FACTS Module 2

Anju James
Assistant Professor
Electrical and Electronics
GECI
Syllabus
Reactive power compensation – shunt and series compensation
principles – reactive compensation at transmission and distribution
level – Static versus passive VAr Compensators
Reactive Power Compensation:
 AC power supply systems produce and consume two types of
powers; active and reactive power.
 Real power or active power is the true power given to any load. It
accomplishes useful work like lighting lamps, rotating motors, etc.
 Reactive power is the imaginary power, which does not do any useful
work but simply moves back and forth in the power system lines. It is a
by-product of AC systems and produced from inductive and capacitive
loads.
 It exists when there is phase displacement between voltage and current.
 Reactive power can be expressed as
Q = S sin ϕ= VI sin ϕ = P tan ϕ
 It is measured in units of volt-ampere reactive (VAR).
 Reactive power is temporarily stored in the form of electric or
magnetic fields that flows back and forth due to capacitive and
inductive components.
 Since the reactive power is simply moving back and forth in the line
(transmission line or any other conductor), it acts as an additional
load. So the reactive power is considered for rating of all cables,
transformers, switchgear and other electrical equipment.
 If the reactive power exists in excess amounts, it will greatly reduce
the system power factor and hence lowers the operational efficiency.
This causes undesirable voltage drops, greater conduction losses,
excess heating and higher operational costs.
Effect of reactive power flow in line network

 Poor transmission efficiency

 Poor voltage regulation
 Low power factor
 Need of large-sized conductor
 Increase in KVA rating of the system equipment
 Reduction in the handling capacity of all system elements
Need of Reactive Power

 Voltage Control

 To Satisfy Reactive Power Demand

 To Reduce Electrical Blackouts

 To Produce Magnetic Flux

Traditional Compensation techniques
Series compensation
 When the line has high value of reactance to resistance ratio, the
inductive reactance of the transmission line can be decreased by
introducing Series capacitors which results in low voltage drop.
 When a load with lagging power factor is connected at the end, vol
tage drop in the line is VD = I(Rcosφ + XLsinφ).
 If a capacitance ‘C’ with reactance Xc is connected in series with
the line, then the reactance will be reduced to (XL-Xc) and hence
the voltage drop is reduced. Further the reactive power taken by
the line is also reduced.
Series Capacitor compensation:
Case analysis
Series Capacitor compensation:
Case analysis… contd
• voltage drop is VD = IR + j I(XL-XC)

• Thus the use of series capacitors is to reduce the voltage drop in the lines
with low power factor and improve the voltage at the receiving end
particularly with low power factor loads.

• For variable load conditions, the voltage can be controlled by switching in

suitable series capacitors in the line.
Series Capacitive compensation : Power transmission
versus angle characteristic
Shunt Compensation
 Shunt compensation, especially shunt reactive compensation has
been widely used in transmission system to regulate the voltage
magnitude, improve the voltage quality, and enhance the system
stability.
 Shunt-connected reactors are used to reduce the line over-voltages
by consuming the reactive power.
 Shunt-connected capacitors are used to maintain the voltage levels
by compensating the reactive power to transmission line.
 Shunt compensation
 At buses where reactive power demand increases, bus voltage can be co
ntrolled by connecting capacitor banks in parallel to a lagging load.
 Capacitor banks supply part of or full reactive power of load, thus reducing ma
gnitude of the source current necessary to supply load.
 Consequently the voltage drop between the sending end and the load gets reduc
ed, P.F will be improved and increased active power output will be available
from source.
 Depending upon load demand, capacitor banks may be permanently
connected to the system or can be varied by switching ON or OFF the
parallel -connected capacitors either manually or automatically.
 The usage of shunt capacitor banks suffers from the following drawbacks:
1. Shunt capacitors do not affect current or power factor beyond their point of
application.

