Optimization in tap changer operation of power transformer using reactive power compensation by FACT devices

Power engineers are trying to develop different techniques to compensate reactive power absorption. Variation in voltage is due to small or large disturbances, contingencies, but the main reasons are active and reactive power variations at load end. To regulate or stabilize the voltage variations the Tap Changer (TC) operates. At distribution system the load variations are very large so TC operates for several times in a given span of time. The TC has certain limitation which reduces its service life. In this paper a method is designed and implemented for reactive power compensation which compensates reactive power at load end and reduces the number of tap changer operations. The solution is Flexible AC Transmission (FACT) based compensator. The results show that adjustment of static VAR compensator (SVC) and Tap Changer parameters including settling time, gain, triggering pulse of compensator and dead band time delay of on load tap changer (OLTC) gives optimize number of TC operations with ancillary service of voltage profile improvement. Simulations have been performed on a real time system data and results are compared with present existing system.