If a utility distribution bus has various customer loads totaling 20 MW, what type of load characteristic does this represent?

The load characteristic representing various customer loads totaling 20 MW is primarily inductive. This is due to the nature of most common consumer devices and equipment connected to a utility distribution bus. Many household, commercial, and industrial appliances and machinery—such as motors, transformers, and HVAC systems—exhibit inductive characteristics which draw current that lags behind voltage.

Inductive loads are typical in power systems, as they consume reactive power in addition to active (real) power, manifesting a power factor that is often less than one. It's important to note that while resistive loads (like heaters and incandescent lighting) consume power in a direct manner, a significant portion of our electrical demand in the distribution system arises from inductive loads.

Understanding this characteristic is crucial for utilities in maintaining power quality and managing load balancing, as they must supply not only real power (the active power actually used to perform work) but also reactive power to sustain the magnetic fields necessary for the operation of inductive loads.