Control of Reactive

Power and Voltage

A. T 1
Reactive power and voltage control
Control objectives contributing to efficient and reliable operation of
power
 Voltage at terminal of all equipment are within the acceptable limit
• Both utility and customers equipment are 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 I2R and I2X
losses to a practical minimum
A. T
• Ensure transmission system operates
2
efficiently
 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
• Primary source of voltage support
 Overhead lines
• At loads below natural or surge impedance load (SIL) produce
Q
• At load above SIL absorb Q
 Underground cables
• Have high SIL due to high capacitance
• Loaded below SIL, and hence generate Q
A. T 3
 Production and absorbition of reactive
power (Q) cont…
 Transformers
• Absorb Q due to shunt magnetizing reactance and series leakage
inductances
 Loads
• Composite characteristics are normally such that a load bus
absorb 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
A. T has to be effected using special devices
4 dispersed throughout the
system.
 Method of voltage control
 The required voltage level is accomplished by controlling the
production, absorption, and flow of reactive power at all level in
the system.
 Means to control the voltage are:
 Sources or sink of reactive power, such as shunt capacitors,
shunt reactors, synchronous condensers, and static var
compensators (SVC)
 Line reactance compensators, such as series capacitors
 Regulating transformers such as tap changing transformers
and boosters

A. T 5
 Method of voltage control cont…
 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 condenser 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.

A. T 6
 Objectives of reactive power
compensation

 To control voltage and/or improve maximum power transfer

 The voltage profile is determined by Zc

A. T 7
 Shunt reactor
 Used to compensate the undesirable voltage effect associated with
line capacitance during light load
 Shunt compensation with reactors;
 Increase effective Zc
 Reduce the natural load, i.e., voltage at which flat voltage
will be achieved
 Connected directly to line end or transformer tertiary winding to
be switched at var requirement
 Line reactors assist in limiting switching surge
 In very long line at least some reactors are required to be
connected to the line.
A. T 8
9
 Shunt Capacitors
 Helps to compensate I2X losses
 Connected either directly to HV bus or to tertiary winding of
transformer
 Should be distributed through out the system so as to minimize
losses and voltage drop
 Usually switched; a convenient means of controlling voltage
 Shunt capacitors compensation of transmission line in effect
decrease Zc
 Are used extensively in distribution system for power factor
correction and feeder voltage control
 Advantage – low cost, flexibility of installation
 Disadvantage – Q output is proportional to square of the voltage,
A. T
hence Q output reduced at low voltage
10
 Series capacitors
 Connected in series with the line
 Used to reduce effective inductive reactance of line
 Increase maximum power
 Reduce I2X
 Series capacitive compensation in effect reduces characteristics
impedance Zc
 Reactive power produced increase with increasing power transfer
 Application:
 Improve power transfer compatibility
 Alter load division among parallel lines
 Voltage regulation
A. T 11
 Synchronous condenser
 It is a synchronous machine running without a prime mover or
load
 Depending on field excitation, it can either absorb or generate
reactive power
 It can automatically adjust constant voltage
 Except SVC, synchronous condenser has an internal voltage
 Speed of response is not fast as SVC

A. T 12
 Static VAR compensators (SVC)
 Shunt connected static var generators and/or absorbers whose
output are varied so as to control specific power system quantities
 Types of SVC
 Thyristor controlled reactor (TCR)
 Thyristor switched capacitor (TSC)
 Saturated reactor
 SVC is and aggregation mechanically switched capacitors or
reactors whose output are coordinated

A. T 13
 Static VAR compensators (SVC) cont…

14
 Static var compensators (STATCOM)
 Can be based on a voltage sourced or current sourced converter
 Require lower harmonics filters and capacitors than SVC and no
reactors
 It is more compact

A. T 15
 Comparison of alternative
compensation
 Switched shunt capacitor compensation generally provides the
most economical reactive power source for voltage control
 Ideally suited for compensation of transmission line (to
reduce Zc)
 However, heavy use of shunt capacitor compensation could
result in poor voltage regulation and may have adverse effect
on system stability
 Series capacitor is self regulating, i.e., its reactive power output
increase with line loading
 Ideally suited for application where reduction of line length
 Improve voltage regulation and system stability
 A combination of series and shunt capacitors may provide the
ideal form of compensation in some cases
A. T 16
 Comparison of alternative
compensation cont…
 A Staic Var Compensator (SVC) is ideally suited for application
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 SVC is used to permit a high power transfer over a long
distance, the possibility of instability when SVC is pushed to its
reactive limit must be recognized
 When operating at its capacitive limit, the SVC become a simple
capacitor
 An SVC has limited overload capability and has higher losses than
series capacitor compensation
 STATCOM overcomes some of 17the limitation of an SVC
A. T
A. T 18