Considerations when applying capacitors on distribution systems

The application of capacitors has become commonplace in the United States. There was a time when the application of capacitors on a wide scale basis was unusual because losses didn't cost that much and regulators handled the voltage drop quite well. But things have changed now. Losses are a major concern. Voltage quality, due to more sensitive loads, is an issue. The application of capacitors is the cheap way to reduce losses. The purpose of this paper is to review some of the considerations of distribution engineers might address in the application of capacitors. The proper application of capacitors serves to reduce the system current and raise the system voltage, which is briefly discussed in this paper.