CONTROL OF REACTIVE POWER AND VOLTAGE

Copyright P. Kundur This material should not be used without the author's consent

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Reactive Power and Voltage Control

Control objectives contributing to efficient and reliable operation of power system:

Voltage at terminals of all equipment are within acceptable limits
both utility and customer equipment designed to operate at certain voltage rating prolonged operation outside allowable range could cause them damage

System stability is satisfactory

voltage levels and reactive power control have significant impact on stability

The reactive power flow is minimized so as to reduce I 2R and I 2X losses to a practical minimum
ensures transmission system operates efficiently

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Production and Absorption of Reactive Power (Q)

Synchronous Generators
can generate or absorb Q depending on excitation
capability limited by field current, armature current, and end-region heating limits automatic voltage regulator continuously adjusts excitation to control armature voltage primary source of voltage support!

Overhead lines
at loads below natural or surge impedance load (SIL), produce Q at loads above SIL, absorb Q

Underground cables
have high SIL due to high capacitance always loaded below SIL, and hence generate Q cont'd

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Production and Absorption of Q (cont'd)

Transformers
absorb Q due to shunt magnetizing reactance and series leakage inductance

Loads
a typical "load bus" is composed of a large number of devices composite characteristics are normally such that a load bus absorbs Q industrial loads usually have shunt capacitors to improve power factor

As power flow conditions vary, reactive power requirements of transmission network vary Since Q cannot be transmitted over long distances, voltage control has to be effected using special devices dispersed throughout the system

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Methods of Voltage Control

Control of voltage levels is accomplished by controlling the production, absorption, and flow of reactive power at all levels in the system Generating units provide the basic means of voltage control Additional means are usually required to control voltage throughout the system:
sources or sinks of reactive power, such as shunt capacitors, shunt reactors, synchronous condensers, and static var compensators (SVCs) line reactance compensators, such as series capacitors regulating transformers, such as tap-changing transformers and boosters

cont'd

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Methods of Voltage Control (cont'd)

Shunt capacitors and reactors, and series capacitors provide passive compensation
are either permanently connected to the transmission and distribution system, or switched contribute to voltage control by modifying the network characteristics

Synchronous condensers and SVCs provide active compensation; the reactive power absorbed/ supplied by them are automatically adjusted so as to maintain voltages of the buses to which they are connected
together with the generating units, they establish voltages at specific points in the system voltages at other locations in the system are determined by active and reactive power flows through various circuit elements, including the passive compensating devices

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Objectives of Reactive Power Compensation

To control voltage and/or improve maximum power transfer capability Achieved by modifying effective line parameters:
characteristic impedance, ZC electrical length, = l
L C

The voltage profile is determined by ZC The maximum power that can be transmitted depends on ZC as well as

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Shunt Reactors

Used to compensate the undesirable voltage effects associated with line capacitance
limit voltage rise on open circuit or light load

Shunt compensation with reactors:

increases effective ZC reduces the effective natural load , i.e., voltage at which flat voltage profile is achieved

They are connected either:

directly to the lines at the ends, or to transformer tertiary windings; conveniently switched as var requirements vary

Line reactors assist in limiting switching surges In very long lines, at least some reactors are required to be connected to lines

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Shunt Capacitors

Used in transmission systems to compensate for I 2X losses Connected either directly to H.V. bus or to tertiary winding of transformers

Normally distributed throughout the system so as to minimize losses and voltage drops
Usually switched: a convenient means of controlling voltage Shunt capacitor compensation of transmission lines in effect
decreases ZC
increases , i.e., electrical length

Advantages: low cost and flexibility of installation and operating Disadvantages: Q output is proportional to square of the voltage; hence Q output reduced at low voltages Shunt capacitors are used extensively in distribution systems for power factor correction and feeder voltage control
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Series Capacitors

Connected in series with the line

Used to reduce effective inductive reactance of line

increases maximum power reduces I 2X loss

Series capacitive compensation in effect reduces both:

characteristic impedance ZC, and electrical length

Reactive power produced increases with increasing power transfer

Self regulating !

