Secondary voltage regulation based on average voltage control

Abstract

This paper compares a conventional Secondary Voltage Regulation (SVR) scheme based on pilot nodes with a proposed SVR that takes into account average voltages of control zones. Voltage control significance for the operation of power systems has promoted several strategies in order to deal with this problem. However, the Hierarchical Voltage Control System (HVCS) is the only scheme effectively implemented with some relevant applications into real power systems.The HVCS divides the voltage control problem into three recognized stages. Among them, the SVR is responsible for managing reactive power resources to improve network voltage profile. Conventional SVR is based on dividing the system into some electrically distant zones and controlling the voltage levels of some specific nodes in the system named pilot nodes, whose voltage levels are accepted as appropriate indicators of network voltage profile.The SVR approach proposed in this work does not only consider the voltage on pilot nodes, but it also takes the average voltages of the defined zones to carry out their respective control actions. Additionally, this innovative approach allows to integrate more reactive power resources into each zone according to some previously defined participation factors.The comparison between these strategies shows that the proposed SVR achieves a better allocation of reactive power in the system than conventional SVR, and it is able to keep the desired voltage profile, which has been expressed in terms of network average voltage.