A comparative study on current control methods for load balancing and power factor correction using STATCOM

This paper investigates several current control methods for load balancing and power factor correction based on distribution static compensator (STATCOM). Two different configurations are considered for STATCOM; a three leg inverter, and three single phase inverters. It is assumed that the STATCOM is associated with a load that is remote from the supply. After a brief introduction, control structure based on PWM method and simulation results using PSCAD are presented. Next, the same system is simulated using hystersis control method. Both methods employ the instantaneous symmetrical components theory for load balancing and power factor correction. At the end, a comparison between two methods is presented.