757

EEE Transactions on Power Delivery, Vol. 9, No. 2,April 1994

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE

EDDY COUNTY STATIC VAR COMPENSATOR

H. K. Tyll, Member G. Huesmann K. Habur

Siemens AG
ErlangeqGermany

W. H. Elliott, Member F. E.Trujillo, Sr. Member

Southwestern Public Services
Amarillo, TX, USA

K.Stump,Sr. Member
Siemens E&A
Atlanta, GA, USA

KEYWORDS
SVC, thyristor controlled reactor (TCR), thyristor switched capacitor (TSC), reactive power compensation,
voltage control, filter design

NEW MEXICO

\---*.y
I

ABSTRACT
This paper describes the steps for the design of the
Static VAR Compensator (SVC) Eddy County. The
specified system requirements on operating range, loss
evaluation and harmonic performance led to an SVC
configuration which contains one TSC branch, one TCR
branch for continuous reactive power control and two
double tuned filter branches. The system voltage of the
SVC secondary bus was optimized to 8.5 kV based on thyristor equipment capabilities. The paper shows the voltage
and current stresses of the thyristor valves taking into
account system faults for the TCR branch and misfiring
effects on the TSC branch. The approach for filter design
considering the harmonic performance requirements and
i
:
s
e
*
resulting component
ratings
are shown.
The Eddy
County
SVC commenced commercial operation in April 1992.

Roswell

Lubbock

Denver City

Eddy County Cunningham

To EPE

Maddox

4 - - - - -

TEXAS

A Catisbad
Legend:

- - - - - - 345 kV
230 kV

INTRODUCTION

115 kV

System studies conducted by Southwestern Public Service indicated the need for reactive compensation between
-50 MVAr (inductive) and + 100 MVAr (capacitive). A Static
VAR Compensator system covering this range has been
designed and installed at the 230 kV Eddy County substation located in the southwest corner of the SPS system.
Figure 1 shows the SPS system in the area of Eddy County. Significant features of the Eddy County substation are
that it contains a back to back HVDC converter (rated 200
MW) to transfer power between the SPS system and
western New Mexico, it has a 345 kV connection to a
major generating station at Tolk, and it has a 230 kV connection to generators in the Cunningham / Maddox area.
The purpose of this SVC is to provide voltage support for
the system and allow most efficient use of the generators
in the system.
This paper presents the SVC designed for the Eddy
County substation and highlights the main SVC design considerations and procedures. The SVC secondary voltage is
optimized to take full advantage of the thyristors as proven
by type tests for the selected thyristor design. The circuit
configuration and SVC physical layout are presented. Filter
design considerations and techniques are discussed.

HVDC Back-to-BackStation

Fig. 1: Location of the Eddy County Substation

NETWORK REQUIREMENTS
System characteristics:
Normal voltage
Max. cont. voltage
Min. cont. voltage
Max. phase voltage unbalance
Transient overvoltage
Normal base frequency
Normal frequency deviation
Min. cont. frequency
Max. cont. frequency
Short circuit power range

230 kV (1 .O pu)
242 kV (1.05 pu)
219 kV (0.95 pu)
2 Yo
345 kV (1.5 pu)
60 Hz
20.02 Hz
59.5 Hz
60.5 Hz
1.1 ... 2.0 GVA

System harmonic requirements

Individual Voltage Distortion
Total Voltage Distortion (THD)

1.O%
1.5%

SVC basic data requirements

93 SM 450-7 PWRD
A paper recommended and approved
by the IEEE Substations Committee of the IEEE Power
Engineering Society for presentation at the IEEE/PES
1993 Summer Meeting, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, July
18-22, 1993. Manuscript submitted August 28, 1992;
made available for printing April 5 , 1993.
PRINTED IN USA

Design points
Rated inductive power
Rated capacitive power

-50 MVAr
1OOMVAr

1.O pu voltage
1.O pu voltage

Operating range
Continuous cap. operation 0.85 to 1.1 pu voltage
0.9 to 1.1 pu voltage
Continuous ind. operation
Full inductive operation at voltages above 1.1 pu

0885-8977/94/$04.00 0 1993 IEEE

758

The data listed above results in a V / I characteristic as

shown in Figure 2. Below 0.85 pu voltage the SVC shall
operate at its capacitive limit. At voltages above 1.1 pu the
SVC shall operate at its inductive limit. The operation at 1.5
pu voltage is a limited period of 3 cycles. Within the
voltage range of 0.85 to 1.1 pu, any operating point elsewhere in the shadded area is permitted.

