Distribution system voltage regulation and var compensation for different static load models

N. Mithulananthan, M. M. A. Salama, C. A. Canizares and J. Reeve Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada E-mail: m.salama@ece.uwaterloo.ca
Abstract Voltage regulation computations for distribution systems are strongly dependent on power flow solutions. The classical constant power load model is typically used in power flow studies of transmission or distribution systems; however, the actual load of a distribution system cannot just be modeled using constant power models, requiring the use of constant current, constant impedance, exponential or a mixture of all these load models to accurately represent the load. This paper presents a study of voltage regulation of a distribution system using different static load models. The effect of shunt capacitor compensation is also studied and illustrated in this paper for systems with different static load models. Keywords distribution systems; power flow; static load models; voltage regulation

Introduction Voltage regulation is an important subject in electrical distribution engineering. It is the utilities responsibility to keep the customer voltage within specied tolerances. The performance of a distribution system and quality of the service provided are not only measured in terms of frequency of interruption but in the maintenance of satisfactory voltage levels at the customers premises. According to Gonen,1 a high steady-state voltage can reduce light bulb life and reduce the life of electronic devices. On the other hand, a low steady-state voltage leads to low illumination levels, shirking of television pictures, slow heating of heating devices, motor starting problems, and overheating in motors. However, most equipment and appliances operate satisfactorily over some reasonable range of voltages; hence, certain tolerances are allowable at the customers end. Thus, it is common practice among utilities to stay within preferred voltage levels and ranges of variations for satisfactory operation of apparatus as set by various standards such as ANSI (American National Standard Institution). For example, power acceptability curves given by IEEE (IEEE orange book, IEEE standard 446) and FIPS (United States Federal Information Processing Standard) indicate that steady-state voltage regulations should be within +6% to 13% for satisfactory operation of various electrical devices.2 Voltage regulation calculations depend on the power ow solutions of a system. Most of the electrical loads of a power system are connected to lowvoltage/medium-voltage distribution systems rather than to a high-voltage transmission system. The loads connected to the distribution system are certainly voltage dependent; thus, these types of load characteristics should be
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considered in load ow studies to get accurate results and to avoid costly errors in the analysis of the system. For example, in voltage regulation improvement studies, possible under- or over-compensation can be avoided if more accurate results of load ow solutions are available, as demonstrated in this paper. However, most conventional load ows use a constant power load model, which assumes that active and reactive powers are independent of voltage changes. In reality, constant power load models are highly questionable in distribution systems, as most nodes are not voltage controlled; therefore, it is very important to consider better load models in these types of load ow problems. In this paper, distribution system voltage regulation and the eect of shunt capacitor compensation on this regulation for dierent static load models are studied. The paper is organized as follows: the next section briey reviews dierent types of static load models. Power ow equations and a MATLABbased solution technique, as well as the denition of voltage regulation and methods to improve it are then discussed. Details of the distribution test system used in this paper follow, together with a discussion of some interesting simulation results. Finally, major contributions of this paper are highlighted. Static load models In power ow studies, the common practice is to represent the composite load characteristic as seen from power delivery points. In transmission system load ows, loads can be represented by using constant power load models, as voltages are typically regulated by various control devices at the delivery points. In distribution systems, voltages vary widely along system feeders as there are fewer voltage control devices; therefore, the V I characteristics of load are more important in distribution system load ow studies.35 Load models are traditionally classied into two broad categories: static models and dynamic models. Dynamic load models are not important in load ow studies. Static load models, on the other hand, are relevant to load ow studies as these express active and reactive steady state powers as functions of the bus voltages (at a given xed frequency). These are typically categorized as follows:6 Constant impedance load model (constant Z). A static load model where the power varies with the square of the voltage magnitude. It is also referred to as constant admittance load model. Constant current load model (constant I). A static load model where the power varies directly with voltage magnitude. Constant power load model (constant P A static load model where the power ). does not vary with changes in voltage magnitude. It is also known as constant MVA load model.
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Exponential load model. A static load model that represents the power relationship to voltage as an exponential equation in the following way: V a V b P=P , Q=Q 0 V 0 V 0 0 where P and Q stand for the real and reactive powers consumed at a reference 0 0 voltage V . The exponents a and b depend on the type of load that is being 0 represented, e.g., for constant power load models a=b=0, for constant current load models a=b=1 and for constant impedance load models a=b=2. Table 1 shows typical values of a and b for several types of loads encountered in power systems;6 it is interesting to note that none of these loads has a zero exponent. Polynomial load model. A static load model that represents the power-voltage relationship as a polynomial equation of voltage magnitude. It is usually referred to as the ZIP model, as it is made up of three dierent load models: constant impedance (Z), constant current (I ) and constant power (P). The real and reactive power characteristics of the ZIP load model are given by V 2 V +c P=P a +b P 0 P V P V 0 0 V 2 V Q=Q a +c +b 0 Q V Q Q V 0 0 where a +b +c =a +b +c =1, and P and Q are the real and reactive P P P Q Q Q 0 0 power consumed at a reference voltage V . In this paper, three types of static 0 load models, i.e., constant power, constant current and constant impedance, are considered to demonstrate their eect on voltage regulation calculations in distribution systems. The studies presented in this paper can be readily extended to other load models as well. Power flow equations and voltage regulation Power ow studies are of great importance in planning and designing future expansions of power systems. The main information obtained from power ow
TABLE 1. A sample of fractional load exponents Load component Incandescent lamps Room air conditioner Furnace fan Battery charge Compact uorescent lamps Fluorescent lamps
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AB

