Control of STATCOM by Using Optimal Reactive

Power Flow Solutions

D. Uthitsunthorn, U. Kwannetr, N. Sinsuphun, U. Leeton, and T. Kulworawanichpong
Power System Research Unit, School of Electrical Engineering
Institute of Engineering, Suranaree University of Technology,
Nakhon Ratchasima, THAILAND 30000
Abstract-This paper presents an application of optimal
reactive power flow solutions to command the reactive power
injection of STATCOM. Typically, a reactive power compensator
such as STATCOM can be controlled by various means. The
optimal power flow solution is very useful. It is an optimizer in
which a particular objective is minimized while meeting all
system constraints. In this paper, solutions of optimal reactive
power flows are used to set as the reference to the STATCOMs
controller. To demonstrate this control strategy, 24-hour optimal
power flow solutions of a simple three-bus test system was
employed for test. The result showed that reactive power
compensation by using the optimal reactive power flow solution
can lead to the minimum power loss operation of the entire
power system and the system voltage profile is flat and smooth.

I.

INTRODUCTION

II. STATIC SYNCHRONOUS COMPENSATOR (STATCOM)

A. Structure and Its Operation
In electric power transmission networks, STATCOM is a
shunt device that regulates the system voltage by absorbing or
generating reactive power at a point of coupling connection
[3]. The schematic diagram of STATCOMs structure is
shown in Fig 1. The STATCOM is a solid state DC/AC power
switching converter that consists mainly of a three-phase
PWM voltage source converter (VSC) bridge having six GTObased switches with associated anti-parallel diodes[4]-[5]. It is
connected to the power transmission network via the
impedance of the coupling transformer. A DC-link capacitor
provides constant DC link voltage.
Rs

Ls

C filter

L filter

As the need of deregulation for worldwide electric utility

industries, utility transmission systems are approaching their
limits. This makes the need for reliable power greater than
ever. In deregulation environment, the need for new power
flow controllers to enhance transmission line capability will
increase. Principally, these new controllers should be able to
control voltage level and increase power flow capability of
transmission line to their secure loading with no reduction of
system stability and security margins.
The concept of FACTS (Flexible AC Transmission Systems)
uses the advancement of high power-rating semiconductor
switching devices to enable flexibility of system operation
with fast and reliable control. STATCOM (Static Synchronous
Compensator) is a representative of the FACTS devices based
on a voltage source converter which can be used for shunt
reactive power compensation and dynamic voltage regulation
[1]. The STATCOM regulates the grid voltage by either
injecting or absorbing reactive power that will compensate the
voltage drop across the distribution line inductance. By
controlling the magnitude of the STATCOM voltage [2], the
reactive power exchange between the STATCOM and the
transmission line and hence the amount of shunt compensation
in the power system can be established.
Optimal reactive power flow is a nonlinear constrained
optimization problem. Its primary goal is to minimize the total
power transmission loss of the entire system to serve the load
demand for a particular power system while maintaining the
security of the system operation. This operation is subjected to

keep each device in the power system within its desired

operation range at steady-state. This will include maximum
and minimum outputs for generators, maximum MVA flows
of power transmission lines and transformers, as well as
system bus voltages within specified ranges.
In this paper, to command the voltage magnitude of
STATCOM is based on a sequence of optimal reactive power
flow solutions. This control strategy can lead to the
coordination of available reactive power compensators.

Figure 1. Simplified power system equipped with STATCOM

The output voltage of the STATCOM is generated by a

DC/AC voltage source converter operated from a DC-link
energy storage capacitor. From the DC input voltage, provided
by a charged capacitor, the converter produces a set of
controllable three-phase output voltages at the frequency of
the AC power system. Each output voltage is in phase with
and coupled to the corresponding AC voltage via tie reactance
[6]. By varying the magnitude of output voltage produced, the

