Optimal compensation of variable series capacitors for improved economic dispatch in power systems

This paper presents the development of a mathematical model representation of variable series capacitors which are also known as flexible AC transmission systems (FACTS) in power system economic dispatch. The objective of this research is to find the optimal locations of FACTS devices for improved economic dispatch. The proposed approach is based on the decomposition-coordination method and the network compensation technique. Taking the advantages of accumulated experience in power system optimization and the existence of the optimal power flow (OFF) software, the software development cost for implementing the proposed algorithm is reduced. In this paper, digital simulation studies on small power systems with and without variable series capacitors were conducted respectively. The purpose of these simulation studies is to assess the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm in minimizing the operating cost and enhancing the system performance. The results of the simulation studies and the proposed algorithm are presented and discussed in greater detail.