CONVERTER-BASED FACTS CONTROLLERS

Laszlo Gyugyi, Ph.D., FIEE

Siemens-Westinghouse Power Corporation

Introduction theory and practice, and the creation of new concepts that
An ac power system is a complex network of synchronous allow full utilization of existing power generation and
generators, transmission lines and loads. The transmission transmission facilities without compromising system
lines can be represented as mostly reactive ladder availability and security.
networks composed of series inductors and shunt In the late 1980s, the Elecmc Power Research Institute in
capacitors. The total series inductance, which is the USA formulated the vision of the Flexible AC
proportional to the length of the line, determines primarily Transmission System (FACTS) in which various power-
the maximum transmittable power at a given voltage. The electronics based controllers regulate power flow and
shunt capacitance influences the voltage profile, and transmission voltage and, through rapid control action,
thereby the power transmission, along the line. mitigate dynamic disturbances. The main objectives of
The transmitted power over a given line is determined by FACTS are to increase the useable transmission capacity
the line impedance, the magnitude of, and phase angle of lines and control power flow over designated
between the end voltages, or in other words, the forcing transmission routes.
voltage acting across the transmission line. The implementation of the above objectives requires the
The basic operating requirements of an ac power system development of high power compensators and controllers.
are that the synchronous generators must remain in The technology needed for this is high power (multi-
synchronism and the voltages must be kept close to their hundred Mva) electronics with its real-time operating
rated values. The capability of a power system to meet control. There are two distinctly different approaches to
these requirements in the face of possible disturbances the realization of power electronics-based FACTS
(line faults, generator and line outages, load switchings, controllers (compensators), both resulting in a
etc.) is characterized by its transient, dynamic and voltage comprehensive group of controllers able to address
stability. The stability requirements usually determine the targeted transmission problems. The first group employs
maximum transmittable power at a stipulated system reactive impedances or a tap-changing transformer with
security level. thyristor switches as controlled-elements; the second
group uses self-commutated static converters as controlled
The power transmission capability of transmission lines
voltage sources.
can be increased by reactive compensation. Tlie voltage
profile along the line can be controlled by reactive shunt Thvristor Controlled FACTS Controllers
compensation, the series line inductance by series The first group of controllers, the static var compensator
capacitive compensation. The transmission angle can be (SVC), thyristor-controlled series capacitor (TCSC) and
varied by phase shifting. phase-shij?er, employ conventional thyristors (i.e., those
Traditionally, reactive compensation and phase angle having no intrinsic turn-offability) in circuit arran,oements
control have been applied by fixed or mechanically which are similar to breaker-switched capacitors and
switched circuit elements (capacitors, reactors, and tap- reactors and conventional (mechanical) tap-changing
changing transformers) to improve steady-state power transformers, but have much faster response and are
transmission. The recovery from dynamic disturbances operated by sophisticated controls. Each of these
was accomplished by generous stability margins at the controllers can act on one of the three parameters
price of relatively poor system utilization. determining power transmission, voltage (SVC),
transmission impedance (TCSC), and transmission angle
Since the 1970s, energy cost, environmental restrictions,
(phase-shifter), as illustrated in Figure 1.
right-of-way difficulties, together with other legislative,
social and cost problems, have delayed the construction of Except for the thyristor-controlled phase shifter, all of
both generation facilities and, in particular, new these have a common characteristic in that the necessary
transmission lines. In this time period, there have also reactive power required for the compensation is generated
been profound changes in the industrial structure, often or absorbed by traditional capacitor or reactor banks, and
with significant geographic shifts of highly populated the thyristor switches are used only for the control of the
areas. In the last few years, there has been a worldwide combined reactive impedance these banks present to the
movement of deregulation, which, in order to facilitate the ac the system. (Although the phase shifter does not need a
development of competitive electric energy markets, capacitor or reactor, but neither is able to supply or absorb
stipulates the “unbundling” the power generation from the reactive power it exchanges with the ac system.)
transmission and mandates open access to transmission Consequently, conventional thyristor-controlled
services. compensators present a variable reactive admittance to the
transmission network and therefore generally change the
These economic, social, and legislative developments
character of the system impedance (sub- and super-
have fueled the review of traditional power transmission

1/1
 1 Thyristor-ControlledPhase Shifter

Figure 1 Conventional thyristor-based FACTS controllers.

synchronous resonances). range defined by the maximum capacitive and inductive
From the standpoint of functional operation, the SVC and currents of the SVC. However, the maximum obtainable

