A Survey and Comparative Evaluation of FACTS Controllers in Power System Performance Enhancement

Abstract

The demand for electricity has increased significantly in recent years, and the expansion of power transmission and distribution networks has been severely limited due to resource and environmental constraints. This has resulted in some transmission lines being overloaded and hence increase in system instability. Developed in the last decades of the last century, Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTS) controllers have become one of the most prominent solutions for optimizing the electricity grid. FACTS controllers can control the active and reactive power flows within a transmission line by controlling the shunt and series parameters of the transmission line. Due to their flexibility, different types of FACTS controllers have been proposed to solve different operating problems in power systems and are well recognized for their technical advantages, but high cost is one of the factors that limit the spread of this technology. This paper presents an exhaustive survey of various types of FACTS devices and the problem(s) they can solve to enhance power system performance. Also, cost comparison of various FACTS controllers is presented in this study. The objective of the study is for the paper to serve as a guide for selecting the most appropriate FACTS controller to solve a particular power system problem while also considering the cost. Keywords— Active and reactive power, FACTS controllers, Optimal allocation, Power system performance.