406

IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, Vol. 12, No. 1, January 1997

OLD-STATE SMISSION LINES

. Schauder, Member IEEE

Westinghouse Electric Corporation
Abstract - This paper describes an active approach to series line compensation, in which a synchronous voltage source, implemented by a gate turn-off thyristor (GTO) based voltagesourced inverter, is used to provide controllable series compensation. This compensator, called Static Synchronous Series Compensator (SSSC), can provide controllable compensating voltage over an identical capacitive and inductive range, independently of the magnitude o f the line current. It is immune to classical network resonances. In addition to series reactive compensation, with an external dc power supply it can also compensate the voltage drop across the resistive component of the line impedance. The compensation o f the real part of the impedance can maintain high X/R ratio even if the line has very high degree of series compensation. Concurrent and coordinated modulation of reactive and real compensation can greatly increase power oscillation damping. The paper discusses the basic operating and performance characteristics of the SSSC, and compares them to those characterizing the more conventional compensators based on thyristor-switched or controlled series capacitors. It also presents some of the results of TNA simulations carried out with an SSSC hardware model.
I INTRODUCTION

Kalyan K. Sen, Member IEEE

power, P, transmitted through the line is given by the expression:

LLQ sin (6,-3 6 (1) XL where V, and V, are the magnitudes and 6, and 6 are the angles of , voltages of systems I and 2, respectively, and X is the impedance , (assumed purely inductive) of the line. As shown, the shuntconnected Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM can control the transmission line voltage, the series-connected Static Synchronous Series Compensator (SSSC) the effective line impedance, and the Unified Power Flow Controller (UPFC) all of the variables (voltage, impedance, and angle) [4], selectively or concurrentlv.

The possibility of using switching power converters for the generation of controllable reactive power to provide shunt reactive compensation for transmission and distribution lines has long been realized [l] and recently a large prototype Static Synchronous Compensator or STATCOM (also called Static Condenser or STATCON) installation [ 2 ] , using a gate turn-off (GTO) thyristorbased voltage-sourced inverter, has been commissioned at the Sullivan substation of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) power system. A basic approach to the control of ac transmission systems, which employs essentially the same voltage-sourced inverter as a Synchronous Voltage Source (SVS) for reactive shunt compensation, reactive series compensation and transmission angle adjustment, was proposed [3] in 1989. Subsequently this approach was extended in 1991 to the concept of the Unified Power Flow Controller (UPFC) [4] and then generalized for the comprehensive, dynamic control of active and reactive power flow [5-61. The synchronous voltage source approach to transmission line compensation and control is illustrated symbolically in Fig. 1 for the case of controlling the power flow in an elementary arrangement of two systems being intertied with a single transmission line. The

96 VV?~ 120-6 PWRD A paper recommended and approved by the IEEE Transmission and Distribution Committee of the IEEE Power Engineering Society for presentation at the 1996 IEEFPES Winter Meeting, January 2125, 1996, Baltimore, MD. Manuscript submitted July 31, 1995; made available for printing December 8, 1995.

Fig 1 The family of synchronous voltage source based power flow controllers Whereas the basic operating characteristics of the STATCOM and the W F C are well established in the literature, the SSSC has received relatively Iittle attention. The objective of this paper is to focus on the SSSC with the intent of establishing its fundamental operating characteristics and comparing them to those of the better known thyristor-switched and thyristor-controlled series compensators (TSSC and TCSC). The paper also presents the results of relevant simulations obtained by a TNA (Transient Network Analyzer) hardware model to illustrate the operation and performance of the SSSC. II THE SYNCHRONOUSVOLTAGE SOURCE The concept of synchronous voltage source and its solid-state realization are delineated in [5] and a practical implementation for a full scale utility application is described in [2]. In this section, the basic characteristics of the solid-state, synchronous voltage source are summarized for the reader's convenience.

0885-8977/97/$10.000 1996 IEEE

407

The synchronous voltage source considered in this paper is analogous to an ideal electro-magnetic generator: it can produce a set of (three) alternating (almost sinusoidal) voltages at the desired fundamental frequency with controllable amplitude and phase angle; generate, or absorb, reactive power when tied to an electric power system to function like a synchronous condenser (compensator);and convert the active power it exchanges with the ac system into the form (e.g., dc) that is compatible with an electric energy source or storage. The SVS for power transmission applications can be implemented by various, static switching power converters, using semiconductor switching devices of suitable rating and characteristics. Recent development efforts have focused on voltagesourced dc to ac inverters, using gate turn-o@(GTO) thyristors, in a so-called multi-pulse circuit configuration. In this configuration a number of identical, elementary (six-pulse) inverters are operated from a common dc bus with selected time displacements, each to produce a compatible set of three-phase, quasi-square output voltage waves. These voltage waves are combined, via an appropriate magnetic structure, to produce the final output in which the major families of harmonics, present in the constituent waves, cancel out [2].

viewed as a means to decrease the reactive line impedance, in fact, as can be observed, the series capacitor actually works by increasing the voltage across the impedance of the given physical line and thereby also increasing the line current and the transmitted power. While this observation may appear trivial, it is important to note that fiom the standpoint of power transmission, the important parameter is the voltage across the physical line while the capacitor itself is just a convenient means for increasing this voltage to the necessary level to force the required current through the line. It follows therefore that the same steady-state power transmission can be established if the series compensation is provided by a synchronous ac voltage source, as shown in Fig. 4, whose output precisely matches the voltage of the series capacitor (V,= @ = -j x c z>.

&"
g; ); p w o

Transformer

Fig. 3. Elementary two-machine system with a series compensating capacitor and associated phasor diagram

Energy Source (Optional)

Fig 2. Synchronous voltage source employinga solid-state voltage-sourced inverter

. L

I I

Thus, in the final analysis, the SVS is simply an array of static, solid-state switches operated from a dc voltage source by an electronic control so as to produce a three-phase set of synchronous, nearly-sinusoidal output voltages with independently controllable amplitude V and phase angle 4.By the nature of basic physical laws, the amplitude and angle control implies the capability of the SVS to exchange active and reactive power at its ac output terminals. Since its input terminals are dc, it is evident that only the active power it exchanges can be supplied from these terminals. Consequently, the SVS must intemally generate the reactive power that it exchanges at its ac terminals. Therefore, the SVS can be considered functionally as an ideal generator that can be operated with a relatively small dc storage capacitor in a self-sufficient manner to exchange reactive power with the ac system or, with an extemal dc power supply or an energy storage, to also exchange independently controllable active power. A functional representation of the SVS is shown in Fig. 2. References Qref and Pres(or other related parameters, such as the desired compensating reactive impedance Xref and resistance Rref) define the amplitude V and phase angle 4 of the generated output voltage necessary to exchange the desired reactive and active power at the ac output. If the SVS is operated strictly for reactive power exchange, P,,(or R,,f) is set to zero.