Typical applications
improve power transfer compatibility alter load division among parallel lines voltage regulation

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Relative Performance of Shunt and Series Caps

(a) Power transfer as a function of transmission angle Compensation chosen to keep Vm at 1.0 pu when P = 1.4 Po Po = natural load

(b) Midpoint voltage as a function of power transfer

Figure 11.56 Performance of 600 km line with and without passive compensation
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Conclusions from Results Presented in Fig. 11.56

With shunt capacitor compensation (chosen to keep midpoint voltage at 1.0 pu when P = 1.4 Po)
maximum power transfer capability increased to 1.58 pu of natural power (SIL); represents an increase of 0.16 pu over the uncompensated case voltage regulation is poor, i.e., the voltage magnitude is very sensitive to variations in power transfer

With series capacitor compensation (chosen to keep mid point voltage at 1.0 pu when P = 1.4 Po)
maximum power transfer capability increased to 2.65 pu voltage regulation significantly improved

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Compensation Requirements

In all cases it is not required to satisfy both the objectives of:

increasing the power level at which the voltage profile is flat; and decreasing electrical length in order to improve power transfer level

Short lines may require voltage support, i.e., increase natural load
This may be achieved by shunt capacitors, provided does not become excessive as a result

Lines longer than 500 km cannot be loaded up to natural load because of excessive
In such cases, reduction of is the first priority

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Synchronous Condenser

A synchronous machine running without a prime mover or a mechanical load Depending on field excitation, it can either absorb or generate vars With a voltage regulator, it can automatically adjust vars to maintain constant voltage Started as an induction motor and then synchronized Normally connected to tertiary windings of transformers Unlike a SVC, a synchronous condenser has an internal voltage

Speed of response not as fast as that of an SVC

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Static VAR Compensators (SVC)

Shunt connected static var generators and/or absorbers whose outputs are varied so as to control specific power system quantities The term static is used to denote that there are no moving or rotating components Basic types of SVCs:
thyristor-controlled reactor thyristor-switched capacitor saturated reactor

A static var system (SVS) is an aggregation of SVCs and mechanically switched capacitors or reactors whose outputs are coordinated When operating at its capacitive limit, an SVC behaves like a simple capacitor

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(a) Controllable reactor

(b) Fixed capacitor

(c) SVS

Figure 11.41 Composite characteristics of an SVS

Figure 11.44 Use of switched capacitors to extend continuous control range

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Figure 11.52 A typical static var system

(a) Voltage-current characteristic

(b) Voltage-reactive power characteristic

Figure 11.53 SVS steady-state characteristics

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Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM)

Can be based on a voltage-sourced or current-sourced converter Figure below shows one with voltage-sourced converter
driven by a dc voltage source: capacitor

Effectively an alternating voltage source behind a coupling reactance

controllable in magnitude

Can be operated over its full output current range even at very low (typically 0.2 pu) system voltage levels Requires fewer harmonic filters and capacitors than an SVC, and no reactors
significantly more compact

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Comparison of STATCOM and SVC Characteristics

(a) V-I characteristics:

(b) P- characteristic with mid-point compensation:

Source: N.G. Hingorani and L. Gyugi, "Understanding FACTS", IEEE Press, 1999

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Comparative Summary of Alternative Forms of Compensation

Switched shunt capacitor compensation generally provides the most economical reactive power source for voltage control
ideally suited for compensation transmission lines if reduction of ZC, rather than reduction of line length is the primary consideration however, heavy use of shunt capacitor compensation could result in poor voltage regulation and may have an adverse effect on system stability

Series capacitor is self-regulating, i.e., its reactive power output increases with line loading
ideally suited for applications where reduction of line length () is the primary consideration

improves voltage regulation and system stability

A combination of series and shunt capacitors may provide the ideal form of compensation in some cases

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Comparative Summary (cont'd)

