Using Series Capacitors for the Improvement and Evaluation of Transmission Line Utilization

The increase of power demand in recent years have developed a number of challenges for power system engineers for increasing the power transfer capability of the already installed transmission system without the expansion of the existing transmission network. This is where FACTS (Flexible ac Transmission System) devices are very useful because of its low initial cost as compared to setting up a completely new transmission network. The FACTS technology makes use of the already installed generating and transmission systems with minimum line losses and maximum use of the existing system. This paper analyzes the importance of Series Capacitance for the improvement of transmission line utilization. The circuit for a generic grid system was designed using Simulink software. The system was tested for different load configurations. Calculation for bus voltages, currents and other parameters were performed before and after series compensation using Matlab software. It was found out that the Power transfer capability (PTC) of the circuit improved after using FACTS devices.