Fig 4 Elementary two-machinesystem with a static synchronousseries

compensator and associated phasor diagram It should be appreciated that, although an ideal voltage source could be made to imitate the functional behavior of a series capacitor, the inherent characteristics of the synchronous voltage source type compensator, referred to as the static synchronous series compensator (SSSC)* in this paper, are significantly different from that of the series capacitor. These differences are summarized in the following sections. A. Transmitted power versus transmission angle characteristic. The capacitor is a reactive impedance in series with the line. Consequently,the voltage across it is proportional to the line current which is a function of the transmission angle. With changing transmission angle (and line current) the compensating voltage will also change. The transmitted power P, is a parametric function of f the degree o series compensations (s = &/XJ, that is,

IU FUNDAMENTAL PIUNCPLES AND CHARACTERISTICS A conventional series capacitive compensation for the simple system of Fig. 1 is shown in Fig. 3, together with the relevant voltage phasor diagram. Although series compensation is normally

where V = VI = V2 and 6 = 6,- 6 .The normalized power P,versus , angle 6 plots as a function of parameters ( = 1/3 and s = 1/5) are s shown in Fig. 5. The SSSC injects the compensating voltage in series with the line irrespective of the line current. The transmitted power P, therefore becomes a parametric function of the injected

* It is also called solid-state series compensator in the literature.

408
-

voltage, V = IV,I, where V, = V { ? l ~ T ( ) e r ~ 9 0 0 , it can be , , and

expressed as follows:
V sin s +v,cos ( 6 / 2 ) (3) XL XL The normalized power P, versus angle 6plots are shown in Fig. 6 as a function of VT For comparison, the normalized voltage V, is chosen to give the same maximum power as the series capacitor with the corresponding s. That is, at 6 = go", rX, = V, = 0.707 when s=1/3 and V, = 0.353 when s=1/5.

p,

flow will reverse, as indicated in Fig. 6. The feasibility of reversing power flow by reactive compensation is demonstrated in Fig. 7 by the results obtained from the TNA simulation of a simple two machine system controlled by a precisely detailed SSSC hardware model. The plots in the figure show, at 6 = lo", the line current i together with the receiving-end (1-n) voltage v2 for phase A, the transmitted power P together with the reactive power Q supplied by the receiving-end, the same line current i together with the voltage v, injected by the SSSC in phase A, and the reactive power the SSSC exchanged with the ac system for no compensation (V, = 0), purely reactive compensation for positive power flow (V, = Ur, - 1 1- 7 2 7 and purely reactive com-

I),

pensation for negative power flow (V,

Lu, +

-V2

I). Apart

from the stable operation of the system with both positive and negative power flows, it can also be observed that the SSSC has an excellent (sub-cycle) response time and that the transition from positive to negative power flow through zero voltage injection is perfectly smooth and continuous.
n Y
0
goo

,x
180'

No Compensation

Compensation for
_ /

Compensation for

"

- -Positive Power Flow - - Negative Power Flow

Fig 5 Transmitted power P, versus transmission angle 6 as a parametric function of the degree of series capacitive compensation
(PSI.)

Vq

= 0.707

Pq =

V* V 6 -sin6 + - Vq cos XL XL 2
T Tiqno

I
1.o

Vq =0.353\

U
- !

I _ t

.L ..aiI
0.5

'

time (26 msldiv)

Qq

Fig 7 Oscillogramsfrom TNA simulation showing the capability of the SSSC to establish positive and negative power flow
9 0 '
180'

-o,5

Fig 6 Transmittedpower P, versus transmission angle 6 as a parametric function of the series compensatingvoltage V, provided by the SSSC Comparison of Fig. 6 to Fig. 5 clearly shows that whereas the series capacitor increases the transmitted power by a fixed percentage of that transmitted by the uncompensated line at a given 8, the SSSC increases it by a fixedj?actzon of the maximum power transmittable by the uncompensated line, independently of S in the important angle range of 0 16 290". An additional difference evident in these figures is that whereas the capacitor can only increase the transmittable power, the SSSC can also decrease it, simply by reversing the polarity of the injected ac voltage. The reversed (180" phase-shifted) voltage adds directly to the reactive voltage drop of the line as if the reactive line impedance was increased. Furthermore, if this (reverse polarity) injected voltage is made larger than the voltage impressed across the uncompensated line by the sending- and receiving-end systems, that

///

Note A t and in the vicinity of zero line current, the SSSC requires an external power source, for the supply of its losses, to maintain operation

For applications requiring (steady-state or dynamic) power flow control, the basic P versus 6 characteristics shown in Figs. 5 and 6 suggest that the SSSC can have a significantly wider control range than the series capacitor type compensator of the same VA rating. B Capability to exchange active power In contrast to the series capacitor, which functions in the transmission circuit as a reactive impedance and as such is only able to exchange reactive power, the SSSC can negotiate borh reactive and active power with the ac system, simply by controlling the angular position of the injected voltage with respect to the line current (Recall that active power exchange i s possible only if the SSSC is coupled to an energy source andor sink, or a suitable energy storage.) The capability of the SSSC to exchange active power has significant application potential. One important application is the simultaneous compensation of both the reactive and resistive components of the series line impedance [7] in order to keep the XL/R ratio high. In many applications, particularly at transmission voltage levels of 115, 230, and even 340 kVs, where the XL/R ratio is usually relatively low (in the range of 3 to lo), a high degree of series capacitive compensation could further reduce the effective reactive to resistive line impedance ratio to such low values at which

409
the progressively increasing reactive power demand of the line, and the associated line losses and possible voltage depression, would start to limit the transmittable active power. This situation is illustrated with a phasor diagram in Fig. 8 for a line whose uncompensated XJR ratio is 7.4. As seen, by applying increasing series capacitive compensation (for example, 50 and 75 per cent), the effective XhdR = (XL-Xc)/R ratio decreases (to 3.7 and 1.85, respectively), As a result, the reactive component of the line current, I sin(&2+#, supplied by the receiving-end system, progressively increases and the real component, I cos(S/2+#, transmitted to the receiving-end, progressively decreases with respect to those which would be obtained with an ideal line (R=O). and independently controllable compensation of both the reactive and real impedance of the line, in effect an ideal reactive line can be created for maximum power transmission. It should be noted that the power Z2R would, of course, still be dissipated by the physical line. However, this dissipated power would be replenished by the SSSC from the auxiliary power supply.

