A comparison of voltage regulation and control methods

Traditional voltage control in distribution networks typically aims at improving the voltage profile of a distribution feeder by controlling the voltage at the zone substation only. Though useful, this method is not enough to compensate for voltage drops across long, heavily loaded feeders. Volt/var control is one of the techniques to improve overall performance of a distribution network by utilising voltage control at substations and reactive power control. This paper addresses two different types of volt/var control methods; localised and integrated volt/var control (IVVC). The traditional voltage control method, localised volt/var control and IVVC methods are tested on a modified IEEE 13 node test feeder over a 24-hour period. The results obtained using these methods are compared with each other in order to validate the effectiveness of using IVVC in the network. The results obtained demonstrate that IVVC is able to improve the overall voltage profile of the test feeder, reduce the total number of tap operations performed by the on load tap changer at the zone substation while reducing active power losses.