Application of FACTS technology for power flow control in the Polish power grid

The application of FACTS for the closely interconnected Polish grid was investigated with the objective of improving Polish power system (PPS) operation. Due to steady state transmission limitations, which can influence the operation of the power system in Poland in the time horizon, 2000-2010, several FACTS devices were considered at selected potential locations. Besides solving steady state transmission limitations, the influence of these devices on the dynamic performance of the PPS was studied. It has been found out that FACTS devices can significantly improve damping of low frequency inter-area modes in the UCPTE/CENTREL system. For different possible solutions, the approximate cost estimates were made. The results of this analysis have shown that FACTS technology presents more flexibility but application is system dependent and it may not be economical to solve the technical problems in PPS.