Pradeep P REACTIVE POWER COMPENSATION

Reactive power:
Reactive Power VAR compensation is described in terms of reactive power to improve the
performance of alternating current systems. There are two aspects to consider:
1. Load compensation 2. Voltage support
The main objectives are The ultimate objective is
➢ To increase the real power drawn from ➢ To reduce the voltage fluctuation at a
the system. specific terminal of the transmission
➢ To balance the real power drawn line.
drown from the system.
➢ Compensate the voltage regulation.
➢ To eliminate the current harmonics.

As a result, VAR compensation enhances AC system stability by increasing the maximum reactive
power that can be transferred. Power is referred to as the product of the voltage and current
𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 = 𝑉 ∗ 𝐼 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑠
Reactive power must be supplied to most types of magnetic equipment, such as motors and
transformers.
When the voltage and current rise and fall at the same time in AC transmission, only real
power is transmitted.
when the voltage and current rise and fall at different times, both active and reactive
power is transmitted.
Power factor = Real power (kW) / Apparent Power (kVA) → Cos Φ
Whenever there is a phase shift between Voltage and current we have:
✓ Real power kW and Reactive power kVAR

✓ The combination is a complex or apparent power is 𝑘𝑉𝐴 = √𝑘𝑊 2 + 𝑘𝑉𝐴𝑅 2

Why do we need reactive power?

In resistive loads, the current produces heat energy, which results in the desired output; in
inductive loads, the current creates a magnetic field, which results in the desired work. As a result,
reactive power is the non-working power generated by the magnetic current for the device to
operate and maintain magnetism. The voltage needed to deliver reactive power watts over
transmission lines is maintained by reactive power VARs.
Pradeep P REACTIVE POWER COMPENSATION
When there is insufficient reactive power, the voltages drop and the required power cannot
be delivered to the load through the lines. The reactive power created by the AC power source is
stored in a capacitor or a reactor for a quarter of a cycle before being sent back to the power source
for the next quarter cycle.
As a result, the reactive power oscillates at twice the rated frequency of 50 or 60Hz between
the AC source and the capacitor or reactor. To avoid circulation between the load and the source,
compensation is required. We must also compensate for reactive power to control the power factor
of the system and ensure voltage stability.
✓ Shunt Compensation
✓ Series compensation
✓ Synchronous condensers
✓ Static VAR Compensators
✓ Static Compensators.
Shunt compensation:
The shunt compensator is a device that is connected to the transmission line in parallel. In
the middle of the transmission line, a shunt compensator is always connected. It can come from a
current source, a voltage source, or a capacitor. The system's reactive power is provided by an ideal
shunt compensator.
(i) Fixed Capacitor bank:
The shunt capacitor is used to compensate for the reactive power requirements of the loads.
The shunt compensation that provides the power factor for the entire system is improved. The
simulation diagram below shows how a fixed capacitor bank can enhance the power factor.

Figure 1: Shunt Compensation – Fixed Capacitor bank

Pradeep P REACTIVE POWER COMPENSATION
According to the simulation shown in figure 1, the specific system is connected with a 0.8 pf
lagging load. The lagging load draws real and reactive power from the grid. Because of reactive
power consumption by load, the grid's power factor drops to 76.66 %. Because the grid's stability
will be affected in this case, the consumer should pay a penalty to the supplier (maintaining a poor
power factor). The capacitor bank is provided in the system to eliminate this type of scenario. The
perfectly sized capacitor bank meets the reactive power requirements of the load while also
improving the power factor. The calculation for finding the optimum size of a capacitor bank for a
specific system is shown below.
Power factor on grid side = 0.76
Desired power factor to maintain on-grid = 0.95
By using the impedance triangle,
Φ1 = 40.53 → Angle of desired power factor.
Φ2 = 18.19 → Angle of existing power factor.
Reactive power (Q) = P*(tan Φ1 –tan Φ2) = 8*(0.854-0.328) → 4.208 MVAr
According to the simulation, using a capacitor bank reduces transformer loading and
improves the voltage profile on the load side. The grid side power factor has been improved and is
now constant at 0.95.
(ii) Shunt compensation: APFC
APFC stands for Automatic Power Factor Correction.
The main disadvantage of the capacitor bank is that the
reactive power is uncontrollable. It continually offers constant
reactive power in all load scenarios. So, when the capacitor
bank is lightly loaded, it sends reactive power to the grid (this
grid goes to leading in nature). To avoid these scenarios, the
APFC comes into the picture.
In this scenario, suitably rated capacitor banks are
arranged and switching devices are connected between them.
Depending on the reactive power requirement, the required
capacitor bank is switched into the system and gives reactive
power to the load. The APFC controls the reactive power with
this configuration.
Figure 2: APFC
Pradeep P REACTIVE POWER COMPENSATION
The above figure 2 shows the existing system's automatic power factor correction. The cable
acts as a control node for the APFC in this system. The data is transferred from the control node to
the controller in the APFC. Depending on the data controller, the system includes the required
capacitor.
(iii) Shunt Reactors:
Shunt connected reactors are used to reduce line voltages by consuming reactive
power, whereas shunt connected capacitors are used to maintain voltage levels by
compensating the reactive power to the transmission line.
A shunt reactor is the reactive power absorber that improves the system's energy
efficiency. As it absorbs and compensates for the reactive power in cables & lines.
Even though ETAP cannot model the shunt reactor, I have chosen the Digsilent Power Factory, which
I simply modelled.
For Example, the below system needs a 774 kVAr shunt Inductive reactive power
compensation to maintain the power factor shown in figure 3. In this below-given system, reactive
power is injected into the grid side because of the transmission line and cable and it affects the
reactive power. So in this case we can use the shunt reactor to compensate for the reactive power
as well as maintain the power factor also.