AB

C AB AB D C AB AB D

a 1.54 0.50 0.08 2.59 0.951.03 2.07

b 2.50 1.60 4.06 0.310.46 3.21

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studies is the magnitude and angle of the phasor voltage at each node, and the real and reactive power owing in each line. With this information, the voltage regulation of any feeder in the system can be easily computed. Power flow In general, if a node in a power system is considered (Fig. 1), the following equations can be readily written by considering the real and reactive power balance: P =P P , Q =Q Q k gk Lk k gk Lk where P and Q are the real and reactive power generated at node k; P g gk Lk and Q kare the real and reactive power loads at node k, which could be Lk constant or a function of the bus voltage magnitude; and P and Q are the k k real and reactive power injected into the system,7 i.e., N P =V Y V cos(d d h ) k k kl l k l kl l=1 N Q =V Y V sin(d d h ) k k kl l k l kl l=1 where V and V are bus voltage magnitudes at nodes k and l, together with k l their respective phase angles d and d ; Y and h are the magnitude and angle k l kl kl of the kl entry in the Y-bus matrix; and N is the total number of nodes in the system. A set of non-linear equations can be established for the system by considering the power balance and injected power in terms of system parameters. Thus, these equations can then be solved by using any non-linear equation solving technique (e.g. NewtonRaphson). In this paper, these equations are solved, for dierent static load models, using a MATLAB routine (fsolve) based on least square optimization techniques; the main steps of this program are as follows: 1. Read the data and form the Y-bus matrix of the distribution system.
Pgk, Qgk G Pk,Qk To other Nodes

Load PLk, QLk

Fig. 1 Power balance at node k.

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2. Generate the symbolic set of nonlinear power ow equations by assuming that the substation node is a PV bus while all other nodes are load buses. 3. Assume an initial guess (all voltages equal to the substation voltage and all angles equal to zero). 4. Solve the set of nonlinear equations with the fsolve command in MATLAB. Voltage regulation Once a load ow solution is obtained, the voltage regulation of any feeder can be calculated as follows:1 |V ||V | r 1100 V Reg.= s |V | r where V is sending-end voltage and V is receiving-end voltage. In distribution s r systems, this regulation may be typically improved by using one or more of the following techniques: (a) Increasing primary voltage. ( b) Activating voltage regulating equipment at the substations bus such as capacitors or LTCs. (c) Balancing of loads on primary feeders. (d) Increased size of feeder conductor. (e) Transferring loads to new feeders. (f ) Installing new substations and primary feeders. (g) Installing shunt capacitors or SVCs on primary feeders. The most economical way of improving voltage proles along a feeder, and thus voltage regulation and overall system performance, is by using shunt capacitors. Hence, the eect of shunt capacitors on voltage regulation with dierent static load models is studied in this paper. Simulation results The topology of many distribution systems is like a tree with several lateral and sub-lateral branches; the root of the tree is the feeding node or feeding substation. This kind of general structure of distribution systems (a radial type) has been fully exploited to develop some ecient load ow methods in the past.8,9 In the present work, a similar type of system is used to analyze the eect of various voltage dependent load models in distribution system voltage regulation. The distribution system used in this paper is depicted in Fig. 2. It is a balanced three-phase radial system that consists of 30 nodes and 29 segments; there are three sub-feeders and one main feeder. It is assumed that all the loads are fed from the substation located at node 1. The loads belonging to one segment are assumed to be placed at the end of each segment. The system data was extracted from Ref. 10.
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3 4 5 MAIN FEEDER

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Fig. 2 Single-line diagram of the test distribution system.

