Voltage Collapse Risk Associated to Under-Voltage Capacitive Compensation in Electric Power System Operation

Problem statement: In the operation of an Electric Power System (EPS), it has been usual to provide reactive power injection to avoid an under-voltage bus condition. In some situations an adequate voltage profile will not be a guarantee against Voltage Collapses (VCs) that may cause blackouts as seen in many occurrences around the world. The repeatedly injection of reactive power can turn a bus into a characteristic too much capacitive. Under this condition and in the presence of a considerable percentage of the constant power load type, there will be a high risk of a VC. Any of the indices proposed in the literature as VC Proximity Indicators (VCPIs) may alert the operator about the risk. Approach: In order to elucidate the problem stated, simulations were performed using MatLab/SimPowerSystems. It was used a basic example system composed by an infinite-bus feeding, through a large impedance line, a bus load whose power could be increased in ramp manner. It is also included a shunt capacitive compensation at the load bus every time the voltage value reaches 0.9 pu. Therefore, the VC risk increase could be shown by means of graphic results and the indications of some VCPIs sensitivity indices (including the new proposed index). Results: The graphics obtained in this study is a contribution to illustrate the voltage collapse risk problem when dealing with adjustments of voltage profile to meet the system requirements. Also, a VCPI sensitivity indicator using apparent load power was tested. The results have shown that all VCPI responses are very similar for a given case and electric system. Conclusion/Recommendations: Any VCPI information can help in the decision stage between either more reactive power injection or load shedding. A routine can also be developed for a supervisory program in order to alert the operator about VC risks.