This paper presents a new direct instantaneous power control (DPC) strategy for active rectifiers. In this novel scheme the PWM modulator has been utilized instead of the hysteresis comparators and switching table. The required converter voltage in each sampling period is directly calculated based on the reference and measured values of powers, system parameters, and the measured voltage of the AC source through simple equations which are wisely compensated for variations of the grid voltage during a sampling period. Then, the PWM generator generates the switching pulses for the voltage source converter. It is shown that the proposed DPC-PWM exhibits several features, such as a simple algorithm, constant switching frequency, robust to sampling frequency changes, robust to inductance values mismatch, and particularly it provides low sampling frequency. Extensive simulation and experimental results have proven the excellent performance and verify the validity and effectiveness of the proposed instantaneous power control scheme. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.