Compensation and Power

Factor (PF) Correction

Mustafa Bağrıyanık
Prof.Dr.
Istanbul Technical University
Department of Electrical Engineering
Maslak, 34469, TURKEY

“ These notes are only to be used in class presentations”

ELK412E Distribution of Electrical Energy

 Power and Power Factor

For single-phase For three-phase

S  V I*
S  V .I
S  3.V .I*
P  3.V .I . cos 
S  P2  Q2
P  V .I . cos 
Q  V .I . sin  Q  3.V .I . sin 

pf= Power Factor

P
pf   cos
S
Q
tan  
P
• Three major functions are involved in the
electrical networks: generation, transmission
and distribution, and consumption.
• Active energy is produced by generators,
transmitted and distributed to the consumers
who use it either in mechanical form (motor), in
thermal form (heating), or in chemical form
(electrolysis).
• The current produced from line and equipment
heating: these are the Joule losses.
• Reactive energy is permanently exchanged
in the networks between the reactive power
generators (capacitors, synchronous
compensator, alternators under certain
conditions) and equipment with magnetic
circuits.
• The reactive power is transformed into
magnetizing power.
• For the reactive energy consumption, the
value of tan is important;
tan = reactive power/active power = Q(kVAR)/P(kW)

MV LV

•For MV side metering, tan = Q/P is

important;
•For LV side metering, it is necessary to
add the transformer losses
• Reactive energy in the process of being
exchanged is not a loss; but it can cause
losses!
– increase in voltage drops, etc.
– increase in Joule losses (the current transmitted
is even higher)
– and above all financial losses according to the
billing used in the country.
• The term compensation is used to describe the
intentional insertion of reactive power devices,
capacitive or inductive, into a power network to
achieve a desired effect.
• This may include improved voltage profiles,
improved power factor, enhanced stability
performance, and improved transmission capacity.
• The reactive devices are connected in parallel
(shunt).
 Shunt capacitors
• Shunt capacitors supply capacitive reactive
power to the system at the point where
they are connected, mainly to counteract
the out-of-phase component of current
required by an inductive load.
• They may either be energized continuously
or switched on and off during load cycles.
 Figure 3. shunt
capacitor
compensation
applied at the
load side

Referring to the phasor diagram below, the line current

IL is the sum of the motor load current IM and the
capacitor current IC.
• The line current is decreased by adding the
shunt capacitor.
• The angle between the load voltage and
current is decreased.
• The result of adding the shunt capacitance
is to decrease the source voltage
• The application of shunt capacitors in a
network with a lagging power factor has the
following benefits:
– Increase voltage level at the load
– Improve voltage regulation (if the capacitors are
switched in and out of the network correctly)
– Reduce I2R active power loss and I2X reactive
power loss due to the reduction in current
– Increase power factor
– Decrease kVA (or MVA) loading on the source
generators and network to relieve an overload
condition or make capacity available for
additional load growth
– Reduce demand kVA where power is purchased
– Reduce investment in system facilities per kW of
load supplied.
• A capacitor starting system may be employed to reduce
high inrush currents with the starting of large motors.
This aids in maintaining the voltage level in the system.
The high inductive component of the starting current is
reduced by the addition of capacitance during the
starting period only. In this, it differs from applying
capacitors for power factor correction.
• Note that in determining the amount of shunt capacitance
required, some additional capacitive kVAr above that
based on initial conditions without capacitors may be
required.
• This is due to the fact that a voltage rise increases the
lagging kVAr in the exciting currents of transformers and
motors.
Caution
• Increased harmonics on the power system and/or a
harmonic resonance condition may result with applying
capacitors, especially when using harmonic-generating
apparatus, such as thyristor controllers.
• Either a shunt or series resonance condition, or a
combination of both, may occur if the resonant point
happens to be close to one of the frequencies generated
by harmonic sources in the system.
• This can result in excessive harmonic currents flowing or
harmonic overvoltages, or both, causing possible
operation of the capacitor protection equipment (such as
fuses), capacitor failure, overheating of other electrical
equipment and electrical system interference.
 Shunt reactors
• Shunt reactor compensation is usually
required under conditions that are the
opposite of those requiring shunt capacitor
compensation.

Shunt reactor
compensation
Effect of shunt reactors
• Shunt reactors may be installed in the
following conditions:
– To compensate for overvoltages occurring at
substations served by long lines during low-
load periods, as a result of the line's
capacitance (Ferranti effect as voltage tip up)
– To compensate for leading power factors at
generating plants, resulting in lower transient
and steady-state stability limits
– To reduce open-circuit line charging kVA
requirements in extra high-voltage (EHV)
systems.
 Synchronous compensators

• A synchronous compensator is a synchronous

motor running without a mechanical load.
• It can absorb or generate reactive power,
depending on the level of excitation.
• When used with a voltage regulator, the motor can
run automatically over-excited at high-load current
and under-excited at low-load current.
• The cost of installation of synchronous
compensators is high compared to capacitors, and
the electrical losses are considerable relative to
capacitors.
• Synchronous condensers can also be used as dip
mitigation devices to support the voltage during
drops.
 Static VAR compensators