-
TCSC act indirectly on the transmission network. For capacitive current decreases linearly (and the generated
example, the TCSC is inserted in series with the line for
the purpose of developing a compensating voltage to Transmission line
increase the voltage across the series impedance of the
given physical line that ultimately determines the line rl
current and power transmitted. Thus, the compensating &Coupling J,
voltage is inherently a function of the line current. transformer PT
Similarly, the SVC is applied as a shunt impedance to I
produce the required compensating current. Thus, the Tyristor Vrer
shunt com-pensation provided is a function of the valves Auxiliary
prevailing line voltage. This dependence on the line inputs
variables (voltage and current) is detrimental to the
compensation when large disturbances force the TCSC
I I

CaDacitor
' I
Reactor
setting
and SVC to operate outside of their normal control range. banks banks
The basic operating principles and characteristics of the
Figure 2 Static Var Compensator employing thyristor-
conventional thyristor-controlled FACTS controllers are
switched capacitors and thyristor-controlled reactors.
summarized below.
Static Var Compensator (SVC) Transient
rating
Thyristor-controlled static var compensators are the "T T
forerunners of today's FACTS controllers. Developed in
the early 1970s for arc furnace compensation, they were
later adapted for transmission applications. A typical
shunt-connected static var compensator, composed of
thyristor-switched capacitors (TSCs) and thyristor-con-
trolled reactors (TCRs), is shown in Figure 2. With
proper coordination of the capacitor switching and
reactor control, the var output can be varied continuously
between the capacitive and inductive ratings of the
equipment.
The compensator is normally operated to regulate the 0
voltage of the transmission system at a selected terminal. Capacitive Inductive
The V-I characteristic of the SVC, shown in Fi,we 3,
indicates that regulation with a given slope around the Figure 3 V-I characteristic of the Static Var
nominal voltage can be achieved in the normal operating Compensator

112
reactive power in quadrature) with the system voltage thyristor conduction period, and thereby the current in the
since the SVC becomes a fixed capacitor when the TCR. Minimum series compensation is reached when the
maximum capacitive output is reached. Therefore, the TCR is og. The TCR may be designed to have the
voltage support capability of the conventional thyristor- capability to limit the voltage across the capacitor during
controlled static var compensator rapidly deteriorates faults and other system contingencies of similar effect.
with decreasing system voltage. The two schemes may be combined by connecting a
In addition to voltage support, SVCs are also employed number of TCRs plus a fixed capacitor in series in order
for transient (first swing) and dynamic stability to achieve greater control range and flexibility.
(damping) improvements. The effectiveness of the SVC The normalized power P versus transmission angle S
for the increase the transient stability is related to its plots as a parametric function of the degree of series
ability to maintain the transmission voltage during the compensation, k=X& (where Xc is the effective
major accelerating swing of the transmission angle. It capacitive impedance the TCSC is set to provide; X is the
follows from the V-I characteristic of the SVC that this line reactance), are shown in Figure 5.
ability rapidly diminishes once the maximum capacitive
admittance Bc- is reached, at which point the SVC
functions only as an ordinary shunt capacitor.
The dynamic stability improvement (power oscillation
damping) can be obtained by alternating the output of the
SVC between appropriate capacitive and inductive values k = 0.4
so as to oppose the angular acceleration and deceleration
of the machines involved. The idea is to increase the k = 0.2
transmitted electrical power by increasing the transmis- k=-
sion line voltage (via capacitive vars) when the machines
accelerate and to decrease it by decreasing the voltage
(via inductive vars) when the machines decelerate. XI2 n 6
Thyristor-ControlledSeries Capacitor (TCSC) Figure 5 P versus 6 plots as a function of the degree of
The two basic schemes of thyristor-controlled series series compensation
capacitors, using thyristor-switched capacitors and a The variable series capacitive compensation, apart from
fixed capacitor in parallel with a thyristor-controlled steady-state control of power flow, can be effective in
reactor, are shown schematically in Figures 4a and 4b.
- - transient stability improvement, power oscillations
damping and balancing power flow in parallel lines.
Phase-Shifter
Tyristor valves
Although there is no high power, non-mechanical phase-
Parameter shifter in service, the principles for using a phase-shifting
Control setting transformer with a thyristor tap-changer are well
Control
inputs established. Just as most conventional phase-shifters
with a mechanical tap-changer, their thyristor-controlled
counterpart also normally provides quudrature voltage
injection.
A thyristor-controlled phase-shifting transformer
Parameter arrangement is shown in Figure 6. It consists of a shunt-
setting
Control -ar l V v’ Series transformer
inputs
Figure 4 Thyristor-Controlledseries compensator
schemes
t+eni I i, 1 Measured variables 7
Excitation
In the thyristor-switched capacitor scheme of Figure 4a, transformer
the degree of series compensation is controlled by
increasing or decreasing the number of capacitor banks in
series. To accomplish this, each capacitor bank is
inserted or bypassed by a thyristor valve (switch). To Reference
minimize switching transients and utilize “natural“ input
commutation, the operation of the thyristor valves is
coordinated with voltage and current zero crossings. ----o Parameter
setting
In the fixed-capacitor, thyristor-controlled reactor scheme
of Figure 4b, the degree of series compensation in the
capacitive operating region (the admittance of the TCR is Figure 6 Thyristor-controlled phase shifting transformer
kept below that of the parallel connected capacitor) is scheme for transmission angle control.
increased (or decreased) by increasing (or decreasing) the