1.5
> ' '

I 0 . 0

1.o

0.5

Fig. 8. Effect of line resistanceon series capacitivecompensation The transmittable active power, P, and the reactive power, Q, supplied by the receiving end bus can be expressed for the simple two-machine system as functions of the (actual or effective) reactive line impedance,XL, line resistance, R, and transmission angle, 6, the as follows: V2 [XL 6- R(I - cos 191 sin P = (4)

Fig. 9 Transmitted real power P and reactive power Q versus transmission angle d as a parametric function of the XdR ratio The recordings, obtained from the TNA simulation of a two machine system compensated by the SSSC with a dc power supply, illustrate the combined compensation of the line reactance and resistance in Fig. 10. The plots show the line current i in phase A together with the corresponding receiving-end (1-n) voltage v2, the transmitted power P together with the reactive power Q supplied by the receiving-end, the line current i again in phase A together with the voltage vq injected by the SSSC, and the active and reactive power the SSSC exchanged with the ac system via the series voltage injection for no compensation (vq=O),purely reactive compensation, and reactive plus resistive compensation. (The system was operated at S = 20' with XJR = 6.) It can be observed that the additional resistive compensation increases the transmitted power significantly, while it also decreases the reactive power demand on the receivingend.
No

Compensation
* -

Capacitive Compensation

xL2+ R~
v2

---

Capacitive and Resistive Compensation

Q = xL2 R~ +

[R sin 6+&(I

- cos 41

(5)

The normalized active power P and reactive power Q versus angle S transmission characteristics described by equations (4) and (5) are plotted as a parametric function of the XJR ratio for XJR = w, 7.4, 3.7, 1.85 in Fig. 9. These plots clearly show that the maximum transmittable active power decreases, and the ratio of active to reactive power increases, rapidly with decreasingXL/R ratio. The SSSC with an appropriate dc supply (which could be powered simply, for example, from an accessible bus or from the tertiary of a conveniently located transformer) would be able to inject, in addition to the reactive compensating voltage, a component of voltage in anti-phase with that developed across the line resistance to counteract the effect of the resistive voltage drop on the power transmission. In this way, by providing simultaneous,

*U

.Y&-

'

"

time (26 msldiv)

Fig. 10. Oscillograms from TNA simulation showing the capability of the SSSC to provide both reactive and resistive series line compensation From the standpoint of dynamic system stability, reactive line compensation combined with simultaneous active power exchange

410 can be extremely effective in damping power oscillation. For example, during the periods of angular acceleration, the SSSC with a suitable energy storage can apply maximum capacitive line compensation to increase the transmitted active power and concurrently absorb active power to provide the effect of a damping resistor in series with the line. During the periods of angular deceleration, the SSSC can execute opposite compensating actions, that is, apply maximum inductive compensation to decrease the transmitted active power and concurrently provide the effect of a negative resistance (i.e., a generator) to supply additional active power for the line (negative damping). (Although an energy storage is required for the ideal damping obtained by injecting an alternating positive and negative damping resistors, a more economical and still effective damping can be provided with just an energy sink, e.g., a high energy resistor, tied to the dc terminal of the SSSC. With this arrangement the SSSC would be able to absorb active power during the periods of angular accelerations, which then would be dissipated by the energy sink.) C. Immunity to resonance The desired function of the series capacitor is to provide a compensating voltage opposite to that which develops across the reactive line impedance at the fundamental system frequency (60 or 50 Hz)to increase the transmitted power. However, the impedance of the series capacitor is a function of frequency and thus it may cause resonances at various frequencies with other reactive impedances present in the network. The resonance of greatest concern is that occurring with the series reactive impedance of the system at a frequency below the fundamental. At this frequency the electrical system may reinforce one of the mechanical resonances of certain turbine-generators,causing the well-understood phenomenon of subsynchronous resonance (SSR), which may result in serious damage to the generator. In recent years, there has been considerable effort spent, and progress made, to modify the inherent frequency characteristic of the series capacitor in the dominant subsynchronous frequency band by a parallel connected thyristor-controlled reactor (TCR) to make it, with electronic control, immune to subsynchronousresonance [S-91. In contrast to a series capacitor or to the combination of a series capacitor and a TCR, the static synchronous series compensator is essentially an ac voltage source which, with fixed control inputs, would operate only at the selected (fundamental) output frequency, and its output impedance at other frequencies would theoretically be zero. In practice, the SSSC does have a relatively small inductive output impedance provided by the leakage inductance of the series insertion transformer. The voltage drop across this impedance is automatically compensated at the fundamental frequency when the SSSC provides capacitive line compensation. Thus, the effective output impedance versus frequency characteristic of the SSSC remains that of a small inductor at all but its fundamental operating frequency. Consequently, the SSSC is unable to form a classical series resonant circuit with the inductive line impedance to initiate subsynchronous system oscillations. On the other hand, the SSSC has a very fast (almost instantaneous) response and thus it can be very effective in the damping of subsynchronous oscillations (which may be present due to existing series capacitors) if the electronic control i s structured to provide this function. (In discussing dynamic interactions, it is of course true that the SSSC, like all actively controlled equipment, could under abnormal conditions exhibit instability or oscillatory interaction with the ac system if, for example, its closed-loop gains, providing automatic power flow control or other regulative functions, are improperly set, or if the electronic control itself malfunctions. However, these considerations are generic to all actively controlled systems and involve other subjects like control robustness, control redundancy, and protection, which are out of the scope of this paper.) Apart from the immunity to subsynchronous resonances, the behavior of the SSSC in the transmission network is also different from that of the series capacitor at the fundamental frequency. The compensating voltage of the SSSC is set by the control and it is independent of network impedance (and, consequently, line current) changes. This means that the SSSC could not be tuned with any finite line inductance to have a classical series resonance (at which the capacitive and inductive voltages would be equal) at the fundamental frequency, because the voltage across the line reactance would, in all practical cases, be greater than, and limited by, the , voltage of the SSSC. That is, the voltage V across an ideal line of reactance XL (R=0) at a fixed 6 is the function of onZy the compensatingvoltage V, injected by the SSSC, that is, VX = U T L = v,+2V sin(6/2) (6) where again V is the ac system (1-n) voltage, and 6 is the transmission angle. As equation (6) shows, yycan be equal to Vq only if 6 = 0,in which case the transmission would be controlled entirely by the SSSC as if it were a generator and the line current would be restricted to the operating range of 0 II I ViX' . (It should be noted that the SSSC would require an external dc power supply for the replenishment of its internal losses to be able to establish power transmission at zero transmission angle.) D Control range and VA rating The SSSC can provide capacitive or inductive compensating voltage independent of the line current up to its specified current rating at which its voltage would be reduced to zero (by-pass operation), as illustrated in Fig. 11. The VA rating of the SSSC (solid-state inverter and coupling transformer) is simply the product of the maximum line current (at which compensation is still desired) and the maximum series compensating voltage: VA,= Z Vqma. ,

