ABSTRACT Electrical signals, especially currents, have significant distortions in modern power grids, mainly due to the increased inclusion of non‐linear components and the shift towards decentralized power grids. Hence, the traditional power decomposition—active, reactive, apparent—becomes invalid, encouraging the pursuit of a generalized electrical power theory, one capable of providing both a mathematical formulation and a formal definition of power. Several theories have been proposed, but no consensus has been reached. Even the IEEE 1459 standard, devoted to this matter, recognizes the nonagreement among the different approaches. Consequently, a major challenge arises: What are the suitable definitions and methods for assessing power in grids with distorted signals? This study conducts a comprehensive systematic review of the literature to situate key developments in power theories. A deep analysis is provided, focusing on the mathematical nature of each seminal theory, their practical implementation directions, suitability for online applications, validity challenges, and reasons for their divergence. Furthermore, it identifies which theories have become the most popular within the time‐domain approaches and the frequency‐domain approaches. Despite the importance and maturity of this topic, the findings suggest that consensus will not be reached in the immediate future. There is a considerable ongoing debate about the definition of electrical power, which stems from the fact that each proposed power theory is currently challenged and undergoing rigorous scrutiny.
Escudero et al. (Thu,) studied this question.