• Static VAR compensators (SVCs) contain shunt

capacitors and reactors, which are controlled by
thyristors.
• They provide solutions to two types of
compensation problems normally encountered in
practical power systems:
– The first is load compensation, where the
requirements usually are to reduce the reactive
power demand of large and fluctuating industrial
loads, and to balance the real power drawn from
the supply lines.
– The second type of compensation is related to
voltage support of transmission lines at a certain
point in response to disturbances of both load
and generation.
• The main objectives of dynamic VAR compensation
are
– to increase the stability limit of the power
system,
– to decrease voltage fluctuations during load
variations and
– to limit overvoltages due to large disturbances.

In many practical applications,

a combination of the two
thyristor-controlled devices are
used, with the SVC consisting
of a few steps of thyristor-
controlled capacitance and one
or two thyristor-controlled
reactors,

Static VAR compensator configuration

 Distribution applications
- shunt capacitors

• Shunt capacitors are used more

frequently in power distribution systems
than any other electrical compensation
device.
• They are used mostly for voltage
regulation and power factor correction.
 Voltage regulation

• Voltage drop can be reduced by the

application of a shunt capacitor.
• A correct selected and located shunt
capacitor assures that the voltage at the
load will be within the allowable limit at the
heavy load condition.
• However, at light loading, the same
capacitor will increase the voltage to above
the allowable limit.
Capacitor effect on voltage
• The way to avoid this is to use switched
capacitor banks.
• The capacitors are switched in during
heavy load conditions and switched out
during light load conditions.
• When the capacitor(s) is switched in, the
capacitive current is added to the inductive
current, reducing total current, voltage drop
and electrical losses.
• The last is due to reducing reactive power
in the system
• The optimum number, size and
location of capacitor banks on a
feeder are determined by detailed
computer analysis, also taking into
consideration minimization of the
operation, installation and investment
costs.
• The most important factors that
affects the selection is the voltage
levels, total loading, distribution factor
and power factor of loads.
 Power factor correction

The method of connecting a capacitor in parallel with

an inductive load is known as power factor correction.
It can be seen from P  VI cos
that the apparent power will be larger than P if the
power factor is less than 1.
Thus the current I that must be supplied will be larger
for pf<1 than it would be for pf=1, even though the
average power P supplied is the same in either case.
 In order to maintain the power factor
close to unity, power companies
install banks of capacitors
throughout the network as needed.

Since industrial loads are inductive and have

low lagging power factors, it is beneficial to
install capacitors to improve the power factor.
• Any equipment with inductive properties will
worsen the power factor, as reactive power
is used to overcome the inductive
reactance.
• Therefore, induction motors,
transformers and cables will all add to
increase .
• In addition, variable speed drives that use
waveform 'chopping' will also worsen the
power factor due to the distortion of the
current waveforms, in addition to adding
harmonics to the system.
• The effect of a low-power factor at the load
is that more current is required to achieve
the same power output, as can be seen
from the power formula.
• The following is an example of the effect of
low-power factor:
Required active power: 200 kW
Operating voltage: 415 V
Case l: pf =0.85
I = 200 000 / (1.732 X 415 x 0.85)= 327 A
Case 2: pf = 0.55
I = 200 000 / (1.732 X 415 x 0.55) = 506 A

Power factor has a substantial effect on the magnitude

of current flowing in the network
A sustained low-power factor may have the following
effects:
• Overheating of equipment due to the excess current
flowing
• Equipment being over-rated to compensate for
higher currents flowing due to low-power factor
• Higher electricity consumption when measured in VA
• Necessitate additional investment in system facilities
to obtain the required kW
• Lower voltage level at the load
• Increased power losses (resistive and reactive)
throughout the system due to higher currents
flowing.
Shunt Capacitor Bank
Benefits

• Reactive Power Compensation

• Voltage Support
• Reduce System Losses
• Maximizes System Capacity
• Eliminate Power Factor Penalties
• Cost Efficient
 Power Factor Correction Example
Assume we have 100 kW load with
pf=0.8 lagging, and would like to Q
correct the pf to 0.95 lagging.