Current Steady-State SSSC + sourcerequires an external power to maintain operation

(b)

/ /
-L--_---------------------------J

'

Fig 11 The static synchronous series compensator(a) and the corresponding attainable range of series compensatingvoltage versus h e current @)

Note that in practical applications, Z may represent the rated , maximum steady-state line current or a specified short duration overcurrent. However, in the comparison of different series compensator schemes, I,,, is assumed to represent the maximum steady-state line current. The basic VA rating of the major constituents used in different schemes will uniformly be established

41 1 with this current, and with the voltages corresponding to this current. In other words, short duration surge currents and corresponding possible overvoltages will not be considered in the present comparison. It is seen in Fig. 11 that an SSSC of 1 p.u. VA rating covers a control range correspondingto 2p.u. compensating VARs, that is the control range is continuous from -1 p.u. (inductive) VARs to +1 p.u. (capacitive) VARs. In many practical applications, only capacitive series line compensation is required. In these applications, as well as in those which already use or plan to use series capacitors as part of the overall series compensation scheme, the SSSC may be combined cost effectively with a fixed capacitor, as illustrated in Fig. 12a, where an SSSC of ?4 p.u. VA rating is combined with a fixed capacitor of ?4 p.u. VAC rating to form a continuously controllable overall series compensator with a maximum compensating range of zero to 1 p.u. capacitive. However, since the fixed capacitor produces a compensating voltage that is proportional to the line current, the controllable compensating voltage range of the overall compensator also becomes, to some degree, a function of the line current, as illustrated in Fig. 12b. In order to compare the compensation range versus line current characteristics and the corresponding VA requirements of the above SSSC schemes to those pertinent to the conventional thyristorswitched and thyristor-controlledseries compensators, first the basic implementations and the related operating characteristics of the TSSC and TCSC schemes are reviewed.
Vh,,=-jTxCt&

conduct 1 current. (The double voltage is due to the fact that the conventional thyristor can only be turned off at zero current, which forces a zero voltage initial condition for the capacitor bank(s) being energized at a line current zero where the steady-state capacitor voltage is at its crest. This results in an initial VCma voltage off-set, doubling the required voltage rating of the thyristor switch.)

- -ji kXc(k30, I , ...,n) Vc=

Maximum Steady-State Cur&/ Short DurationOvercurrent

VL
A X, SSSC [ 0.5P.U.l

41 # '
XC [ 0.5 P.U.

Fig. 13. Thyristor switched series compensator (TSSC) employing a string of n series capacitor banks with thyristor bypass switches (a) and the corresponding attainablerange of series compensating voltage vs. line current (b) In the implementation of the TCSC, one [ll] or more [12] capacitor banks, each shunted with a thyristor-controlled reactor (TCR), are employed. Here, for generality, only the compensator consisting of m identical elementary TCSC modules in series, as shown in Fig. 14a, is considered. In this arrangement the TCR has

vcanpnu
, J

Steady-State Current

/ , ,

Maximum

Steadv-State

+ source to maintain operation

Fig. 12. A hybrid compensator scheme consisting of a fixed capacitor and an SSSC (a) and the corresponding attainable range of series compensating voltage versus line current (b)

The basic implementation of the TSSC [lo] is shown in Fig. 13a. In this approach a string of n capacitor banks, each shunted by a bidirectional thyristor bypass switch (usually via a small current limiting reactor, not shown), is employed. The series compensation is varied in a step-like manner by "opening" and "closing" the thyristor switches: For minimum compensation, all switches are "closed; for maximum compensation, all switches are "open". The series compensating impedance varies in XC increments up to the maximum value of nX,. The compensatingvoltage produced by this compensator scheme is directly proportional to the line current as shown in Fig. 13b, but at any line current in the range of 0 < ZSZ-, the maximum compensating voltage attainable at that current with the full nX, compensating impedance can be decreased to zero in n steps. The total VA rating of the capacitor banks is (ZmA2 = nX, V,,, I-. The total VA rating of the n thyristor switches is 2VCZ, because they have to be able to block 2Vc- voltage and -

Fig. 14. Thyristor controlled series compensator (TCSC) employing series m capacitor banks each with a parallel-connected TCR (a) and the corresponding attainablerange of series compensating voltage vs. line current (b) three basic functions: (1) provide a bypass switch, (2) circulate a variable current through the associated capacitor bank and thereby control the compensating voltage, and (3) alter the low frequency (below fundamental) impedance versus frequency characteristic of the capacitor to prevent subsynchronous resonance. The TCSC modules are operated in two regions: one is the inductive region, in which the conduction angle of the thyristor switch, a, is controlled from 180" (full conduction for bypass) to a limit given by q for minimum conduction; the other is the capacitive region, in which a is controlled from 0" (thyristor switch is non-conducting) to a c given for maximum conduction (note that OC < q).The two regions are separated by a mid-region, a Ia Ia,in which the c TCR would be at, or close to, resonance with the parallel capacitor and therefore its operation is inhibited by the control. The actual

412

values of q and oc are determined by component (capacitor and thyristor) voltage and current rating constraints. Using sufficient number (in 2 4 ) of series connected modules, and controlling them appropriately both in their capacitive and inductive regions, the TCSC can approximate an overall compensating voltage versus line current characteristicshown in Fig. 14b. The total VA rating of the m series connected capacitor banks is ( I d 2 in& = V,,, I,, (assuming that the TCR in the multi-module configuration is not used to increase the capacitor voltage by current circulation once the line current has reached its maximum value). , , The in thyristor switches of the TCRs have to be rated 2Vc,, ,Z due to the off-set voltage obtained at the energization of the capacitor banks (in spite of the TCR's capability to reduce this offset within a few cycles). The VA rating of the reactor employed in the TCR is simply Vc,, I-.