A static var compensator (SVC) is ideally suited for applications requiring direct and rapid control of voltage
has advantage over series capacitors where compensation is required to prevent voltage sag at a bus involving multiple lines; total cost may be less than that for series compensation of each of the lines

When an SVC is used to permit a high power transfer over a long distance, the possibility of instability when the SVC is pushed to its reactive limit must be recognized
when operating at its capacitive limit, the SVC becomes a simple capacitor

An SVC has limited overload capability and has higher losses than series capacitor compensation STATCOM overcomes some of the limitations of an SVC

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Tap-Changing Transformers

Transformer with tap-changing facilities constitute an important means of controlling voltages throughout the power system Control of a single transformer will cause changes in voltages at its terminals
in turn this influences reactive power flow resulting effect on the voltages at other buses will depend on network configuration and load/generation distribution

Coordinated control of the tap changers of all transformers interconnecting the subsystems required to achieve overall desired effect During high system load conditions, network voltages are kept at highest practical level to
minimize reactive power requirements
increase effectiveness of shunt capacitors and line charging

cont'd
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Tap-Changing Transformers (cont'd)

The highest allowable operating voltage of the transmission network is governed by

requirement that insulation levels of equipment not be exceeded need to take into consideration possible switching operations and outage conditions

During light load conditions, it is usually required to lower network voltages

reduce line charging avoid underexcited operation of generators

Transformers with under-load tap-changers (ULTC) are used to take care of daily, hourly, and minuteby-minute variations in system conditions Off-load tap-changing transformers used to take care of long-term variations due to system expansion, load growth, or seasonal changes

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Modelling of Transformer ULTC Control Systems

Functional block diagram of ULTC control system shown in Fig. 11.79 and block diagram suitable for system studies Line drop compensator regulates voltage at a remote point along the line or feeder

Measuring element consists of adjustable dead band relay with hysteresis. The output of the measuring element is Vm; which takes a value of 0, 1, or -1, depending on input Verr
Time delay element prevents unnecessary tap changes

Figure 11.79 Functional block diagram of control system for automatic changing of transformer taps

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Figure 11.80 ULTC control system model

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Distribution System Voltage Regulation

Substation bus regulation

substation transformer equipped with ULTC facilities to control secondary voltage alternatively, substation may have a separate voltage regulator

Feeder regulation
feeder regulators control the voltage of each feeder older units are the induction type - provide accurate and continuous control; however, they are costly and have been superseded by step type regulator step voltage regulator (SVR) is basically an autotransformer with taps or steps in the series winding; however, it is purely a voltage control device and not used for voltage transformation

cont'd

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Figure 11.75 Schematic of an induction regulator

Figure 11.76 Schematic of a step voltage regulator

Figure 11.77 SVR control mechanism

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Distribution System Voltage Regulation

(cont'd)

Application of voltage regulators and capacitors for control of voltage profile along a feeder is illustrated in Fig. 11.78
curve 1 shows voltage with distributed loads along the line, without any regulation the addition of voltage regulator R1, capacitor C and voltage regulator R2, brings the voltage profile along the entire feeder (from the first consumer to the last) to within max and min limits

Figure 11.78 Voltage profile of a feeder with a station regulation (R1), supplementary regulator (R2) and a shunt capacitor bank (C)

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Implementation of Overall Reactive Power Control

Effect of reactive power control is felt mostly locally:

equipment for supplying Q at appropriate points throughout the system necessary

Coordination of the overall scheme a complex task:

approach is still largely based on operator experience and off-line load flow studies implementation of automated schemes with optimum dispatch is feasible and practical methods are being pursued

EDF and ENEL have used secondary and tertiary voltage control schemes to provide coordinated voltage control in HV networks
CIGRE TF 38.02.23 set up to assess the potential and provide guidelines

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Appendix to Section on Control of Reactive Power and Voltage

1. Copy of Section 11.2.9 from the book Power System Stability and Control - Provides information on Modeling of Reactive
Compensating Devices

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