reactive power exchange between the STATCOM and the AC

power system is controlled. If the amplitude of output voltage
is increased (or decreased) above the AC system voltage, the
converter generates (or absorbs) reactive power for the AC
power system. The STATCOM acts as a shunt compensator
connected in parallel to the system so that it can inject
appropriate compensation currents [7]. The STATCOM has
several advantages, compared to a conventional static var
compensator (SVC). It is faster, can produce reactive power at
low voltage, does not require thyristor-controlled reactors
(TCR) or thyristor-switched capacitors (TSC), and does not
produce low order harmonic.
B. Control of STATCOM
A PWM pulse generator with a relatively high carrier
frequency is used to control the GTO-based converter bridges.
The modulation scheme used is a sinusoidal type. The
controller diagram is shown in Fig. 2. It consists of several
sub-systems: a phase-locked loop (PLL), to dq
transformation, the measurement system, a voltage regulation
loop and sine PWM generators. To simulate its control
function, the PLL is implemented on the digital simulator for
creating the reference angle for a firing circuit. Diagram of
PLL is illustrated in Fig. 3 [7]-[8].
p
q

p = v i + v i

q = v i + v i

va
vb
vc
ia
ib
ic

PLL v

dq

PLL i

dq

vd

vq
id

vref

Tri

cos

va

abc

vb
vc

vq

PI
controller

2
reset

sin

By converting both equality and inequality constraints into

penalty terms and therefore added to form the penalty function.
P(x) = f(x) + (x)
(x) = {g2(x) + [max(0,h(x))]2}

(1)
(2)

Where
P(x) is the penalty function
(x) is the penalty term
is the penalty factor
By using a concept of the penalty method [9], the
constrained optimization problem is transformed into an
unconstrained optimization problem in which the penalty
function as described above is minimized.
B. Objective Function
In general, the power transmission loss function is typically
set as the objective function. The power transmission loss can
be expressed as follows.

Where

mf

Figure 2. Controller diagram of the STATCOM

f(x)
g(x) = 0, equality constraints
h(x) 0, inequality constraints

1 NL NL
gi , j {Vi 2 + V j2 2ViV j cos( i j )}

2 i =1 j =1

(3)

j i

uc*

Minimize
Subject to

Floss =

ua*
ub*

ma

iq

problem can be expressed as a constrained optimization

problem as follows.

Integrator

2f 0

Figure 3. PLL circuit diagram

III. OPTIMAL REACTIVE POWER FLOW SOLUTION

A. Problem Formulation
The optimal reactive power flow problem is a nonlinear
optimization problem. It consists of a nonlinear objective
function defined with nonlinear constraints. The optimal
reactive power flow problem requires the solution of nonlinear
equations, describing optimal and/or secure operation of
power systems. The general optimal reactive power flow

Vi is the voltage magnitude at bus i

gi,j is the conductance of line i-j
i is the voltage angle at bus i
NL is the total number of transmission lines

C. System Constraints
The system constraints for the reactive power flow
problems are controlled voltage magnitude, reactive power
injection from reactive power sources and transformer tapping.
The objective use herein is to minimize the power
transmission loss function by optimizing the control variables
within their limits [9]-[10]. Therefore, no violation on other
quantities (e.g. MVA flow of transmission lines, load bus
voltage magnitude, generator Mvar) occurs in normal system
operating conditions. These are system constraints to be
formed as equality and inequality constraints as shown below.
1) Equality constraint: Power flow equations
NB

PG,i PD,i | Vi || Vj || Yi, j | cos(i, j i + j ) = 0

(4)

j =1

NB

QG,i QD,i + | Vi || Vj || Yi , j | sin(i , j i + j ) = 0 (5)

j =1

Where

PGi is the real power generation at bus i

QGi is the reactive power generation at bus i
PDi is the real power demand at bus i
QDi is the reactive power demand at bus i
NB is the total number of buses
i,j is the angle of bus admittance element i,j
Yi,j is the magnitude of bus admittance element i,j

2) Inequality constraint: Variable limitations

(6)

Vi min Vi Vi max

min
G ,i

max
comp ,i

Qcomp ,i Q

(8)

PG ,i PGmax
,i

(9)

Where
Vi min , Vi max are upper and lower limits of voltage

Ti

min

, Ti

max

min
comp ,i

min
G ,i

magnitude at bus i
are upper and lower limits of tap position of

transformer i
max
are upper and lower limits of reactive
, Qcomp
,i

power source i
, P are upper and lower limits of power
generated by generator i
max
G ,i

Qc = Qref

VSC
+
Vdc
-

System conditions
Hourly updated

(7)

