Simulation of integrated volt/VAR control for PV penetration studies

Delivering voltage within suitable range to the customers is one of utility's responsibilities. To keep voltage within ANSI C84.1 limits, utilities have different voltage regulation techniques, and Volt/VAR control is one commonly used approach in distribution systems. The objective of this paper is to explore the topic related to the voltage control of electric power distribution circuits with high penetration levels of distributed photovoltaic (PV) power systems. An Integrated Volt/VAR Control (IVVC) model is developed for use with the Open Distribution System Simulator (OpenDSS) simulation platform for emulating the effectiveness of centralized controls on mitigating distributed photovoltaic system voltage impacts. The test results of the IVVC control prove that the proposed control can successfully keep the voltage within the tight target voltage range, for applications such as Conservation Voltage Reduction (CVR). A utility-scale distribution feeder is used as the test circuit for this study.