
- Fault-induced neutral shift and its short-duration voltage rise
- Open secondary neutrals that cause severe leg imbalance across customer services
- Ferroresonance from single-phasing or cable capacitance effects
- Regulator or control malfunctions that sustain moderate overvoltage for hours
- Magnitude–duration windows defining each mechanism’s risk range
Why utilities should care:
Temporary overvoltage is more than a nuisance—it stresses arresters, transformers, and electronics, often leading to premature failure and customer complaints. Understanding its causes and signatures turns reactive troubleshooting into proactive system management—helping utilities safeguard assets, validate claims, and maintain voltage quality across the grid.
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