E. Comparison of the SSSC to TSSC and TCSC The SSSC offers inherent functional characteristics and compensation features, stemming from the unique attributes of a solid-state voltage source, for series line compensation not achievable by thyristor-controlled series capacitor schemes. These characteristics and features can be summarized as follows: 1. It is capable of intemally generating a controllable compensating voltage over an identical capacitive and inductive range independently of the magnitude of the line current. 2. With the ability to interface with an extemal dc power supply it can provide compensation for the line resistance, as well as for the line reactance, for the purpose of keeping the effective XtedR ratio high, independently of the degree of series compensation. 3. With an energy storage (or sink), highly effective damping of power oscillation is possible by modulating the series reactive compensation to increase and decrease the transmitted power, and by concurrently injecting an altemating virtual positive and negative real impedance in sympathy with the prevalent machine swings. 4. It has a substantially voltage source type impedance versus frequency characteristics which excludes classical series resonance with the reactive line impedance. Notwithstanding the operating and performance benefits, it is recognized that the cost o f a given compensator scheme is often the main factor determining its practical application. The most significant indicator for the ultimate cost effectiveness of a compensator is the ratio o f the maximum range of attainable VAR output to the VA rating of the equipment. This ratio is clearly impressively high for the SSSC: 1 p.u. VA equipment can produce *1 p.u. series VAR compensation, that is, the maximum range of reactive compensation is 2 p.u. This bi-directional compensating capability can, of course, also be utilized in applications requiring p.u. only capacitive compensation by combining an SSSC of only ?h VA rating with a fixed capacitor of ?h p a . VAC rating to obtain a continuously variable series compensator with a maximum compensating range of zero to 1 p.u. capacitive. Neither the TSSC nor the TCSC would, without additional power circuit elements, be able to provide symmetrical, capacitive and inductive, series compensation. Thus, for comparison only capacitive compensation with a maximum range of zero to 1 p.u. is considered. For this range the capacitor banks are rated for 1 p.u. VAC and the thyristor switches for 2 p.u. VA in both the TSSC and TCSC schemes, which makes the overall equipment rating significantly higher than that required for the SSSC (1 p.u. vs. % p a . VAC for the capacitor bank, and 2 p.u. vs. % p.u. VA for the semiconductor power circuit).

It is understood that the VA rating alone does not determine the cost of the equipment. The synchronous voltage source and the thyristor-switched or controlled types of series compensator employ different semiconductors and power circuits, different auxiliary power components, and different installation structures. Thus, for a realistic assessment of relative costs, both the necessary VA ratings and at least the major differences in hardware have to be considered. Apart from the power semiconductors (GTO vs. conventional thyristors), the greatest difference from the standpoint of cost is in the auxiliary power components and installation structure. The SSSC requires a coupling transformer (rated for one half of the maximum series var compensatingrange) and a dc storage capacitor. However, it is installed in a building at ground potential and operated at a relatively low (below 20 kV) voltage. Thus this installation needs only relatively low voltage insulation for the cooling system and a relatively inexpensive interface infrastructure between the semiconductor power circuit and control. The equipment is largely factory assembled and therefore the on-site labor requirements are relatively low. It's operation is readily observable and has easy access for service. The TSSC and TCSC are coupled directly to the transmission line and therefore are installed on a high voltage platform. The installation necessarily involves considerable on-site labor. The cooling system and control are located on the ground with greatly increased insulation requirements and control interface complexity. The equipment is not visually observable in operation and its maintenance and servicing are relatively cumbersome. Thus, in the final analysis, the economic comparison between the two types of series compensators comes down to establishing whether the additional costs of major hardware items in the SSSC (coupling transformers, GTO-based power circuit, and dc storage capacitor) are off-set by the SSSC's lower installation cost, overall ease and convenience of maintenance and service, plus by the additional costs inherent in the TSSC/TCSC approach. These costs are attributable to the higher VA ratings of the capacitor banks and thyristor switches; the reactors required for VAR control or bypass; the high voltage platform and the complications for the cooling system and control interface arising from operating the semiconductor power circuit at a voltage level high above ground; the overall higher labor costs related to a relatively complex installation, and more involved maintenance and service. It is evident that precise cost comparison based on the above consideration is complex and application dependent; and it obviously could not be done within the scope of this paper. However, a preliminary cost evaluation carried out by the authors, using the cost figures based on the similar power circuit strucme of the &lo0 W R STATCON installation at TVA, indicate that the A . SSSC would generally be cost competitive with both the TSSC and TCSC.
IV CONCLUSIONS

The static synchronous series compensator offers an alternative to conventional series capacitive line compensation. Whereas the series capacitor is an impedance that produces the required compensating voltage as the line current flows through it, the SSSC is a solid-state voltage source that internally generates the desired compensating voltage independent of the line current. The voltage source nature of the SSSC provides the basis for its superior operating and performance characteristics not achievable by series capacitor type compensators: Intemal reactive power generation and absorption without ac capacitors or reactors; control of reactive

413 compensating voltage independent of the magnitude of line current over identical capacitive and inductive operating regions; immunity to classical subsynchronous and other network resonances; ability to interface with an electric power supply, sink, or storage for the purpose of providing active as well as reactive line compensation; fast, almost instantaneous response to control commands. The capability of the SSSC to exchange both reactive and active power m&es it possible to compensate both the reactive and the resistive line voltage drops and thereby maintain a high effective X/R ratio for the line independently of the degree of series compensation. In this way, optimal power transmission (high active to reactive power ratio) can be attained even at a high degree of series compensation. Similarly, combined reactive and real compensation can provide highly effective damping of power oscillation when the reactive line impedance is modulated, and concurrently a virtual damping resistor with alternating maximum and minimum (positive/negative or positive/zero) values is injected, to oppose prevalent machine swings. The results of TNA simulations presented in the paper substantiate the theoretical predictions regarding the operating and performance characteristics of the SSSC. The non-capacitor like behavior, the superior operating characteristics, and hitherto unattainable application flexibility that the SSSC offers, may provide a sufficient basis to reconsider the general applicability of series compensation for power flow control and system stability improvements. For example, the SSSC may represent an attractive option for systems which, for various reasons, do not presently use series capacitors but which require the solution to increasingly difficult power flow control problems. The SSSC is also likely to be advantageous for use with existing series capacitors, as a vemier control, where its plus/minus reactive compensation capability can be readily accommodated with significant cost savings. V. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The authors would like to recognize the substantial contribution made by M r M Lund of Westinghouse STC in the preparation of this paper
REFERENCES [I] Gyugyi, L , "Reactive Power Generation and Control by Thynstor Circuits," Power Electronics Specialist Conference, Cleveland, OH, June 8-10, 1976 IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, vol IA-15,No 5, September/October 1979 121 Schauder, C D , et al , "Development of a a100 MVAR Static Condenser for Voltage Control of Transmission Systems," IEEE, PES Summer Power Meeting, Paper No 94 SM 419-6 PWRD, 1994 [3] Gyugyi, L , "Solid-State Control of Electric Power in AC Transmission Systems," International Symposium on "Electric Energy Conversion in Power systems," Invited paper, No T-IP 4, Capn, Italy, 1989 [4] Gyugyi, L "A Unified Power Flow Control Concept for Flexible AC Transmission Systems," IEE Proceedings-C, Vol 139, No 4, July 1992
I