1 I?
connected excitation transformer with appropriate taps, a The synchronous voltage source (SVS) considered here is
series insertion transformer and a thyristor switch analogous to an ideal, rotating synchronous machine
arrangement connecting a selected combination of tap which generates a balanced set of (three) sinusoidal
voltages to the secondary of the insertion transformer. voltages at the fundamental frequency, with controllable
The excitation transformer has three non-identical amplitude and phase angle. This ideal machine has no
secondary windings, in proportions of 1:3:9. It can inertia, its response is practically instantaneous, it does
produce a total of 27 steps using only 12 thyristor not significantly alter the existing system impedance, and
switches (of three different voltage ratings) per phase it can internally generate reactive (both capacitive and
with a switching arrangement that can bypass a winding inductive) power. Furthermore, it can exchange real
or reverse its polarity. power with the ac system if it is coupled to an appropriate
The thyristor-controlled phase-shifting transformer could energy source that can supply or absorb the power it
be applied to regulate the transmission angle to maintain supplies to, or absorbs from, the ac system.
balanced power flow in multiple transmission paths, or to A functional model of the switching-converter-based
control it so as to increase the transient and dynamic synchronous voltage source is shown schematically in
stability of the power system. Figure 7. Reference signals , Q and P,, define the am-
It is to be noted that the phase angle between the voltage w
plitude V and phase angle of the generated (sinusoidal)
injected by the phase-shifter (which is, by design, in output voltage and thereby the reactive and real power
quadrature with the line to neutral terminal voltage) and exchange between the voltage source and the ac system.
the line current is arbitrary, determined by the pertinent If the function of real power exchange is not required
parameters of the overall power system. This means that, (Prd = 0), the SVS becomes a self-sufficient reactive
in general, the phase-shifter must exchange, via the series power source, like an ideal synchronous compensator,
insertion transformer, both real and reactive power with and the external energy source or energy storage device
the ac system. Since the tap-changing transformer type can be eliminated.
phase-shifter cannor generate, or absorb, either real or Transmission line
reactive power, it follows that both the real and reactive
power this type of phase-shifter supplies to, or absorbs
from, the line when it injects quadrature voltage must be
absorbed from it, or supplied to it, by the ac system. As a
consequence, the Mva ratings of the excitation and
insertion transformer are substantially the same.
The fact that the tap-changing transformer type phase- Q ref
shifter cannot generate or absorb reactive power can be a
significant disadvantage in practical applications. If the Pref
reactive power, exchanged as a result of the quadrature
voltage injection, has to be transmitted through the line,
the corresponding voltage drop may be substantial. In
order to avoid large voltage drops across the line (and
their adverse effects on power transmission), the tap- (or storage)
changing type phase-shifter must be either complemented
with a controllable reactive shunt compensator to supply Figure 7 Switching converter-based synchronousvoltage
the necessary reactive power locally, or must be located source.
close to the power generator. This inherent operating The synchronous voltage source facilitates a forcing-
characteristic (together with the relatively high cost) is function approach to transmission line compensation and
probably the main reason why this type of phase-shifter power flow control. That is, the SVS can apply a defined
has not yet been developed for high power applications. voltage to force the desired line current (or a defined
Converter-Based FACTS Controllers current to force the desired terminal voltage). In contrast
to the controlled impedance approach, the applied
The FACTS controller group discussed in this section
employs self-commutated, volruge-sourced swirching compensation provided by an SVS remains largely
power converters to realize rapidly controllable, static, independent of the network variables (line current and
synchronous ac voltage or current sources. This voltage) and thus it can be maintained during major
approach, when compared to conventional compensation system disturbances (e.g., large voltage depressions,
methods employing thyristor-switched capacitors and current and angle swings).
thyristor-controlled reactors, generally provides superior The SVS is an alternating voltage source (with a
performance characteristics and uniform applicability for substantially sinusoidal output) which, with fixed control
transmission voltage, effective line impedance, and angle inputs, would operate only at the fundamental frequency.
control. It also offers the unique potential to exchange Its output impedance at other frequencies would
real power directly with the ac system, providing a theoretically be zero. (In practice, it has a small
powerful new option for flow control and the inductive impedance provided by the leakage inductance
counteraction of dynamic disturbances. of the coupling transformer.) Consequently, the SVS, in
contrast to impedance type compensators, is unable to

