Power factor and three-phaseQuestion 1164 of 1506

A capacitor is added in parallel with an inductive load to improve power factor. What happens to the true power used by the load?

It is cut in half.
It is doubled.
It becomes zero.
It stays the same.

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Correct answer: It stays the same.

The capacitor supplies the reactive power. The line current falls, but the power the resistance dissipates is unchanged.

Source: Lessons in Electric Circuits II: AC (Kuphaldt), 11.3: Calculating Power Factor

Practice power factor and three-phase

Questions last reviewed: 18 October 2026

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