PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF FACTS IN POWER SYSTEM

INTRODUCTION

The power system, to some extent, is self-regulating. If generation is less than load, the voltage
and frequency drop and thereby the load goes down to balance the generation. However there
is only a few percent margin for such a self-regulating. If voltage is propped up with reactive
power support, the load will go up and frequency will keep drooping and system will collapse
(loss of synchronism). Alternatively, if there is inadequate reactive power, the system can have
voltage collapse. FACTS technology opens the new opportunities to overcome the various
hindrance of power system such as collapse and loss of synchronism and to control power flow
and enhancing the usual capacity of transmission lines. FACTS controllers can control the
interrelated parameters such as series line impedance shunt impedance, current, voltage,
phase-angle that govern the operation of power systems. The importance of FACTS controllers
has further increased since the restructuring of power system.

Power electronic devices, which are used to control of flows and other quantities in power
system, are called Flexible AC transmission Systems. The thyristor or high power transistor is
the basic element for a variety of highpower electronic controllers. Improved semiconductor
technology is leading to continuing decrease of cost of FACTS controllers and large scale use of
FACTS technology is an assured scenario. If the transmission line possesses adjustable series
capacitor, power flow levels may be realized according to the ownership, contact, thermal
limitations, transmission losses and a wide range of load and generation schedule.

APPLICATIONS

Deregulation in power industry is opening the market for the delivery of cheaper energy to the
customers at competitive price. Several emerging issues in competitive market such as
frequency control, reactive power and voltage stability, supply of contractual power, additional
purchases of ancillary services from the power pants and transmission companies under
deregulation environment are very well handled by FACTS. Other opportunities offered by
FACTs are control of power so that it flows on the prescribed transmission routes, secure
loading of transmission lines to levels nearer to their thermal limits, greater ability to transfer
between controlled areas, prevention of cascade outages, continuous control of lagging
component of circuit current, maintaining constant voltage at the load end thereby improving
the voltage regulation, reducing I2R power loss in the system, reducing I2X kvar loss, controlling
power factor of source thereby decreasing KVA loading of the source thus allowing additional
kW loading on the line, increasing the stability margin. HVDC transmission is more cost effective
than longer distance HVAC transmission system. FACTS are the basis of HVDC transmission
system. Some of the basic applications are described below.

a. Enhancement of Power System Security By Facts Devices

Stressed power system, either due to increased loading or due to sever contingencies often
leads to situation where system no longer remains in the secure operating region. Since
insecure cases often represent the most sever threat to secure system operation, it is important
that the FACTS devices should enhance the system security along with the other control
devices. A suitable approach can be used based on the sensitivity analysis of FACTS device
control parameters with respect to reduction in real power flow performance index to enhance
the security of the power system.

b. Enhancement of Transmission Capacity With Facts Devices

Series compensation of line is done to enhance power transfer capability of transmission line.
The series capacitor, which has the reactance opposite to in sign to that of the line reactance, is
connected to compensate the inductive reactance of the line. This reduces the transfer
reactance between the buses to which the line is connected, hence, increases the maximum
power that can be transmitted. Series compensation in a transmission line can be used to
improve the performance of the transmission system in respect of voltage regulation, stability,
power-factor, linelosses, transmission capacity and load sharing between parallel lines. The
various problems associated with the series compensation of the line are complex protective
devices, hunting, ferro-resonance and self-excitation. Transmission capability of a line is limited
by conductor’s thermal limit, dielectric level and stability limit. Various stability issues are
transient stability, dynamic stability, steady state stability, frequency collapse, voltage collapse
and subsynchronous resonance. The utilities need to determine their ATC (available transfer
capability) so as to provide this information to its customers. The ATC is defined as

ATC = TTC –TRM –ETC -CBM

The cost benefit margin (CBM) is the amount of the transmission transfer capability reserved by
load serving entities to ensure access to generation from interconnected systems.

c. Damping of SSR Using Facts Devices

Subsynchronous resonance is electric power system condition where the electric network
exchanges energy with turbine generator at one or more of natural frequencies of the
combined system below the synchrounous frequency of the system following a disturbance
from the equilibrium. It has two effects (a). Induction generator effect: Flux component
produced to line current at subsynchronous frequency runs slower than the rotor thereby
produces a negative slip component. Therefore generator acts as the induction generator
causing the self excitation. (b). torsional interaction effect: The frequency of the rotor current
(f2 = sfn = f0– fn) coincides with or is close to a rotational modal frequency of the shaft system
then a resonance called subsynchronous resonance take place causing enhanced
subsynchronous electrical torque and growing oscillation. Continuous controlled series
compensation with IMDU and SVS auxiliary controller scheme has been demonstrated to damp
torsional oscillations and enhancing system damping.

d. Optimal Power Dispatch with Facts Devices

Transmission dispatch, under deregulation, shall be bilateral transaction or pool transaction.

The transactions should occur at minimum cost without violating system security.

Thus the function shown below should be minimized.

G D
F = ∑ Ci−∑ Bj ,
i=1 j=1

Where Ci is bid price of pool generator ‘i’, G is the total number generators participating in
pool. Bi is bid price of pool load for load ‘j’, D is the set of pool load buses.

e. Congestion Management with Facts Devices

Limitations of power network to met all bidirectional and multilateral and the pool demand at
optimum cost is referred as congestion. Congestion may cause uncontrolled cascade outages.
Congestion may be relieved by:

• Outage of congested line

• Operation of Transformer Taps

• Operation f FACTS devices

• Re dispatch of generation

• Curtailments of pool loads or bilateral contracts. To accommodate the interest of both pool
and bilateral participants during congestion extra charges are levying to reduce the congestion
as per the willingness to pay of the participants [20]. FACTS devices could be used to control the
flow in lines by changing their parameter so they can be applied to relieve congestion in the
regulated market.
f. Minimization of Production Cost With Facts Device

To minimize the production cost along with the FACTS devices the optimum dispatch function
‘F’ defined above is modified by including the cost of FACTS device as shown below.

g. Impacts of Facts Devices On Transmission Pricing

Purpose of transmission is to recover the cost of transmission and its investment. The effects of
FACTS devices on transmission charges vary according to the pricing methodology. The FACTS
devices have ability to reduce the overall operating cost. FACTS devices such as UPFC, TCSC, and
phase shifter are more helpful to influence the control of power flow in place of rescheduling
the power output of utility generating units.

FACTS controllers can be classified in three categories namely shunt compensation such as SVC,
TCR, TCS, TRS, STATCOM, TCBR – Series compensation such as TCSC, TSSC, TCSR, SSSC, TCPST
and the combination of two such as UPFC, TCVL, TCVR and IPFC.

Application of various FACTS devices in the different fields of power system are presented in
table

Benefits of FACTS devices

i) Technical benefits
FACTS devices have many technical benefits in the power transmission
system. Employing FACTS devices in the existing system does not
necessarily require update of current system. FACTS controllers have
good utilization of existing system devices.
ii) Reliability and availability
Utilization of FACTS in the power system makes it more reliable and
secure in cases of power line failure or overload.
iii) Transient and dynamic stability
FACTS devices overcome transient and dynamic system instabilities by
controlling system parameter; current and/or voltage, impedance and
power flow.
iv) Cost
Compared to conventional power system solution FACTS devices are
more expensive. But in the long run they are more economically feasible.
FACTS can be incorporated in the tripped system without renewing the
overall system itself.
v) Environmental
FACTS devices are environmentally friendly. They lessen the number of
transmission routes in populated areas. More, they do not contain any
hazardous material and produce waste pollutants.