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form a classical shunt or series resonant circuit with the thereby can facilitate a comprehensive overall real and
ac transmission network. reactive power management for a multi-line transmission
The SVS also has the inherent capability of executing a system. The basic operating principles and
bi-directional real (active) power flow between its ac and characteristics of these converter-based FACTS
dc terminals. Thus, it becomes possible to couple the dc controllers, STATCOM, SSSC, UPFC, and IPFC are
terminals of two or more SVSs and thereby establish summarized below.
paths for real power transfer between selected buses Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM)
and/or lines of the transmission network. With the If the SVS is used strictly for reacrive shunt
appropriate combinations of SVSs unique FACTS compensation, like a conventional static var compensator,
controller arrangements able to control independently the dc energy source in Figure 7 can be replaced by a
real and reactive power flow in individual lines, and relatively small dc capacitor. In this case, the steady-
balance real and reactive flows among lines, can be state power exchange between the SVS and the ac system
devised. can only be reactive.
The group of FACTS Controllers employing switching When the SVS is used for reactive power generation, the
converter-based synchronous voltage sources, the STATic converter itself can keep the capacitor charged to the
synchronous COMpensator (STATCOM), the Static required voltage level. This is accomplished by malung
Synchronous Series Compensator (SSSC), the UnifSed the output voltages of the converter lag the system
Power Flow Controller (UPFC) and, the latest addition voltages by a small angle. In this way the converter
to the group, the Interline Power Flow Controller (IPFC) absorbs a small amount of real power from the ac system
are shown with their functional control objective in to replenish its internal losses and keep the capacitor
Figure 8. voltage at the desired level. The same control mechanism

Unified Power Flow Controller (UPFC)

Figure 8 Family of switching converter-based FACTS controllers.

The STATCOM like its conventional counterpart, the can be used to increase or decrease the capacitor voltage,
SVC, controls transmission voltage by reactive shunt and thereby the amplitude of the output voltage of the
compensation. The SSSC provides series compensation converter, for the purpose of controlling the var genera-
by directly controlling the voltage across the series tion or absorption. The dc capacitor also has a function
impedance of the transmission line thereby controlling of establishing an energy balance between the input and
the effective transmission impedance. The UPFC can output during the dynamic changes of the var output.
control, individually or in combination, all three effective The SVS, operated as a reactive shunt compensator,
transmission parameters (voltage, impedance, and angle) exhibits operating and performance characteristicssimilar
or directly, the real and reactive power flow in the line. to those of an ideal rotating synchronous compensator
The IPFC is able to transfer real power between lines, in and for this reason this arrangement is called Static
addition to providing reactive series compensation, and Synchronous Compensator.

1/ 5
The V-I characteristic of the STATCOM is shown in (lagging) relationship to the line current and whose
Figure 9. As illustrated, the STATCOM can provide amplitude is made proportional to that of the line
both capacitive and inductive compensation and is able to current, is injected in series with the line, a series
control its output current over the rated maximum compensation equivalent to that provided by a series
capacitive or inductive range independently of the ac capacitor at the fundamental frequency is obtained.
system voltage. That is, the STATCOM can provide full However, in contrast to the real series capacitor, the SVS
capacitive output current at any system voltage, is also able to maintain a constant compensating voltage
practically down to zero. (This is in contrast to the SVC in face of variable line current, or control the amplitude

rz?-$+v
which can supply only diminishing output current with of the injected compensating voltage independent of the
decreasing system voltage as determined by its maximum amplitude of the line current.
equivalent capacitive admittance.)
Transient
&-e,
rating
“T 1‘ I ’
Transient
x-xc
v, = v, = v

Figure 10 Line compensation by series capacitor.

For normaI capacitive compensation, the output voltage
lags the line current by 90 degrees. However, the output
voltage of the SVS can be reversed by simple contlol
action to make it lead the line current by 90 degrees. In
‘hax this case, the injected voltage decreases the voltage
Capacitive Inductive across the inductive line impedance and thus the series
Figure 9 V-I characteristicof the STATCOM. compensation has the same effect as if the reactive line
As Figure 9 illustrates, the STATCOM may have an impedance was increased. The series reactive
increased transient rating in both the inductive and compensation scheme employing an SVS, as illustrated in
capacitive operating regions. (The conventional SVC has Figure 11, is termed the Static Synchronous Series
no means to increase transiently the var generation since Compensator (SSSC).
the maximum capacitive current it can draw is strictly v. P .I

determined by the size of the capacitor and the magnitude

of the system voltage.) The available transient rating of
the STATCOM is dependent on the characteristics of the
power semiconductors used and the junction temperature
at which the devices are operated
The ability of the STATCOM to produce full capacitive
output current at low system voltage also makes it more Figure 11 A synchronous voltage source operated as a
effective than the SVC in improving the transient (first Static Syn+ronous Series Compensator.
swing) stability. This is because the STATCOM is able
The normalized power P versus angle 6 plots as a
to maintain full compensating current at depressed line
parametric function of the injected voltage Vq are shown
voltage occurring during the first swing as a result of
in Figure 12. Comparison of these plots to those shown
sharply increasing electric power transmission. The
in
inherent capability of the STATCOM to generate as well
as to absorb reactive power makes it eminently suitable v*. v 6
P =-sinS+-Vqcos-
for power oscillation damping. 1.5 X X 2

