Effective reactive compensation management: a win-win strategy!

Power system planners just love their security and reliability standards, created years ago in the days of vertically integrated utilities. Today, however, the system planners are required to support a vibrant, competitive electricity market. They are now facing Government targets for renewable generation, larger independent generation projects, environmental pressures, merchant transmission projects and shareholder expectations, to name but a few. Furthermore, the planner's work is now complicated by the formation of self-regulated Independent System Operators (ISOs) and Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) with exclusive authority for transmission systems. However, deregulation has created the potential for a win-win strategy for both the system planners and the Shareholders. This paper will now substantiate the win-win strategy.