The studies presented in this paper consist of two parts. The rst part consists of the load ow solutions and voltage regulation computations for the test system with dierent static load models. The second part focuses on var compensation by shunt capacitors with dierent static load models and its eect on the system voltage regulation. Voltage regulation Initially, load ow solutions for the test distribution system with (Fig. 2) constant power load models were obtained by using the developed MATLAB program, and these results were validated by comparing them to those obtained with a standard power ow program (PFLOW11). Tables 2 and 3 compare the load ow solutions obtained for dierent static
TABLE 2 Voltage magnitude along the main feeder: classical load (cons P vs. constant ) current (cons. I) Voltage (p.u.) Node 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Classical (cons. P) 1.0000 0.9824 0.9670 0.9460 0.9279 0.9109 0.9008 0.8958 0.8903 0.8880 0.8866 0.8862 Cons. I 1.0000 0.9845 0.9711 0.9528 0.9372 0.9226 0.9136 0.9091 0.9043 0.9023 0.9010 0.9007 Dierence (p.u.) 0.0000 0.0021 0.0041 0.0068 0.0093 0.0117 0.0128 0.0133 0.0140 0.0143 0.0144 0.0145

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TABLE 3 Voltage magnitude along the main feeder: classical load (cons P vs. constant ) impedance (cons. Z) Voltage (p.u.) Node 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Classical (cons. P) 1.0000 0.9824 0.9670 0.9460 0.9279 0.9109 0.9008 0.8958 0.8903 0.8880 0.8866 0.8862 Cons. Z 1.0000 0.9859 0.9737 0.9573 0.9434 0.9303 0.9220 0.9179 0.9135 0.9117 0.9105 0.9102 Dierence (p.u.) 0.0000 0.0035 0.0067 0.0113 0.0155 0.0194 0.0212 0.0221 0.0232 0.0237 0.0239 0.0240

load models against solutions obtained using the classical (constant power) load model. The voltage proles along the main feeder for these cases are shown on Fig. 3. As can be seen in Tables 2 and 3, dierent load models result in dierent load ow solutions, as expected; the dierence between the solutions increases as one moves away from the substation or feeding point. These dierences in voltage may lead to signicantly dierent design approaches in
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0.98

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Fig. 3 Voltage proles along the main feeder: classical load (cons. P constant current, ), and constant impedance load models.
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a distribution system. Hence, proper load models should be considered in order to obtain more accurate results. Table 4 shows the distribution system voltage regulation calculated with dierent static load models. The voltage regulation computed for constant power load models is the highest of all loads models, as one would expect, since power demand does not change with voltage variations, whereas for the other models the power demand decreases as the voltage goes down. Compensation In order to see the eect of var compensation (shunt capacitors) on voltage regulation, various simulations were performed for dierent sizes of shunt capacitors. Shunt capacitors are installed on the main feeder at two-thirds of its length from the substation (Golden Rule). Voltages and thus voltage regulation of the main feeder are calculated for the dierent load models and for dierent shunt capacitor sizes. The results obtained from these calculations are shown in Tables 5, 6, and 7, and the corresponding voltage proles of the main feeder are depicted in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. Figure 7 summarizes these results by showing the voltage regulation of the main feeder for dierent shunt capacitor sizes.
TABLE 4 Voltage regulation of the main feeder with diVerent load models Load model Constant power Constant current Constant impedance Voltage regulation (%) 12.84 11.02 9.87

TABLE 5 Voltage magnitudes for diVerent compensation levels (cons. P ) Voltage (p.u.) Node 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 5 Mvar 1.0000 0.9877 0.9772 0.9615 0.9484 0.9364 0.9267 0.9218 0.9164 0.9142 0.9129 0.9125 4 Mvar 1.0000 0.9867 0.9754 0.9588 0.9447 0.9318 0.9220 0.9170 0.9117 0.9095 0.9081 0.9077 3 Mvar 1.0000 0.9857 0.9734 0.9558 0.9408 0.9267 0.9170 0.9120 0.9066 0.9044 0.9030 0.9027 2 Mvar 1.0000 0.9847 0.9714 0.9527 0.9367 0.9217 0.9118 0.9068 0.9014 0.8992 0.8978 0.8974 1 Mvar 1.0000 0.9836 0.9692 0.9494 0.9324 0.9164 0.9064 0.9014 0.8959 0.8937 0.8923 0.8919

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TABLE 6 Voltage magnitudes for diVerent compensation levels (cons. I) Voltage (p.u.) Node 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 5 Mvar 1.0000 0.9893 0.9804 0.9668 0.9557 0.9456 0.9366 0.9321 0.9273 0.9253 0.9240 0.9237 4 Mvar 1.0000 0.9885 0.9787 0.9644 0.9524 0.9414 0.9324 0.9279 0.9231 0.9211 0.9198 0.9195 3 Mvar 1.0000 0.9876 0.9770 0.9617 0.9489 0.9370 0.9280 0.9235 0.9187 0.9167 0.9154 0.9151 2 Mvar 1.0000 0.9866 0.9751 0.9589 0.9451 0.9324 0.9234 0.9189 0.9141 0.9121 0.9108 0.9104 1 Mvar 1.0000 0.9856 0.9731 0.9560 0.9413 0.9276 0.9186 0.9141 0.9093 0.9073 0.9060 0.9056