[IO] Ken, A F J , et al , "Improving Transmission System Performance Using Controlled Series Capacitors," C E R E Paper 14/37/38-07, 1992 [I I] Christl, N , et al , "Advanced Series Compensation (ASC) w t h Thynstor-Controlled Impedance," C E R E Paper 14/37/38-07, 1992 [I21 Urbanek R , et al , "Thynstor-Controlled Senes Compensaaon - Prototype Installation at the Slatt 500 kV Substation," IEEE Transactions on Power delivery, Vol 8,No 3,1993

Laszlo Gyugyi (IEE F' 1976) received his undergraduate education at the University of Technology, Budapest, further studied mathematics at the University of London, England, and electrical engineering both at the University of Pittsburgh, PA (M.S E E 1967) and at the University of Salford, England (PhD 1970) He joined the Westinghouse Science & Technology Center i 1963, where n for the last 15 years he has been the Manager of the Power Electronics Department and responsible for power electronics based technology and product development. Since 1995 he is Technical Director for the Corporation's power eIectronics activity. Dr Gyugyi has a broad experience in all areas of power conversion and control, and has been pioneering advanced power electronic-based compensation and control techniques for utility applications, for which effort in 1992 he received the Westinghouse Order of Merit (the Corporation'shighest honor) In 1994 he received the William E Newell Power Electronics Award that the IEEE Power Electronics Society presents annually for outstanding achievement m power electronics Colin D. Schauder (M' 1981) was bom m Port Elizabeth, South Africa, in 1952 He was awarded the B Sc. Engineering and PhD degrees by the University of Cape Town, South Africa, in 1972 and 1978 respectively From 1978 to 1983 he was employed by GEC Electrical Projects and GEC Electrical Controls in Rugby, England In 1983 he jomed Westmghouse Science and Technology Center where he now holds the position of Consultmg Engineer for the Power Electronics Department His work in the past has been involved with h rmance ac motor drives Recently he has been actively involved in the development of new concepts for Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTS) and other utility applicationsof high power electronics He is the Technical Coordinator of the 100 MVAR TVA STATCOMproject and has been responsiblefor much of the system design
Kalyan K. Sen (S' 1983, M' 1988) received a B E E (1982), a M S E E (1983), and a Ph.D (I 987) degrees, all in Electrical Engmeering, from Jadavpur University, Calcutta, India, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, USA, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester,

[5] Gyugyi, L , "Dynamic Compensation of AC Transmission Lines by Solid-state Synchronous Voltage Sources," IEEE Transactrons on Power Delivery, Vol 9, No 2, Apnl 1994 [6] Gyugyi, L , et al , "The Unified Power Flow Controller A New Approach to Power Transmission Control,'' IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, Vol IO, No 2, Aprrl 1995 171 Ramey, D G , et a l , "Use of FACTS Power Flow Controllers to Enhance Transmission Transfer Limits," Proceedings of the Amencan power Conference, 1994 [SI Nyati, S , et al , "Effectiveness of Thyristor-Controlled Series Capacitor in Enhancing Power System Dynamics An Analog Simulator Study," IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, Vol 9 No 2, Apnl 1994 [9] Agrawal, B L , et al , "Advanced Senes Compensation (ASC) Steady-State, Transient Stability, and Subsynchronous Resonance Studies," FACTS Conference 2, EPRl TR-101 784, Boston, MA, May 1992

USA, respectively He held a tenure track assistant professor level position at Prairie ViewRexas A&M University for 3 years before joining Westinghouse Electric Corporation's Science & Technology Center m Pittsburgh, USA in 1990. His interests are in Power Converter Topologies, Elecfrzcal Machines, Numerical Computations, and Microprocessor based hardware
implementations

414

Discussion
D.N.Kosterev (Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR), W.A.Mittelstadt (Bonneville Power Administration, Portland, OR ): The authors are to be congratulated for an excellent paper representing potential benefits of a Static Synchronous Series Compensators (SSSC) for power utility applications. Among other SSSC benefits, the authors have acknowledged the sub-synchronous resonance (SSR) performance of the device. We would like to illustrate and to support their statement with our recent study. In our IEEE paper [l],we presented an application study for rating and sizing controlled series compensation using an example of the Montana system. The main reason to use controlled compensation in the system is the concern at the Colstrip coal-fired units. Comprehensive analytical studies have been performed by Keith Stump and Ronald Hedin and presented in [2]. Recently, we performed time-domain SSR studies for the Colstrip system using EMTP (BPA-ATP version). The 500kV transmission system is re-presented in a great detail from Colstrip to Taft, as shown in Figure 1, including six series compensators. The underlying 230kV system is modeled by equivalent circuits. The Colstrip generators are represented by full models including multi-mass shafts for units #3 and #4. The considered disturbance is opening of the 230kV line to the Miles City DC link. The analytical studies [2] demonstrated that SSR modes of concern are 18.2 Hz and 20.6 Hz mechanical shaft frequencies of Colstrip units #3 and #4. Since these modes are most observable at the HP-turbine mass, the speed of this mass is used for comparison. First, the system is simulated at the present 2200MW loading in the west-of-Garrison cutplane with fixed compensation having

values of approximately 35% given in Table 1 in [l]. This level of compensation is safe from the SSR standpoint, as indicated in Figure 2A, and is used as the reference for judging SSR performance. Next, we simulated the system under increased loading conditions of 3000MW. It was necessary to increase the series compensation as indicated in paper [l]. The following series compensator designs were considered: Design 1. The entire series compensation is fixed at the values given in Table 3 in [l]. This design results in SSR as shown in Figure 2B. The resonant frequency is 20.6 Hz which was predicted by analytical studies [] 2. Design 2. The series compensation is a combination of fixed capacitors and thyristor-controlled series capacitors (TCSCs) with capacitor bank sizes taken from Table 6 in [l].The TCSC design is similar to that used at Kayenta, and all six TCSC units are modeled at a constant fiiing angle of 155 degrees. The TCSC provides excellent damping of the SSR modes, as seen in Figure 2C.

2 % .
"

Y a

I
-0.5' 0

I
1

3 Time [sec]

Miles City

Broadview

\ f
"."
0
1

(D)
05 .

aft

"0 -

3 Time [sec]

Figure 1:EMTP model of Montana 500kV Transmission System.

