RTDS verification of a coordinated voltage control implementation for distribution networks with distributed generation

In weak distribution networks the amount of distributed generation (DG) is usually limited by the voltage rise effect. The voltage rise can be mitigated using passive methods such as increasing the conductor size which can, however, be quite expensive. Also active voltage control methods can be used to reduce the maximum voltage in the network. In many cases active voltage control can increase the capacity of connectable DG substantially which can lead to significantly lower connection costs. In this paper, operation of an active voltage control algorithm is viewed. The algorithm controls the substation voltage and DG reactive power and determines its control actions based on the state of the whole network. The algorithm is implemented as a Matlab program and communication between Matlab and SCADA is realized using OPC Data Access. Correct operation of the algorithm is verified using Real Time Digital Simulator (RTDS). The same algorithm could also be implemented as a part of the distribution management system (DMS).