Design and Simulation of a Three-Phase Power Factor Correction Circuit for Industrial Loads in Aba, Abia State

Background: Poor power factor in industrial facilities in South East Nigeria results in reactive power penalties, increased energy costs, and reduced equipment lifespan. Three-phase power factor correction circuits using capacitor banks are an established mitigation approach. Aim: This study designed and simulated a three-phase automatic power factor correction circuit for an industrial load scenario representative of manufacturing facilities in Aba, Abia State. Methods: The circuit was designed using switched capacitor banks controlled by a PIC16F877A microcontroller sensing the phase angle between voltage and current. MATLAB Simulink was used for circuit simulation across load power factors from 0.55 to 0.95 lagging. Results: The correction circuit successfully improved simulated power factor from 0.62 to 0.97 within two correction cycles averaging 3.2 seconds. Reactive power was reduced by 84% under the simulated industrial load. Capacitor bank switching produced voltage transients below 5% of nominal. Conclusion: The designed automatic power factor correction system is effective for three-phase industrial applications. Hardware prototyping and field validation in Aba industrial facilities are recommended as the next development phase. Keywords: power factor correction, three-phase, industrial loads, Aba, capacitor bank.