Figure 2: High-speed turbine speed.

415

Design 3. The series compensation is a combination of

fixed capacitors and SSSCs. The fixed compensation is 35%, and the rest of the compensation requirement (Table 3 [l]) is made up by the SSSC. The SSSC is modeled as a syn-chronous voltage source ( type 60 source in ATP ) connected in series with line via a coupling transformer. The SSSC inserts voltage in quadrature with the line current and of magnitude independent on the line current. From Figure 2D, it is evident that the SSSC does not participate in sub-synchronous oscillations, i.e. SSR neutral. This is because the modeled series synchronous voltage source has zero impedance, and consequently acts as a short circuit to the sub-synchronous frequencies. In the presented study, the SSSC is modeled as an ideal voltage source independent of line current. In reality, the sub- and super- synchronous components of ac line current produced by a generator shaft mechanical frequency fm (fsub=60-fm, f&=60+fm) will appear at the SSSC dc bus at fm frequency. These dc current components will modulate dc-capacitor voltage at fm frequency, and consequently the ac side voltage at f&, and f&,frequencies. More studies are required to determine impact of these interactions on the SSR performance of the SSSC. The Bonneville Power Administration uses single phase tripping for single line-to-ground faults on many of its 500kV lines, when the faulted phase remains open for about 40 cycles before autoreclosing. Could you comment on how these unbalanced conditions affect the SSSC operation ?
[l] D.N.Kosterev, W.A.Mittelstadt, R.R.Mohler, W.J.Kolodziej, An Application Study for Rating and Sizing Controlled and Conventional Series Compensation, presented at 1995 Summer IEEE Power Engineering Society Meeting, paper 95SM401-0 PWRD, Portland OR, 1995. [2] K.B.Stump, R.A.Hedin, W.A.Mittelstadt, D.N.Kosterev, Preliminary Analysis of Subsynchronous Resonance in the Colstrip West 500kV Transmission System, scheduled for EPRI: Future of Power Delivery Conference, Washington DC, April 9-11, 1996.
Manuscript received February 20, 1996.

suggested as one response. But this removes the compensatingdevice when it is needed most. Pulse-width modulation has been proposed as a temporary operating condition for the STATCOM. Do the authors have a technique in mind for the SSSC? Second, the authors state that there is a natural immunity to subsynchronousoscillationsinherentin the SSSC. Have they examined, say, the performance of the SSSC in the First IEEE SSR Benchmark Model to verify this? What kinds of supplementarycontrol loops would be required, if any? Finally, while we recognizethe advantages of TNA simulation in developing control strategies, we believe that EMTP simulation offers a better opportunity to examine system-related operation in examples like those mentioned above.

Manuscript received February 20, 1996.

L Gyugyi. C.D. Schauder, K.K. Sen: We wish to thank the discussers for their interesting comments and questions. The answers to some of these questions lead to the very fundamental physical laws governing the operation of the inverter-based Static Synchronous Series Compensator (SSSC). Although this forum clearly does not allow a comprehensive treatment of the issues raised, we attempt to summarized the underlying principles which determine the operation of the SSSC under those abnormal system conditions the discussers consider.
The focus of the discussers is on the behavior of the SSSC during fault imposed gross system unbalances and on its immunity to classical subsynchronousoscillations. Naturally, the behavior of the SSSC under these (as well as all other) conditions is governed by its control system and the type of inverter used in a particular installation. However, the main objective under these conditions is generally to maintain useful operation of the equipment and, at the same time, avoid possible damage to the inverter. For the purpose of this discussion let us assume that the SSSC has no source or sink of power attached to its dc terminals, and furthermore let us neglect the power losses of the inverter. The dc terminal voltage is thus supported entirely by a dc capacitor bank. With perfectly balanced sinusoidal line currents, the inverter (with sufficiently large pulse number) will produce balanced, sinusoidal voltages in quadrature with the line current, and the de capacitor bank will experience no charging current since no real power is exchanged at the ac terminals of the inverter. If the inverter is controlled to produce these same voltages while additional negative sequence, sub- and super-synchronous components, and harmonics are introduced into the line current, then alternating power components will appear at the ac terminals of the inverter and these will be matched by alternating charging currents in the de capacitor, producing in turn an associated alternating voltage component on the capacitor. This is because the energy transfer through the inverter is absolutely direct, and thus the net instantaneous power at the input terminals must

W. F. Long (University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin) and L. A. S. Pilotto (CEPEL, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil):
The authors have presented a most interesting paper on the proposed use of a voltage-source converter as an alternative to conventional series capacitor compensationof transmission lines. The work is a natural
outgrowth of the shunt-connected Static Synchronous Compensator or

STATCOMas it is now called. Its advantages are analogous to those of the STATCOM as an alternativeto the Static Var Compensator(SVC). But this then leads to several questions that were not covered in the paper. First, how do the authorsenvision the performanceof the SSSC during and following a single line-to-ground fault? In the case of the STATCOMthere may be significantovercurrents,and converter blocking has been

416

always be equal to the net instantaneous power at the output terminals. In view of this, let us now consider the SSR example of Messrs. Kosterev and Mittelstadt. If the line current contains sub- and super-synchronous components with frequencies of fd=f,-f, and f,=f,+f,, respectively, in addition to the synchronous component of frequency&, due to the modulation process taking place at the mechanical system frequency f, during the subsynchronous resonance stipulated in the example, then an ac current component of frequencyf, will flow through the dc terminals to balance the fluctuating power appearing at the ac terminals of the inverter. As a result, the dc terminal voltage of the SSSC inverter (which is supported only by a finite capacitor) will have a superimposed ac component with frequencyf,. If the inverter control ignores this ac component, that is, if it is operated to produce the ac output voltage as if the dc terminal voltage was constant, then the SSSCwill have sub- and super-synchronousvoltage components with the same fd=&-f, and f,=f,+f, frequencies, as Messrs. Kosterev and Mittelstadt indicated in their discussion. However, it should be recognized that the variation in dc link voltage does not inherently affect the ability of the inverter to produce the designated output voltages unless the dc voltage dips too low, or rises too high for the safe operation of the inverter valves. That is, it is possible to produce the designated sinusoidal output voltages at the wanted single synchronous frequency by appropriately controlling the (instantaneous) magnitude of the inverter's output voltage. In this way the inverter can maintain ideal terminal characteristics: the positive sequence synchronous line currents would flow through the inverter valves, bypassing the dc terminals (while the inverter would be exchanging reactive power at the synchronous frequency with the line), and the sub- and super-synchronous (as well as negative sequence) line current components would circulate through the inverter valves and the dc capacitor as if the ac terminals were shunted by ideal, fundamental frequency voltage sources. Thus, in spite of the modulated dc terminal voltage, the power system would "see" the SSSC as a perfect synchronous voltage source, which acts as a short circuit at nonsynchronous frequencies. In other words, from the standpoint of the power system, this SSSC would exhibit ac terminal characteristics identical to those obtained with an inverter whose dc terminal voltage is provided by an infinite source of zero impedance, which, as Messrs. Kosterev and Mittelstadt verified, ensure SSR neutrality. For inverters not having suitable output control capability, an obvious but costly strategy to limit the dc bus voltage excursions, and the corresponding effects on the ac output voltage, is to increase the amount of installed capacitance. This may not always be cost effective, but for completeness it must be stated that with sufficient dc bus capacitance the SSSC can produce ideal output voltages irrespective of the line current. In this case the SSSC can be operated under severely unbalanced line current conditions and it will clearly be neutral to SSR.