TABLE 7 Voltage magnitudes for diVerent compensation levels (cons. Z) Voltage (p.u.) Node 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 5 Mvar 1.0000 0.9905 0.9825 0.9705 0.9606 0.9518 0.9434 0.9392 0.9347 0.9328 0.9317 0.9313 4 Mvar 1.0000 0.9897 0.9810 0.9682 0.9575 0.9489 0.9395 0.9353 0.9308 0.9290 0.9278 0.9275 3 Mvar 1.0000 0.9888 0.9793 0.9657 0.9543 0.9438 0.9354 0.9313 0.9268 0.9250 0.9238 0.9235 2 Mvar 1.0000 0.9879 0.9776 0.9631 0.9508 0.9395 0.9312 0.9270 0.9226 0.9207 0.9196 0.9192 1 Mvar 1.0000 0.9870 0.9757 0.9603 0.9472 0.9350 0.9267 0.9226 0.9181 0.9163 0.9152 0.9149

Observe that the system with constant power load model presents the highest voltage regulation values followed by the constant current load model and then the constant impedance load model, as expected. The voltage regulation for all static load models appears to vary approximately linearly with the size of the shunt capacitor; however, the slopes change with the load model, with the eectiveness of the capacitor compensation being highest for the system with constant power load models. To illustrate the importance of selecting the proper load models in the reactive power compensation problem, consider the following sample case: to
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Fig. 4 Voltage proles along the main feeder with constant power load models for diVerent compensation levels.
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Fig. 5 Voltage proles along the main feeder with constant current load models for diVerent compensation levels.

achieve a voltage regulation of 10%, a 5 Mvar capacitor would be needed in the case of constant power loads models, whereas only a 2 Mvar capacitor would be required if the loads are modeled as constant current and no compensation would be required if constant impedance load models are used. Hence, by properly modeling the load on a distribution system, over-design and the associated extra costs can be avoided.
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Fig. 6 Voltage proles along the main feeder with constant impedance load models for diVerent compensation levels.
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0.5

1.5

2 2.5 3 Capacitor Size (MVar)

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Fig. 7 Voltage regulation for diVerent capacitor compensation levels.

Conclusions This paper demonstrates how voltage regulation calculations in distribution systems vary with dierent static load models. Systems with constant power load models present high voltage drops along a feeder, and thus high voltage regulation, followed by systems with constant current load models and then by systems with constant impedance load models. Hence, it is important to
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choose the load models more suitable for a given system in order to obtain accurate results. Shunt capacitor compensation improves system voltage regulation for all types of loads. However, dierent sizes of shunt capacitors are required for dierent types of static load models to achieve proper voltage regulations. By properly selecting the load models, ecient designs can be obtained for var compensation in distribution systems. References
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 T. Gonen, Electric Power Distribution System Engineering (McGraw Hill, New York, 1986). G. T. Heydt, Electric Power Quality, 2nd edn (Stars in a Circle Publications, West LaFayette, IN, 1991). M. E. El-Hawary and L. G. Dias, Incorporation of load models in load-ow studies: form of models eects, IEE Proc. C, 134(1) (1987), 2730. P. S. R. Murty, Load modelling for power ow solution, J. Inst. Eng. (India), Part EL , 58(3) (1977) 162165. M. H. Haque, Load ow solution of distribution systems with voltage dependent load models, Int. J. Electric Power System Res., 36 (1996), 151156. T. Van Cutsem and C. Vournas, Voltage Stability of Electric Power Systems, Power Electronics and Power System Series, Kluwer, 1998. J. D. Glover and M. Sarma, Power System Analysis and Design, 2nd edn (PWS Publishing Company, Boston, 1993). C. G. Renato, New method for the analysis of distribution networks, IEEE T rans. Power Delivery, 5(1) (1990), 391396. D. Das, H. S. Nagi, and D. P. Kothari, Novel methods for solving radial distribution networks, IEE Proc. Generation T ransmission and Distribution, 141(4) (1994). M. M. A. Salama and A. Y. Chikhani, A simplied network approach to the var control problem for radial distribution systems, IEEE T rans. Power Delivery, 8(3) (1993), 15291535. C. A. Canizares et al., PFLOW: continuation and direct methods to locate fold bifurcations in AC/DC/FACTS power systems, University of Waterloo, August 1998. Available at http://www.power.uwaterloo.ca.

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