Figure 3: Without Shunt Reactor

Below shown the simulation results in figure 4 the how the reactive power is compensated
and the power factor is maintained by using a Shunt reactor.
Pradeep P REACTIVE POWER COMPENSATION

Figure 4: With Shunt Reactor.

Series compensation:
A series compensator is a device that is connected in series with the transmission line. A
series compensator can be placed anywhere along the line. Connecting a capacitor in series with
the transmission line, this method improves the system voltage. In series compensation, reactive
power is supplied in series with the transmission line to improve the system's impedance and
optimize the line's power transfer capability.
The series compensation improves the voltage profile of the system and also ensures system
stability. The placement of the series capacitor depends on the overvoltage location. It is not placed
in an overvoltage location or nearby overvoltage location.
Advantages of series compensation:

• Increase in power transfer capability

• Improvement in system stability
• Control voltage
• Lower voltage drop
• Reduce the Ferranti Effect

The reactance value in a transmission line is jX= j(XL – XC).In this instance, the capacitance
reactance equals the inductive reactance, i.e., resonance condition, and the reactive power is
eliminated(Z=R).As a result, compensating the reactive power, this compensation improves system
stability.
Pradeep P REACTIVE POWER COMPENSATION
The capacitive reactance is considered as XL /2 to limit the inductive reactance (XL) to half of
its value. Figure 5 shows the simulation results of the system with and without series compensation.
Using series compensation increases the power transfer capabilities and voltage profile. On an
interconnected system, series compensation is more efficient than both compensations.

Figure 5: With and Without compensation of transmission line

Figure 6 shows the series

capacitor's location is determined by
the line's economic and technical
considerations. The series capacitor
might be placed at the line's
transmitting end or receiving end. The
location of the capacitors is
determined by the degree of
compensation and the line's
characteristic.
Figure 6: Using a fixed series capacitor in the transmission line
Pradeep P REACTIVE POWER COMPENSATION
Static VAR Compensators:
A static VAR compensator, or SVC, is an electrical device that provides reactive power on
transmission networks. The term Static refers to the fact that the SVC has no moving parts
(other than circuit breakers and disconnects, which do not move under normal SVC
operation).
The SVC is an automated impedance matching device that is meant to bring the system
closer to the unity power factor. If the reactive load of the power system is capacitive
(leading), the SVC will use the reactors (typically VARs from the system) to reduce the system
voltage.
Under inductive (lagging) conditions, the capacitor banks are turned on automatically,
resulting in a higher system voltage.

Figure 7: Static Var system Compensatation

Advantages:
• Static VAR compensation is not performed at line voltage; instead, a bank of transformers
reduces the transmission voltage (for example, 230 kV) to a significantly reduced level (for
example 9.5kV). This reduces the number and size of components.

Static Compensator:
The devices generate or absorb reactive power using synchronous voltage sources. A voltage
source converter (VSC) is used to create an asynchronous voltage source (SVS) A static
compensator, or STATCOM, is a type of shunt compensator.
Pradeep P REACTIVE POWER COMPENSATION
A STATCOM typically includes an SVS that is driven by a DC storage capacitor and is
connected to the AC system bus through an interface transformer. The transformer reduces
the arc system voltage to keep the voltage rating of the SVS switches within the specified
range.
Synchronous condenser:
The synchronous condenser is a device whose primary function is to increase the PF of an
electrical system. It is installed at the line's receiving end.
When a synchronous condenser is connected to the network, it supplies the kVAR and so
reduces the current.
As a result, losses are reduced and efficiency is improved and more power can be delivered
to the load, improving the system's pf.
In this scenario, below shown in figure 8 the synchronous generator is utilized to provide the
load's reactive power requirements. The fixed capacitor bank is not producing the necessary grid pf
in the low voltage profile. In all voltage profiles, however, the synchronous condenser brings the
grid power factor to the desired value.

Figure 8: Shunt compensation by Shunchronous condensor

Figure 8 demonstrates the shunt compensation at different grid voltage profiles in the first
simulation. The grid power factor has not reached the desired limit, as shown by the findings. As a
result, the capacitor bank is not suitable for a voltage-variable grid.
Pradeep P REACTIVE POWER COMPENSATION
The second and third simulations exhibit synchronous condenser shunt compensation under
various voltage profiles. Because of these results, the synchronous condenser was able to maintain
the desired power factor in both grid voltage profiles. As a result, the synchronous condenser (unlike
a capacitor bank) maintains the desired power factor in all voltage profiles.

Conclusion:
Reactive power compensation is necessary for improving the performance of an alternating
current system. We can regulate the power factor and reduce our electricity consumption by using
reactive power compensation.

Reference:
➢ Power system stability and control by Prabha kundur.