Ti min Ti Ti max
min
comp ,i

pcc
Power system

Reactive power
command: Qref

Optimal reactive power

flow solver

Figure 5. Proposed control scheme of the STATCOM

Assume that the power exchange between the STATCOM

and the entire system occurs at the STATCOM interface
terminal. There are several approaches to command the
reactive power of the STACOM. The simplest one is to keep
the voltage magnitude at the point of coupling connection
constant, normally at the system nominal. It is widely used but
it does not guarantee the operation of minimum power
transmission loss. To improve this operation, the solutions of
the reactive power flow problems are used to command the
STATCOM. The STATCOM should be driven to operate at
the operating point that gives the minimum power loss. This
control scheme can be summarized as shown in Fig. 5.

IV. REACTIVE POWER CONTROL SCHEME

The reactive power flow solution is the steady-state solution
associated with a particular operating condition. To operate
the entire power system during a specified period, e.g. one day
operation, the optimal reactive power flow problem must be
formulated hourly due to the assumption of one-hour load
changing. The solutions of the reactive power flow problems
are the reactive power command to be used as the set point of
the STATCOM controller. This command is changed, hourby-hour, to minimize the power overall transmission losses.
V1

Power system

P,Q

P,Q

VS

V. SIMULATION RESULTS
In this paper, a simple three-bus power system as shown in
Fig. 6 was used for test. Table I gave the test system
parameters. The simulations were performed using MATLAB
software [11]-[12]. The test was carried out by solving the
optimal power flow problem of the power loss objective. Each
power flow solution was sent to command the STATCOM
controller as described earlier. For comparison, the rated value
of voltage magnitude at the point coupling connection was
regulated. Each method was challenged by solving a given
optimal power flow problem of one day period. Daily load for
the test system was presented in Table II.

Bus A
+
Vdc
-

VR

Bus B

Bus C

Load 1

Load 2

VSC

STATCOM
V2
Figure 4. Interfacing diagram of the STATCOM

Figure 6. Three-bus test system

TABLE I
TEST SYSTEM PARAMETERS

100 MVA
0.8

DC link voltage of the STATCOM

5 kV

TABLE II
DAILY LOAD FOR THE TEST SYSTEM
Time Period

Hour

Load 1 (MVA)

Load 2 (MVA)

00.00 03.00

5.00

3.61

03.00 05.00

7.81

5.83

05.00 07.00

15.00

10.82

07.00 09.00

12.21

8.60

09.00 12.00

19.70

12.04

12.00 14.00

15.00

10.82

14.00 17.00

18.03

13.12

17.00 20.00

22.83

14.87

20.00 22.00

12.21

8.60

10

22.00 24.00

7.81

5.83

Solutions of the optimal power flow problem were used as

the reactive power command of the STATCOM controller.
This can be simulated by using Power System Blockset (PSB)
in MATLABs Simulink as shown in Fig. 7. The simulation
model of test system is under the condition of daily load
problem with is connected at BUS_B and BUS_C. The
STATCOM is installed at BUS_B for reactive power
compensation and voltage regulation. Fig. 8 illustrates the
control voltage reference with PI-controller. The optimal gain
value of kp and ki are used on Signal Constrain Block. The
output of PI-control is used for control phase modulation of
control angle to trigger STATCOM. The results of base case,
optimal reactive power flow solution and the rated voltage
magnitude regulation were depicted in Fig. 9. It shows in

A
B

aA

A
B

A
B

aA

bB

bB

A
B

A
B

cC

cC

bB
cC

Line2_4km

C B_load1

b
c

b
c
B

C B_STATC OM

a
A

C B_load2
Discrete,
Ts = 0.0001 s.

BUS_C

B
C

BUS_B
A

Line1_10km

B
C

BUS_A

22 KV
500 MVAsc

aA

Interfacing transformer reactance

Interfacing transformer

4 km

10 km

Line length (Bus 2 Bus 3)

Line length (Bus 1 Bus 2)

0.95 mH/km

0.1 /km

Line inductance

Line resistance

voltage regulation at daily load for base case, when the system
is operated with no STATCOM .It has the voltage sag at load
point of time period. We have installed STATCOM, the
voltage are regulated 10% at 22 kV of distribution voltage.
The base case has the big voltage sag in 2-9 time period but
after we installed the STATCOM, the voltage is reduced. So,
that the load voltage is regulated around voltage reference.

