A heuristic technique to determine corrective control actions for reactive power flows

Abstract

This paper presents a sensitivity-based heuristic tool designed to help the system operator in the reactive power flow control problem. The objective of the proposed technique is to determine control actions to ensure that reactive power flows in transmission–subtransmission boundary transformers remain within specified limits, satisfying the new regulatory constraints imposed in most of deregulated markets. With this new constraint the utilities want to guarantee that the utility is able to satisfy its own reactive power requirements, avoiding reactive power flows through long distances in order to reduce the well known disadvantages that reactive power circulation has in the system. A 5-bus tutorial system is used to present the proposed algorithm. The results of the application of the proposed technique to the IEEE 118 buses system and to a regional subtransmission network of the South of Spain are reported and analyzed. In this last actual case, the aim is to maintain reactive power flows in transmission/distribution transformers between those limits set by the Spanish Regulation. A comparison between the proposed tool and a conventional OPF is discussed.