Q’
q  cos 0.8  36.87
1
q’
Q  P tan q  100 tan36.87  75 kVAr P
S  100  j 75 kVA QC
PF of 0.95 requires q desired  cos1 0.95  18.19
S new  100  j 75  Qcap 
75  Qcap
 tan18.19  75  Qcap  32.86
100
Qcap  42.14 kVAr
 Tariff example

• Many countries' electricity utilities

introduced a penalty charge for customers
with low power-factor.
• Several countries have changed from a kW
tariff to a kVA tariff for maximum demand.
• A low-power factor will have a direct
influence on the amount of total kVA a
company will use to obtain a certain
amount of active kW power
(kVA = kW + j kVAr )
• The lower the power factor, the more VARs
are consumed.
• Therefore, a low-power factor will result in
inefficient energy usage and an excessive
energy bill.
• Some utilities penalize consumers if their pf
is below 0.96 and others if below 0.80.
• The client is then billed for a kVA maximum
demand instead of a kW maximum
demand.
• Depending on how reactive energy is billed by
utility companies, energy costs can be greatly
reduced.
• Three types of contracts exist:
– payment for reactive energy consumed starting from a
cos φ threshold as in France and Italy;
– a bonus-penalty according to the value of the cos φ
relative to a threshold value as in Spain or in Egypt;
– a kVA contract with a threshold of overbilling over a
period of time as in the UK and in Canada.
• The installation of power-factor correction
capacitors on installations permits the consumer
to reduce his electricity bill by maintaining the
level of reactive-power consumption below a
value contractually agreed with the power supply
authority.
• In this particular tariff, reactive energy is billed
according to the tan criterion.

In Turkey, for residental customers whose power is less than 9 kW, the
power supply authority delivers reactive energy for free.
• The power rate which equals active energy divided by reactive
energy, should not be only under the penalty limits,
• Electrical energy delivery companies charge a (poor) power factor
penalty.
• Typically, penalties are assessed if power factor measured at the
meter is less than 95%.
REACTIVE POWER LIMITS IN TURKEY

For the customers whose installed

capacity is less than 50 kVA, if the
reactive energy represents less than
33% of the active energy (tan ϕ<
0.33), the power supply authority
delivers reactive energy for free
An example
• To simplify the calculation for illustration
purposes, we assume average values.
• A factory's average monthly maximum
demand is 100 MW at a power factor of
0.65.
• For a power factor of 0.65 and real power
(P) of 100 MW, the apparent power (S) is
153.846 MVA and reactive power (Q) is
116.913 MVAR
• As can be noted, the reactive power in the
network is of a higher value than the real
power!
 power triangle

• Referring to figure, to
increase the power
factor to 0.8 would need
41 913 kVAR.
• Therefore, the factory would be charged $0.3757 x
30 x 41 913 = $472 401.42 over a month period,
which could be avoided by increasing the power
factor to 0.8!
• This should be more than enough economic
justification to install power factor correction (PFC)
equipment.
• As a very rough approximation, the capital
investment for PFC equipment can be
taken as $250/kVAR on 11 kV.
• Therefore, to add -42 MVAR capacitive
would mean a capital investment of $10.5
million, which would be paid back in
approximately 22 months.
• Approving power factor also have added
benefits, like reduced active and reactive
losses due to the reduction in the
magnitude of currents flowing.
INSTALLING SHUNT CAPACITORS
 Power Factor correction configurations
• Loads can be corrected individually, in groups, or centrally
• The choice of configuration must be considered from both
an economic and technical point of view
 Example 1
4km A 6km B 3km C
///

10kV Qc
300kVA 460kW
cos=0.6(lagging) cos=0.8 (lagging)
Line reactance per unit length x=0.4Ω/km,
conductivity of the conductor ϰCu =56m/m·mm2
cross-sectional area of the conductor q=25mm2
a) Calculate the maximum vertical (longitudinal) voltage drop if the power
of the capacitor at B is zero, Qc =0.
b) Calculate the power of the capacitor Qc so that the voltage drop at C is
zero. (∆VC =0)

(Solution will be given in the lecture)

 Example 2
6kV

Load 1
Load 2
700kVA
500kVA
cos  =0.8 (lagging)

cos =0.85 (lagging)

a) Find the compensation power (reactive power generated by the

compensation capacitors) required to correct the system power factor
to 0.98 (lagging).
b) Find the compensation power required to correct the system power
factor to 0.99 (lagging).
c) In order to compensate 600kVAr reactive power, capacitors will be
connected in delta or in wye. Calculate the capacitance values of delta
and wye connected capacitors respectively.

(Solution will be given in the lecture)

 Example 3

5km

(3x25 mm2 )
34.5/15kV
2600kVA
cos =0.707 (lagging)
conductivity of the conductor ϰCu =56m/m·mm2

a) In order to correct the power factor to 0.95 (lagging), capacitors will be

connected in delta or in wye (star). Determine the reactive power and
the capacitance values of delta and wye connected capacitors
respectively.
b) Calculate the total line loss with and without the capacitors.

(Solution will be given in the lecture)

 Example 4

A textile mill, with 400V supply voltage, has a maximum demand of 8MVA at
a power factor of 0.9 (lagging) with compensation in the daytime. Without
compensation capacitors, the mill operates at 0.6 (lagging) power factor. At
night, the mill operates at its quarter of maximum power. Calculate the
power factor at night when there is reactive power compensation.

(Solution will be given in the lecture)

 REFERENCES
[1] Jan de Kock, Kobus Strauss, “Practical
Power Distribution for Industry”, Elsevier,
2004.
[2] Groupe Schneider, Technical Notes.