230 kV, 60 Hz

design point

design point

Continuous
VAoperation
4

TSC

DF1

DF2

TCR

" " " "

1.o

0.5

0.5
brim

Capacitive
Operation

in PU+

A ~~leurCaf:ivofi

Fig. 2: V / I diagram of the SVC Eddy County

as seen on the HV side

LTSC =
C T ~ C=
=
LI
=
L2
C1
=
Cp
=

L3
4

=
=
C3
=
C4
=
R
=
LTCR =

0.58 mH
765 pF
0.81 mH
73pH
10000 pF
368pF

0.20 mH
50pH
1753 pH
441 pH
7.5 Q

7.5 mH

SVC DESIGN
Fig. 3: Single line diagram and data
of the SVC Eddy County

Basic configuration
Figure 3 shows a single line diagram of the SVC configuration selected to meet requirements outlined in the
previous section. SVC capacitive requirements are met by
a 76 MVAr TSC branch and a 24 MVAr filter. The filter is
chosen to shunt away harmonic currents produced by the
TCR so that the harmonic distortion limits of the system
are satisfied. The TCR branch is rated for approximately 74
MVAr to compensate the filter and absorb the required 50
MVAr from the system. The MVAr figures are referred to
the 230 kV bus and include the effect of the 12% SVC
transformer.
The TSC branch includes two surge arresters. An arrester labeled CC in Figure 3 is connected across the capacitor to limit voltage in case the thyristor misfires at the
worst possible time. A second surge arrester labeled SR in
Flgure 3 connected across the TSC valve and reactor
protects the thyristor against overvoltages. Neither of these
arresters operate during normal SVC operation. They
protec! the TSC branch from faults and misfiring transients.
Figure 4 shows the SVC operating diagram. There is an
overlap range of approximately 10 degrees where the TSC
may be either off or on depending upon past history. This
overlap is controlled by a hysteresis type effect and avoids
control instability at the TSC switching time even for the
case of large system frequency deviations as specified.

I
I
I
I
I
I
I

TSC+TCR+FC

I
I

I I
I 1
I 1
I

I " " 1 " "

100

50

TCR+FC

1
I
I
I

50
Oprim in MVAr

Capacitive
Range

Inductive
Range

'

Fig. 4: Operating diagram of the SVC Eddy County

759

Operatinq losses
The SVC losses are evaluated according to the following
formula.
LOSS-Cost = $Cl x A + $C2 x B + $C3 x C
A, B, C
$Cl, $C2, $C3

operating ranges / points

cost figures for A, B, C
$C1 = $1800
$C2 = $56
$C3 = $56

A Average power loss in kW for SVC output on 230 kV

bus from max. inductive range to 0 MVAr
B Maximum power loss in kW for SVC output on 230 kV
from 0 MVAr to the net filter range

The TCR reactors consists of two coils per phase installed in a double stack arrangement. Reactors for the
TSC are installed side by side. The filter arrangement
consists of two double tuned filters (DF). The first is tuned
to the 3rd and 5th harmonics and the second is tuned to
the 7th and ll.5th harmonics. The second DF includes a
resistance to achieve a high pass characteristic for the
higher harmonics.
Filter branches are tuned very accurately to keep the
harmonic distortion to a minimum and within specified
limits. Filter reactors have been designed with taps to
enable the inductance to be adjusted. This allows initial
mistuning due to reactor and capacitor manufacturing
tolerances to be compensated. Filter reactors are installed
in a triple stack arrangement. Hence, it is very important to
consider the influence of mutual coupling between coils to
achieve proper tuning. More information about the filter
design procedure is given in the Filter Design section.

C Average power loss in kW for SVC output on 230 kV

from the net filter range to 100 MVAr.
Figure 5 shows the operating losses of the SVC as a
function of its reactive power output. The average losses of
the overall operating range based on the nominal capacitive power are 0.45 %. The cost of losses evaluated
according the given formula amounts to $ 0.5 Mio. A loss
versus reactive power characteristic is shown in Figure 5
as dorred line. Comparable average losses would amount
to 0.43 YO which is only slightly lower.
But converted to loss cost according the given formula
an amount of $ 1.1 Mio would arise. The difference of $
0.6 Mio justifies the higher installation cost using a TSC
branch.

Losses

1/F100

Ind.

k
Filters

Fig. 6: Layout of the SVC Eddy County

The SVC control building contains the open loop control

I
(PLC), closed loop control (regulation)[4,5], protection
100 80 60 40 20
0 20 40 60

Physical Layout

system consisting of main and back-up protection, thyristor

valves with Valve Base Electronic (VBE), cooling system
for the thyriztor v&es and AC / DC distribution which
includes a battery unit. In addition the building contains
switchgear control cubicles and a transient fault recorder
from the SPS Company. The control room is airconditioned
and the thyristor valve rooms are ventilated to keep the
temperature within the allowed limits.

Figure 6 shows the physical layout of the SVC system.

The branches (TCR, TSC and filters) are connected to the
secondary bus by removable links. This arrangement
allows failed branches to be disconnected so that SVC
operation can be resumed in a degraded operating mode.
Removable links used for branch connections allow a
lower cost design than disconnect switches. In addition to
lower hardware costs, removable links require less space
in the station than switches. Total area for the SVC equipment is only 50 m by 44.5 m.

