Power Quality Resources | Power Monitors, Inc.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is the world's largest technical professional organization, with over 400,000 members across 160 countries. Founded in the United States, IEEE advances technology for humanity through its 39 technical societies — spanning everything from basic semiconductor physics to vehicular technology, power systems, and artificial intelligence. For electric utilities and power engineers, IEEE is the primary source of standards that define how power quality is measured, monitored, reported, and improved. The two most relevant societies for power quality work are IEEE IAS (Industrial Application Society) and IEEE PES (Power & Engineering Society). ieee.org →

IEEE IAS

Industrial Application Society

Covers the customer side of the meter — equipment and devices that draw power inside buildings, facility wiring, and power quality for end users rather than distributors of power.

ias.ieee.org

Scope

Covers equipment and devices that draw power inside buildings — including facility wiring, commercial and industrial power distribution, and power quality for electricity consumers. It complements IEEE PES, which covers the utility network itself.

IEEE PES

Power & Engineering Society

Covers the utility side of the meter — generation, transmission, distribution, and power quality. All committees below can also be found on the IEEE PES website.

ieee-pes.org All PES committees

T&D — Transmission & Distribution Committee

The Transmission & Distribution Committee oversees all aspects of electric power systems from the point of generation, through high-voltage transmission lines, into substations, and out to the point of common coupling (PCC) where utility infrastructure meets the customer. This committee is the primary IEEE body responsible for power quality standards affecting distribution utilities — including the working groups that produce IEEE 519 (harmonics), IEEE 1159 (power quality monitoring), and IEEE 1564 (voltage sag indices).

cmte.ieee.org/pes-td

Power Quality Subcommittee

The Power Quality Subcommittee is the central IEEE body for defining and solving power quality problems on the utility grid. It oversees working groups that produce the most widely referenced power quality standards in the industry — including IEEE 519 for harmonic limits, IEEE 1159 for monitoring methodology, IEEE 1250 and 1453 for voltage quality and flicker, and IEEE 1564 for quantifying voltage sag severity. Utility engineers, regulators, and equipment manufacturers all reference these standards when specifying, investigating, or resolving power quality issues.

cmte.ieee.org/pes-pq

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Working Group on Harmonics

Harmonic limits, modeling & simulation, time-varying probabilistic aspects, and impacts of higher-order harmonics.

IEEE 519 — Harmonics WG

Task Force on Guide for Applying Harmonic Limits on Power Systems (IEEE P519.1)

Task Force on Harmonics Modeling and Simulation

Task Force on Time-Varying Probabilistic Aspects of Harmonics

Task Force on Impacts of Higher-Order Harmonics

Working Group on Voltage Quality

Voltage quality guidelines, flicker, rapid voltage changes, and distribution voltage sag indices.

IEEE 1250 — Voltage Quality IEEE 1453 — Flicker IEEE 1453.1 IEEE 1564 — Sag Indices

Working Group on Monitoring Electric Power Quality

Recommended practice for monitoring and transferring power quality data.

IEEE 1159 — Monitoring PQ

Task Force on Recommended Practice for Transfer of Power Quality Data (IEEE 1159.3)

Working Group on Power Quality Data Analytics

IEEE P3139 — PQ Data Analytics

Working Group on Power Quality Solutions

IEEE 1409 — PQ Solutions

Working Group on Voltage Imbalance Limits

IEEE P2844 — Voltage Imbalance

Working Group on Economic Evaluation of Voltage Sags

IEEE P2938 — Economic Eval of Sags

Distribution Subcommittee

The Distribution Subcommittee addresses the reliability, resiliency, and modernization of distribution systems — the final-mile infrastructure that delivers power to homes and businesses. As distributed energy resources (DERs) like solar, battery storage, and electric vehicles proliferate, distribution systems face new power quality and stability challenges. This subcommittee's working groups cover distributed resource integration, distribution reliability metrics, resiliency planning, smart grid applications, stray and contact voltage safety, overcurrent protection, and Volt/VAR optimization.

Working groups

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Distributed Resources Integration Distribution Reliability Distribution Resiliency Smart Distribution Stray & Contact Voltage Switching & Overcurrent Protection

DMS Advanced Application Integration

PSIM — Power System Instrumentation and Measurements

Handles measurements and transducers; covers how to physically measure from medium or high voltage systems.

psimcommittee.org

Sensors Subcommittee

Develops standards and guidelines for sensor devices and systems in electric power measurements.

psimcommittee.org/sensors

AMPS — Analytic Methods for Power Systems Committee

The Analytic Methods for Power Systems (AMPS) Committee develops standards and technical reports at the intersection of power engineering and data science. As utilities deploy advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), phasor measurement units (PMUs), and wide-area monitoring systems, the volume and complexity of power system data has grown exponentially. AMPS addresses the computational, architectural, and analytical challenges of extracting actionable insights from this data — including synchro-waveform measurements that can detect disturbances across large portions of the grid simultaneously.

cmte.ieee.org/pes-amps

Big Data & Analytics for Power Systems Subcommittee

Architectural, computational, and practical challenges posed by the integration of big data in smart grid operations.

site.ieee.org/pes-bdaps

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Task Force on Big Data Analytics for Synchro-Waveform Measurements

ieee-synchrowaveform.engr.ucr.edu

Other standards & organizations

ANSI

American National Standards Institute

ANSI coordinates the development and use of voluntary consensus standards in the United States and represents US interests in international standardization bodies. For power quality, ANSI accredits the standards development processes used by IEEE and other organizations, ensuring they meet rigorous criteria for openness, balance, and due process. Many IEEE power quality standards are also published as ANSI standards.

ansi.org →

IEC

International Electrotechnical Commission

The IEC is the leading international body for electrotechnical standards, with 170+ member countries. In power quality, key IEC standards include IEC 61000 (electromagnetic compatibility and power quality limits), IEC 61850 (substation communication), and IEC 62600 (marine energy). Many IEC standards are incorporated into national law in EU member states, making compliance legally mandatory for utilities operating in those markets.

iec.ch →

CIGRE

Council on Large Electric Systems

CIGRE is a global, non-profit organization focused on the technical and economic aspects of generating, transmitting, and distributing electricity. Its Study Committee C4 (Power System Technical Performance) specifically addresses power quality, electromagnetic compatibility, and insulation coordination. CIGRE publishes Technical Brochures that complement IEEE and IEC standards with real-world case studies and engineering guidance for utilities worldwide.

cigre.org →

CEATI

Center for Energy Advancement through Technological Innovation

CEATI is a collaborative research network serving electric utilities worldwide. Its Power Quality Interest Group (PQIG) brings together utility engineers to share field experience, fund applied research, and develop practical guidance on real-world PQ problems — harmonics from inverter-based resources, voltage sags affecting industrial customers, flicker from arc furnaces, and more. CEATI bridges the gap between IEEE standards and day-to-day utility operations.

ceati.com/power-quality →

MIPSYCON

Minnesota Power Systems Conference

MIPSYCON is a highly regarded annual conference drawing utility engineers, academics, and equipment manufacturers to share practical solutions to power systems challenges. Sessions frequently cover power quality investigations, protection coordination, distributed generation impacts, and grid modernization. Papers and presentations from past conferences are freely available online, making it a valuable reference library for utility engineers dealing with real-world PQ problems.

View papers & presentations →