Static Synchronous Series Compensator (SSSC) J -

I
I
The concept of using the solid-state synchronous voltage 1.o

source instead of a capacitor for series reactive

compensation is based on the fact that the impedance
OS
versus frequency characteristic of the conventionally
employed series capacitor, in contrast to filter

1
applications, plays no part in accomplishing the desired 0 6
line compensation. The function of the series capacitor /- /
is, as illustrated in Figure 10, to produce an appropriate
voltage at the fundamental ac system frequency to
-o.5 , //
Note: At and in the vicinity of zero l i e current the SSSC
requires an extema power source. forthe supply of its
losses. to maintain operation.
increase the voltage across the inductive line impedance
and, thereby, the fundamental line current and the
Figure 12 Transmitted power P vs. transmission angle 6
transmitted power. Therefore, if an ac voltage source of
as a function of the series compensating voltage Vq.
fundamental frequency, which is locked with a quadrature
 Figure 5 for the series capacitive impedance the shunt-connected converter provides the real power
compensation clearly shows that the series capacitor (from the sending-end bus) the series-connected
increases the transmitted power by a fixed percentage of converter exchanges with the line. The self-sufficient
that transmitted by the uncompensated line at a given 6 power flow controller arrangement for unrestricted series
and, by contrast, the SSSC increases it by a fixedfraction voltage injection, conceptualized in Fi,wes 13 and 14 is,
of the maximum power transmittable by the . is called the Unified Power Flow Controller.
uncompensated line, independent of 6, in the important Tranwnssionhne

operating range of 0161d2. From the standpoint of

Cwener 1 Werler 2
practical applications, steady-state flow control or

L
I
stability improvements, the SSSC clearly has
considerably wider control range then the controlled
series capacitor of the same MVA rating.
Unified Power Flow Controller (UPFC)
It has been shown in the previous section that, from the
conventional viewpoint of reactive compensation, the
SSSC can be considered as a FACTS controller acting,
like a controlled series capacitor, on the effective
transmission impedance. An equally valid viewpoint is Figure 14 Implementation of the UPFC by two back-to-
that the SSSC does not alter the transmission impedance back voltage-sourced converters.
but changes the effective sending-end (or receiving-end) From the conventional viewpoint of power transmission,
volrage. This duality of viewpoints can be extended to the UPFC can provide multiple power flow control
the Unified Power Flow Controller that theoretically can functions by adding the injected voltage phasor Vpq,with
be considered as a generalized SSSC operated without appropriate magnitude, Vpq,and phase angle, p, to the
the constraints of the quadrature relationship stipulated sending-end voltage phasor V,. As illustrated in Figure
for the injected voltage with respect to the line current.
15, by the appropriate choice (control) of phasor VPc the
Consider a generalized series compensation scheme three customary power flow control functions, terminal
shown in Figure 13. Assume that the voltage, Vpq, voltage regulation, series reactive compensation, phase-
injected by the SVS in series with the line can be shift, and combinations thereof, can be accomplished.
controlled wirhour restrictions. That is, the phase angle
of phasor V,,, can be chosen independently of the line
current between 0 and 2x, and its magnitude is variable
between zero and a defined maximum value, VPq-, This
implies that voltage source Vw generally exchanges both
real and reactive power with the transmission line. As

(d) S i ~ U l t a n W u SCOnUOl O t valtags. impedance and angle

Figure 15 Functional capabilities of the UPFC.

Applying the forcing function viewpoint of flow control,
the functional capabilities of the UPFC can be put into a
P =w
X
sing, (P =- V2
x -
sin6. if vpq=o) V different, and from the standpoint of practical
Figure 13 Basic concept of the Unified power Flow applications, more meanin,$ul perspective. That is, the
Controller. inherent two-dimensional control capability (manifested
stated, a converter-based synchronous voltage source can by the independent magnitude and angle control of the
injected compensating voltage), implies that the UPFC is
internally generate or absorb the reactive power, but the
able to control directly borh the real and reactive power
real power it exchanges with the line must be supplied to,
or absorbed from its dc terminals. The available source flow in the line. From this viewpoint, the conventional
terms of series compensation and phase shifting become
of power, by definition, is the sending-end generator.
irrelevant: the UPFC simply controls the magnitude and
Thus, it is reasonable to stipulate that the real power the
phase angle of the injected voltage so as’ to force the
SVS exchanges with the uansmission line to accomplish
the desired flow of power must be provided by the magnitude and angle of the line c’urrent, with respect to a
sending-end generator. This stipulation is indicated selected voltage (e.g., the receiving-end), to such values
which establish the desired real and reactive power flow
symbolically in Figure 13 by showing a bidirectional
in the transmission line.
coupling of real power flow between the sending-end
generator and the SVS. A possible practical The real and reactive control capability of the UPFC can
implementation of this coupling is a back-to-back be conveniently illustrated in the (Q,P}plane where the
converter arrangement, as shown in Figure 14, in which normalized reactive power Q (P.u.) is plotted against the