2. The reactive power supplied by the shunt capacitor banks is directly proportion
al to the bus voltage.

3. When the reactive power required is less on light loads, capacitor bank output
will be high. (This disadvantage can be eliminated by connecting a number of
capacitors in parallel and then capacitance can be varied by switching ON or O
FF depending upon load requirement.)
Voltage drop can be approximated as VD
= I R+I X -I X
Shunt Inductive Compensation
 This method is used either when charging the transmission line or
when there is very low load at the receiving end.
 Due to very low or no load, a very low current flows through the
transmission line. Shunt capacitance in the transmission line causes
voltage amplification (Ferranti effect).
 The receiving end voltage (Vr) may become double the sending end
voltage (Vs) (generally in case of very long transmission lines). To
compensate it, shunt inductors are connected across the
transmission line.
Shunt Capacitive Compensation(Midpoint
Voltage Regulation)
 This method is used improve the power factor.
 Whenever an inductive load is connected to the transmission line,
power factor lags because of lagging load current.
 To compensate it, a shunt capacitor is connected, which draws
current leading to the source voltage. The net result is
improvement in power factor.
Shunt Capacitive Compensation(Midpoint Voltage
Regulation)
Shunt Capacitive Compensation(Midpoint
Voltage Regulation)… contd
 The arrangement of the ideal midpoint shunt compensator, which
maintains a voltage, Vc, equal to the bus bar voltage such
that Vs = Vr = Vc = V.
 It can be seen that the compensator does not consume real power
since the compensator voltage, Vc and its current, Ic, are in
quadrature.
 If the compensator can vary its admittance continuously in such a
way as to maintain midpoint voltage Vc = V, then in the steady state,
the line is sectioned into two independent halves.
 The power (P) transferred from the sending end to the midpoint is
equal to the power transferred from the midpoint to the receiving
end and is given by
Shunt Capacitive Compensation(Midpoint
Voltage Regulation)… contd
 The maximum transmissible power is 2V2/X, twice the steady-state
limit of the uncompensated line.
 It is reached when δ/2 = π/2, that is, with a transmission angle δ or
90° across each half of the line and a total transmission angle of
180° across the whole line.
 The reactive power generated by the compensator, (Qp), is
generally given by the relation Qp = IcVc = IcV.
 From the phasor diagram, Ic can be expressed in terms of Isc and δ:

Ic 
 Isc sin( )
2 4
V  4V 
Isc  sin( )  sin( )
X 4 X 4
4
8V  
Ic  sin( ) sin( )
X 4 4

2 sin 2 x  1  cos 2 x
Shunt Capacitive Compensation(Midpoint Voltage
Regulation)… contd

Power transmission vs. angle characteristic showing the variation of real power P, and
the reactive power output of the compensator Qp with angle
 STATIC VAR COMPENSATORS
 A static VAR compensator is a set of electrical devices for providing fast-acting
reactive power on high voltage electricity transmission networks.
 SVCs are part of the Flexible AC transmission system device family, regulating
voltage, power factor, harmonics and stabilizing the system.
 A static VAR compensator has no significant moving parts (other than internal
switchgear).
 SVCs are used in two main situations:
 Connected to the power system, to regulate the transmission voltage ("Transmission
SVC")
 Connected near large industrial loads, to improve power quality ("Industrial SVC")
 Typically, an SVC comprises one or more banks of
fixed or switched shunt capacitors or reactors, of
which at least one bank is switched by thyristors.
 Elements which may be used to make an SVC
typically include:
◦ Thyristor controlled reactor (TCR)
◦ Thyristor switched capacitor (TSC)
◦ Harmonic filter(s)
◦ Mechanically switched capacitors or reactors
STATIC VAR COMPENSATORS
Static Var Compensator is a shunt-linked static VAR producer or assimilator
whose output is regulated to exchange capacitive or inductive current so as
to keep in good condition or regulate specific parameters of an electrical
power system, typically bus voltage
Thank You