Reactive Power Optimization in AC Power Systems

Abstract

Reactive Power is one of the most important features in power networks so that its appropriate production and distribution among consumers can affect performance, efficiency, and reliability of the power networks positively. Creating competitive mechanism via establishing a market to present different services and changing the current rules necessitate that in the new condition programming and controlling of reactive power as well as the voltage to be considered more accurately. The purpose of reactive power optimization in AC power systems is to recognize the best value for control variables in order to optimize the target function considering the possible constraints. With current developments of power grids, it has been growing in popularity among researchers to probe into how to use existent reactive power compensators in order to reduce active power losses and improve voltage profile. The reactive power optimization is a complicated problem with a broad solution space, nonlinear and non-convex, in which there both continuous are and discrete variables. In general, reactive power optimization problem entails two separate branches as optimal placement of reactive power compensators and optimal operation of existent reactive power compensators. Optimal placement of reactive power compensators problem tries to determine three parameters as the type of the compensator, the rate of the output power and installation location. However, optimal operation of existing reactive power compensators is about determining optimal reactive power output for the compensators that have already been installed.