117
normalized real power P (P.u.) of the simple two-machine An elementary Interline Power Now Controller
model shown in Figure 16. The Q=f(P) function for the consisting of two converter-based SSSCs, connected
back-to-back for real power transfer, is shown in Figure
17. Each SSSC is coupled to a different transmission line

I 1

1- -

w
.,, ---
Figure I6 Qr vs. P control region for a UPFC controlled
transmission line. sssc 1 sssc 2
uncompensated system describes a circular arc drawn
with a radius of 1.0 around the center defined by
coordinates Po=O, e,=-1.0, shown by dashed-line in the
figure. Each point defined by its P and Q coordinates on Figure 17 Elementary Interline Power Flow Controller
this arc corresponds to a particular transmission angle 6; consisting of two SSSCs operated with a common dc
e.g., coordinates P=O, Q=O corresponds to &O; P=l.O, link.
Q=-1.0 corresponds to &90', etc., which identifies the via its own series insertion transformer and is able to
starting compensation point of the UPFC. Assume that, provide independent series reactive compensation to its
as illustrated, the prevailing transmission angle, 6, is 30". own line,
Then, the full (360') rotation of the compensating The converter of each SSSC produces a controllable ac
voltage phasor Vp4, with its maximum magnitude output voltage at the fundamental frequency, which is
Vpq(=0.5PA.), will describe a circle in the {Q,P/ plane synchronized to the voltage of the transmission line
with a radius of 0.5 around its center defined by which that converter controls. The phase angle and
coordinates P3& = 0.5 and Q3& = 0.134, which magnitude of the two output voltages are controlled with
characterize the uncompensated system at 6=30". The respect to a selected bus (e.g., sending-end) voltage and
area within this circle defines all P and Q values the current of their own line. The injected voltages will
obtainable by controlling the magnitude and angle of generally have one component that is in quadrature and
compensating voltage phasor Vpq. In other words, this another that is in phase with the relevant line current.
circle in the {Q,P/ plane defines all P and Q transmission The quadrature components provide series reactive
values attainable with the given rating of the UPFC for compensation for the lines and the in-phase components
the power system considered. With changing define the real power absorbed from one line and
transmission angle, the control area with the same generated for the other. Since each converter is self-
circular boundary would simply move up or down along sufficient in generating or absorbing reactive power, the
the arc characterizing the uncompensated system. two quadrature voltage components can be independently
The independent P and Q control capability of the UPFC controlled (within the converter rating) according to the
can be very effectively applied to counteract dynamic reactive compensation requirements of the corresponding
system disturbances and balance both real and reactive lines. However, since the real power exchanged by a
power flow in parallel lines. converter at its ac terminals has to be supplied to, or
absorbed from its dc terminals, the in-phase output
Interline Power Flow Controller (IPFC)
voltage component of each of the two converters must be
The Interline Power Flow Controller represents a novel controlled so as to ensure a net zero real power balance at
concept with the objective of providing a flexible power their common dc terminals. In other words, the real
flow control scheme for a multi-line power system, in power compensation demand of one line must be fully
which two (or more) lines employ an S S S C for series supplied (or absorbed) by the other line.
compensation. The IPFC scheme provides, together with
the independent controllable reactive compensation of The operation of the IPFC is illustrated in Figure 18 in
connection with an elementary two line system. For this
each line, a capability to transfer real power between the
discussion assume that Line 1 is the prime line which is
compensated lines. This capability makes it possible to
to be optimized for power transmission by means of
equalize both real and reactive power flow between the
independently controllable real and reactive power flow.
lines, to transfer power demand from overloaded to
Line 2 is assumed to have capacity to provide the real
underloaded lines, to compensate against resistive line
power needed for the optimization of the power flow in
voltage drops and the corresponding reactive line power,
Line 1. (For clarity of the illustration, it is assumed that
and to increase the effectiveness of the compensating
Line 1 and Line 2 are identical, although in practice they
system for dynamic disturbances (transient stability and
would usually be different.)
power oscillation damping). In general, the IPLC
provides a highly effective scheme for power Figure 18a shows the single line Power System 1, with
transmission management at a multi-line substation. sending-end bus providing power for Line 1 (represented