Load1

Load2
B4

Pulses

aA

bB

cC

Vdc+

DC Voltage Source
Vdc -

STATCOM
22 kV 100MVA

trig STATCOM

V load

STATCOM
PI-Controller

Figure 7. MATLAB Simulation model of the test system

[Vabc_B2]

Voltage From
Minimize Loss
[t' v']
10
delta angle

22
V_reference
22 kV
1

In1

Voltage
Reference

PI

In1
Out1

Uref

Pulses

In2

Discrete
PI Controller

Phase modulation
of control angle

Discrete
PWM Generator

1
trig STATCOM

Out1

V load
Voltage Regulator

Signal Constraint

Figure 8. Simulink structure of the STATCOM PI controller

VI. CONCLUSIONS

30
Base case
Vref. 22kV
Vref. from Min.losses

25

This paper gives an approach of controlling the

STATCOM by using solutions of optimal reactive power
flow problems with the power transmission loss objective.
A three-bus power system was established as a test case for
benchmarking. The results showed that a set of optimal
solutions with respect to the power transmission loss
objective can lead to the lowest energy losses for one day
operation.

Line Voltage (kV)

20

15

10

VII. REFERENCES
[1]

[2]
0

4
5
6
Time Period (hr)

10

Figure 9. Results of the three test cases

All day operation of the three test cases showed that the
reactive command using the optimal reactive power flow
solution gives the best performance which is the lowest oneday energy losses. The all day power losses of each case can
be presented in Table III for comparison. The base case
gave a construable amount of power losses. It was greater
than that of the STATCOM case due to the system voltage
sag. When we installed STATCOM to compensate, It made
low losses. The losses were decrease when we used the
voltage reference on optimal reactive power flow because it
had the less voltage difference.

[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]

TABLE III
COMPARISON AMONG THE THREE TEST CASES
One-day Energy Losses
(MWh)
53.16

[10]

2. Rated voltage regulation case

28.00

[11]

3. Optimal reactive power flow case

27.09

[12]

Test Case
1. Base case

M.H.J. Bollen, Voltag sags in three-phase system, Power

Engineering Review, IEEE., 21 : 8-11,15.
M.H.J. Bollen, Understanding Power Quality Problems -Voltag Sags
And Interruptions, Piscataway, New York : IEEE Press, 2000.
Narain G. Hingorani and Laszlo Gyugyi, Understanding FACTS
:concepts and technology of flexible AC transmission systems,1 st
edition,IEEE PRESS, New York, 2000.
Ned Mohan, Tore M.Undeland and William P.Robbins, Power
Electronics :converter, Application and design, 2nd ed., John Wiley &
Sons,Inc.1995.
Muhammad H.Rashid, Power Electronics Circuits, Devices,And
Applications. :Printice Hall, 2004.
P.Rao, M.L.Crow and Z.Yang ,STATCOM control for power system
voltage control applications, IEEE Trans. On Power Delivery,
vol.15, No. 4, Oct.2000.
Mienski, R., R.Pawelek and I. Wasiak. ,Shunt Compensation for
Power Quality Improement Using a STATCOM controller : Model
And Simulation, IEEE. Proc. Gener. Trans. Distib., 151:2, 2004.
P.W. Lehn and MR. Iravani, Experimental Evaluation of
STATCOM Close Loop Dynamics, IEEE Trans. Power Delivery,
Vol.13, No.4, October1998,pp.1378-1384
G.Ravi Kumar, R.Kameswara Rao and S.S. Tulasi Ram, Power
Flow Control and Transimission Loss Minmization model with
TCSC and SVC for Improving system Stability and
security,Industrial and Information Systems, 2008. ICIIS 2008.
IEEE Region 10 and the Third international Conference on
Publication Date: 8-10 Dec. 2008 On page(s): 1-5.
Otar Gavasheli and Le Anh Tuan, Optimal Placement of Reactive
supports for Transmission loss Minmization : The case of georgain
regional power grid, Power Engineering,2007 Large Engineering
systems conference on 10-12 Oct. 2007, pp.125-130.
The Math Work Inc., MATLAB The language of technical computing,
CD-ROM Manual,2004.
TEQSIM Internation Inc., Power System Blockset Users Guide,
2001.