Implementation of OPF as a supportive system voltage control tool in real-time for British Columbia transmission network

Due to recent changes in electric power system structure and market driven operational changes electric power system operation has increased in its complexity. Engineers and Energy Management System (EMS) suppliers are driven to enhance existing tools and add new tools for control room operators for consistent and faster decisions. Among the two well recognized quality indicators of electric power system operation, viz., voltage and frequency, frequency is being maintained within a very narrow band using formal tools such as Automatic Generation Control (AGC) in North American power networks. Voltage is by and large controlled in real time by experienced dispatchers with the help of “information support” tools or informal tools. Use of formal tools such as the one based on Optimal Power Flow (OPF) technology, described in this paper, for the dispatchers to support and augment their decision making in real time for voltage control is yet to evolve in control centers. This paper describes implementation efforts and issues of one such optimization tool Voltage-Var Dispatch (VVD) to provide control recommendations in real time for system voltage control. The authors share their experiences of implementing VVD that recommends shunt reactors /capacitor, synchronous condenser, static var compensator and generating unit MVAR output controls for controlling Transmission system voltages in real time in the province of British Columbia(BC), Canada.