Mitigations of voltage instability in power systems

Abstract

This paper reports on various solutions proffered to mitigate voltage stability problems in power systems. Many papers in power engineering literature have presented many contributions in these area, recent papers presented the use of shunt and series capacitors for compensation of reactive power in power networks. The use of flexible alternating current transmission systems (FACTS) have also been presented, furthermore, another paper reported on the contribution of High voltage direct current (HVDC) for the solution of this problem. Also, the use of voltage source converter (VSC) and HVDC to mitigate this problem have equally been reported and finally the use of embedded generation (EG) for the correction of voltage stability problem, have been advanced in many papers. Studies have shown that for a successful implementation of any solution, the commercial viability of each solution must be assessed along with the technical advantage, in relation to the enhancement of power stability, quality and reliability. Investigation shows that whilst HVDC base solutions offers best technical advantage, their cost of implementation is a source of concern. Therefore, further research should be initiated with a view of finding the best solution that will meet market demand at a competitive price too.