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 determine the injected voltage phasor of Converter 2.
The operation of the IPFC can be characterized by two,
two-dimensional P-Q plots (similar to that shown
previously for the UPFC), showing the achievable control
range for the reactive and real power in the two lines, as
illustrated in Figure 18b. For the illustration the rating of
both converters were assumed to be 0.25 p.u. Mva, the
sending-end and receiving-end voltages 1.O P.u., both line
impedances 0.5 P.u., both transmission angles 30°,so that
both systems transmit 1.0 p.u power without
compensation.
For the primarily controlled Line 1, the P-Q plot, from
the viewpoint of series compensation, is identical to that
characterizes the UPFC. However, independent control
Figure 18 Phasor and Qr vs. P diagrams illustrating the of reactive power flow in Line 2 is not possible due to the
operation of the elementary IPFC shown in Figure 17. constraint imposed on the injected voltage by the real
by line inductance X,),the receiving-end bus, and the power demand of the primarily controlled Line 1. The
controllable ac voltage source representing the output of straight, reactive compensation control lines in the
Converterl of the IPFC. In order to achieve the desired control region of Line 2 represent the possible control
power flow in the primary Line 1, Converterl in the IPFC range for real power P2, at ajiixed P12 supplied for (or
configuration injects an appropriate compensating absorbed from) Line 1. It can be seen that, with
voltage V,,, to change the magnitude and angle of the reasonable limit on the real power Plz, the range of real
line current ZI so as to force the flow of the desired real power control corresponding to the series reactive
power P1 and reactive power Q,. It is seen from this compensation of Line 2 is not significantly affected by
phasor diagram that, from the standpoint of the primarily the real power exchanged with Line 1. Therefore, the
controlled Line 1, the IPFC provides a two-dimensional real power flow in Line 2 is fully controllable practically
compensation capability for the independent control of the same way as if Converter 2 was used separately for
real line power PI and reactive line power Ql, similar to series reactive compensation (i.e., operated as an SSSC).
that obtainable with the UPFC. The plots in Figure 18b clearly show the addedflexibility
The two-dimensional voltage injection in series with Line the IPFC configuration provides for series compensation:
1 generally results in the exchange of reactive power Qlpq it is able to equalize not only the real power flow in a
and of real power PIP,between Line 1 and Converter 1 of two- or multi-line transmission system, but also can
the IPFC. The reactive power Qlpq exchanged is equalize or control the reactive power flow in the lines.
provided by Converter 1 itself, however, the real power The IPFC provides an excellent tool to solve
PI,, appears as a real power demand at its dc terminals. economically power flow problems in a multi-line
To satisfy this power demand, the IPFC control makes transmission system in which the actual power flows are
Converter 2 supply real power P2p9 = - PlPq = fk) P I Z not proportional to the capacities of the corresponding
from Line 2 to Line 1. In other words, Converter 2 is lines or to the desired power transmissions in the
controlled to regulate the common dc bus of the IPFC. individual lines, or in which the desired real power
This constraint of c o m e means that the real power transmission in some lines is hindered by relatively high
exchange for Line 2 is pre-defined and therefore only its reactive power flow.
series reactive compensation can be freely varied to It is evident from the above discussion that the IPFC
control the power flow in this line, in a manner done by concept, characterized so far for two lines, can be
controllable series reactive compensators such as the extended to multiple (n) lines as illustrated in Figure 19.
SSSC and TCSC. The underlying idea of this generalized IPFC approach is
The operation of Converter 2 is illustrated by the phasor that the strong or under-loaded lines are forced to help
diagram characterizing the simple, single-line power the weaker or over-loaded lines in order to optimize the
system of Line 2 in Figure 18a. The injected voltage of utilization of the whole transmission system. The
Converter 2 is controlled with respect to the prevailing operation of a multi-line IPFC requires that the sum of
current in Line 2 to meet the real power demand of Line 1 the real power exchanged by the total number of
and to provide the desired reactive series compensation converters must be zero. This arrangement would
for Line 2. Accordingly, a voltage phasor component V R , provide a UPFC-type two-dimensional compensation for
in-phase (or anti-phase) with the line current phasor 12, is 'some lines and an SSSC-type reactive compensation for
injected with a magnitude to satisfy the real power the others.
demand of Line 1. Independent of voltage phasor The constraint for keeping the sum of the real power
component VR, another freely controllable voltage phasor exchanged with the n-lines zero can be circumvented by
component V, is injected in-quadrature with Zz to adding a shunt-connected converter the multi-converter
provide series reactive compensation. The sum of the IPFC as illustrated in Figure 20. This arrangement is
injected in-phase and quadrature phasor components particularly attractive in those cases in which the