Without increasing the dc capacitor size, or establishing an internal voltage control capability in the inverter, there exists a more practical method of operating the SSSC hs usefully in the presence of abnormal line currents. T i approach makes use of the intrinsic ability of the inverter to change the phase angle of its output voltages very rapidly. The technique is best explained using instantaneous vectors [l]to represent the three phase voltage and current sets. By this method, each three phase set (excluding zero sequence components) is entirely represented at each instant of time by a single two-dimensional vector. The vector representing the inverter terminal voltages can be controlled in magnitude (constant, for example) and can be assigned any angle virtually instantaneously. By the simple strategy of keeping the inverter voltage vector instantaneously and continuously in quadrature with the line current vector, the ac terminal power of the SSSC can be maintained precisely at zero, absolutely irrespective of the nature of the line current. The dc capacitor thus sees no charging currents during abnormal line conditions, and the dc voltage stays constant.

T i control technique has some interesting consequences. hs

Consider first a seriously unbalanced line where, for example, single phase tripping has left only two of the three phases in conduction. When the SSSC is controlled, as described, to keep its terminal power instantaneously at zero, an unavoidable phase modulation is introduced in the SSSC terminal voltage. The terminal voltage will contain the original positive sequence fundamental component, plus additional distortion components comprising predominantly a negative sequence fundamental and a positive sequence third harmonic voltage. This is thought to be an acceptable compromise for a condition lasting about forty cycles, since the basic action of the SSSC is not interrupted. It is anticipated that the line currents will be higher than normal during this condition, but this should be accommodated by the short term overload capability of the inverter. Now consider the consequence of the prescribed control technique in the presence of SSR on the line. In this case too, the magnitude of the voltage vector, representing the output voltages of the SSSC, is freely controlled according to the compensation requirements of the line, but its angle is kept precisely at 90 degrees with respect to the vector representing the three line currents, which are now modulated by the torsional machine oscillations. Thus, by definition, the instantaneous total power at the terminals of the SSSC will be maintained at zero. The SSSC therefore appears in series with the line as an "energy-neutral" device, since at no instant in time does it ever deliver any energy to the network nor absorb any energy from it. It must be noted that this energy-neutral condition is unique to the SSSC. Other passive reactive components such as series capacitor banks do store energy and their total instantaneous terminal power is typically not zero during transient conditions. The authors postulate that an energy-neutral device cannot contribute in any way to the occurrence of an

417

SSR which is, after all, a power oscillation between a generator and various energy storage components.
From the above argument it is evident that, due to fundamental physical laws, a su&ient condition for the SSSC to remain neutral to subsynchronous oscillations, independently of system conditions, is to keep its instantaneous output voltage vector (representing the output voltages of the inverter) in quadrature with the instantaneous line current vector. While the generality of the above postulated sufficient condition is supported by basic engineering definitions, it should be recognized that other methods may lead to other conditions (for example, the previously established voltage control method) which would exclude the SSSC's active participation in subsynchronous oscillation. It is also very likely that the SSSC can be controlled to be highly effective in the active damping of prevailing subsynchronous oscillations brought about by conventional series capacitive compensation. There is a considerable opportunity for original research to explore the total potential of the SSSC and we welcome the active participation of the discussers, who have considerable expertise in this field, and look forward to hear about the results of their own studies and the conclusions they reach. We also plan more publications on this subject in the near future.

gating; the magnitude remains proportional to the dc terminalvoltage. (Note, however, that when the dc terminal voltage is provided by a charged capacitor, the magnitude of the output voltage can be varied by angle control which establishes momentary real power exchange at the ac terminals to charge or discharge the dc capacitor.) The control method of maintaining a quadrature relationship between the instantaneous inverter voltage and line current vectors, we propose to handle large unbalances and SSR, requires only a Type 2 inverter. The method of maintaining a single frequency synchronous output independently of dc terminal voltage variation, requires a Type 1inverter. Although high power Type 1 inverters are more difficult to implement than Type 2 inverters (because their greater control flexibility is usually associated with some penalty in terms of increased losses, greater circuit complexity, and/or increased harmonic content in the output), nevertheless they can be realized to meet practical utility requirements. The authors have been closely associated with the development of both types of inverters for output ratings of over 100 MVA. These inverters employ harmonic neutralization techniques with an overall 48-pulse structure using two- and three-level switchingpoles comprising series connected GTO thyristors. Both types of inverters are "vector" controlled. Although the switching poles are operated at the fundamental frequency to keep the losses low, the evaluation of these inverters has verified that the magnitude and/or phase of the output voltage can be controlled very rapidly (phase control is practically instantaneous, magnitude control is about one msec), certainly rapidly enough to implement the above control methods with sufficient accuracy to handle the frequency band of interest (SSR).

Before concluding this discussion, it may be appropriate to make a few comments about the practicality of the proposed control methods from the standpoint of the expectable capabilities a high power inverter. After all, it would be a legitimate question by the discussers whether a practical high power inverter would have the controllability and speed of response to implement the above proposed Reference control techniques. From the standpoint of controllability, inverters may be categorized as Type 1 and Type 2 inverters. For Type 1 inverters both the angular position and the magnitude of the output voltage are controllable by appropriate valve (on and off) gating. For Type 2 inverters only the angular position of the output voltage is controllable by valve

[l] Schauder, C.D. and Mehta, H., Vector Analysis and Control of Advanced Static Var Compensators," IEE Fifth International Conference on AC and DC Transmission, Conference Publication No. 345, pp 266-272, 1991.
Manuscript received March 20, 1996.