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 controls from the level of each individual FACTS
controller ultimately to the top level central control that
strategically coordinates the operation of the overall
network. This hierarchical control could be envisioned in
several ways. One extreme would be to mandate that the
top level central controller direct the operation of each
FACTS controller in real time. The opposite extreme
would be to operate the FACTS controllers
sssc 1 independently from local system data and providing
coordination from local system operators in the form of
steady-state reference signals (i.e., the method utilities
presently use). The first extreme would clearly raise
serious questions regarding the security of the total
Figure 19 Multi-line IPFC consisting of n SSSCs with a
system since errors in the data collection and processing,
common dc link.
malfunctions in the central control or in the
real power compensation requirement of the "weak" lines communication system, could result in major and
exceeds the real power that can be absorb from the potentially system wide outages. The second extreme
"strong" lines without appreciably impacting their own would not completely utilize the inherent flexibility of the
power transmission or when shunt reactive compensation FACTS-based power system for full economic or security
at the substation is required anyway for voltage support. benefits. A reasonable solution may be similar to that
used in organizational managerial structures in which the
Uno 1 overall strategic decisions are made at the top level, the
um 2 tactical decisions at mid-level and the implementation
details are executed at local levels. In this scenario one
could visualize that the central control would determine
the main transmission paths for the overall system
according to demand and economic objectives, taking
into account equipment availability and other
SSSCl SSC2 ... SSSCn constraining factors, and would coordinate the operation
+ - + - + -
of neighboring transmission areas. The area controls
wauld optimize the defined power flow through their
I 1 I
system by setting, via appropriate communication links,
Figure 20 Generalized IPFC consisting of n SSSCs and a their FACTS controllers into the desired operating mode
STATCOM for transmission system power flow and by providing reference signals for them for the
management. selected system variables controlled. The area control
Considerations for Overall FACTS Control would supervise the operation of the area transmission
system by collecting system status data as well as critical
Until now, the utility practice has been to install a operating and availability information from each FACTS
dedicated FACTS controller and operate it with controller. Under area contingency or system flow
substantially steady-state reference signals controlling change demand, the area control would reoptimize its
local system variables (voltage, current, impedance etc.). system operation by appropriately changing the
In other words, the FACTS controller receives no other functional operating mode of the FACTS controllers and
indication of system problems and contingencies than the
their reference inputs. In the case of an area disturbance,
change in local variables. Its response is to try to correct the area control would dynamically change the reference
immediately regardless -whether or not this correction inputs to the appropriate FACTS controllers in order to
appropriate for the new (e.g., post fault) system achieve a coordinated counter action to reestablish
condition.
rapidly rotational and voltage stability. Within this
Beyond the interaction prompted coordination, the scheme, the individual FACTS controller would operate
anticipated deployment of FACTS controllers, self-sufficiently from locally measured system variables
particularly the converter (SVS) types with multiple and, in the operating mode defined, its output would be
functional capability, provides a new basis for controlled by the reference input the area control system
reconceptualizing the control of the bulk power provides. In the case of an area control outage or
transmission system as a dynamic entity. Within this malfunction, the local FACTS controllers would
entity, FACTS controllers establish optimal power flow automatically fall back to independent operation
patterns for economic benefits consistent with network determined by the prevailing system steady-state
security requirements under prevailing system conditions references. Under all conditions, the individual FACTS
and handle dynamic disturbances by concerted control controllers would accept overriding instruction from
action. authorized operating personnel.
From the technical standpoint the most plausible system The establishment of a viable hierarchical system control
control structure to manage the transmission =grid as a for a large transmission grid will be a gigantic
dynamic entity is hierarchical, built up with layers of

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undertaking. It will require fundamental changes in [7] Urbanek, R., et al., Thyristor-Controlled Series
control strategies, development of new system security Compensation - Prototype Installation at the Slatt 500 kV
procedures and wide-area measurement capabilities Substation,” IEEE Transactions on Power delivery, Vol.
together with highly reliable communication links and 8, No.3, 1993.
protocol. It will also require the development of [SI Gyugyi, L., “Dynamic Compensation of AC
analytical (software) tools to process real time Transmission Lines by Solid-state Synchronous Voltage
information for system security, voltage and rotational Sources,” IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, Vol. 9,
stability assessments. No. 2, April 1994.
References [9] Schauder, C.D., et al., “Development of a +lo0
[I] Miller, T.J., Editor., “Reactive Power Control In MVAR Static Condenser for Voltage Control of
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“Electric Energy Conversion in Power Systems,” Invited 1997.
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0 1998 The Institution of Electrical Engineers.
Printed and published by the IEE, Savoy Place, London WC2R OBL, UK.

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