The thyristor valve cooling system is a single circuit

cooling system with outdoor water / air recooler fan banks.
To avoid freezing of the water during extreme cold weather
conditions a water / glycol mixture is used. The glycol content is approx. 30 %. This will prevent the cooling system
from freezing at temperatures down to 5 degree F when
the SVC is not in operation. The cooling system includes
redundant pumps (100 Yo redundancy). Two water / air
heat exchangers provide 100 o/o
redundancy for
temperatures up to 92 degree F.

Reactive Power [MVAr]

Fig. 5: Operating losses of the SVC Eddy County

760
DesiQncalculations for the thyristor valves

49.7kV.

Nominal secondary voltage for the SVC was chosen as

8.5 kV to make optimum use of the thyristor capabilities.
Three phase thyristor valves consist of three thyristor
modules stacked one above the other. Figure 7 shows a
three phase TSC valve. The Eddy County TSC valve contains 14 thyristor levels and the TCR valve contains 7 thyristor levels. The thyristors each have a current carrying
capacity of 4200 Arms and a peak blocking voltage of 5.6
kV. In the Eddy County design, rated TSC current is 3200
Arms and rated TCR current is 3300 Arms. These design
ratings are below the 4200 Arms capability of the thyristors
and allow for additional stress due to short time overloads
and thyristor misfiring [l]. In all cases, the junction
temperature remains well below 120 degrees C.

- 25 kV1

- 10 kA

,Water

- 22.5 kA
15.8 kV
T

20kVL
-- 10
kA capacitor voltage

-24.4kV

+\

capacitor current,

Side View

i30.1 kV

22.5 kA

Fig. 8: Voltage and current stresses of a TSC branch

due to a valve misfiring

Thyristor electronics

tubes

-29.0kV'

20 kV
10 kAr

Thyristor modules applied in the Eddy County SVC

design have been extensively type tested for other
applications [2].Test values are based on a draft paper of
the ClGRE working group 14.01 TF 02.that proposes tests
which are more applicable to real SVC valve stresses than
those which have been proposed by IEC 146.
Frunt vie*

valve voltage

25 kV

40 kV
4k q

-valve current AB

n rq
wv

valve voltage AB
nubber c a p a c i t
Water Cooled ,
snubber r e s i s t

9.35 kA

Fig. 7: Drawing of a three phase TSC valve

Valve stresses in the Eddy County SVC have been calculated with the NETOMAC [3] digital electromagnetics
program. Worst current, recovery voltage, and di / dt
stresses for the TSC valves occur during a misfiring event.
Misfiring calculations were based on the worst case
sequence of events as follows:

valve voltage CA

- The SVC is in full capacitive operation. This leads to the

-

maximum voltage on the secondary side of the SVC

transformer.
During this operation the TSC valves are blocked and
then the valve in the TSC leg with the highest capacitor
voltage is misfired.
The instant of misfiring is chosen at the time of
maximum blocking voltage across the TSC valve. This
results in maximum current magnitude and highest di /
dt stresses.

Figure 8 shows the voltages and currents in the TSC

branch for this misfiring. The magnitude of the current
pulse was below 23 kA. Recovery voltage across the
blocked valve remained below 50 kV. This is well below
the blocking voltage of the 14 thyristor level TSC valve.

Fig. 9: Voltage and current stresses of a TCR branch

due to a three phase system fault
The worst stresses for a TCR valve occurs during a three
phase fault on the high voltage bus. Voltage and current
stresses for this case are shown in Figure 9. Note that
these traces show valve current when the valve is
conducting and voltage when the valve is blocked. The
sequence of events for Figure 9 were as follows:

- Full inductive operation at 1.5 per unit voltage

- Fault initiation at the time when one TCR current is at a
peak

- Fault clearing between 4 and 5 cycles after initiation

TCR valve blocking at the first current zero after fault

clearing.

761

The TCR currents decay on the long time constant of the

TCR branches. Clearing of the fault at the most
unfavorable time adds an additional peak to the thyristor
currents in phases AB and CA. The TCR current in one
phase (CA in Figure 9) may be prolonged because of
delayed zero crossings. Junction temperature must remain
below 120 degrees C in this extreme case for the thyristors
to remain undamaged. Oscillation in the TCR current
during the decay period is due to the natural frequency of
the filters and the SVC transformer leakage inductance.
Figures 10 and 11 are examples from the thyristor type
tests which were performed at the CESl laborities in
Milano, Italy [2]. Figure 10 shows the resutts of a fault test
which is equivalent to a thyristor misfiring. Figure 11 shows
the result of a DC trapped current decay test. These tests
are more sever than the stresses computed for the Eddy
County thyristors in the TSC and TCR branches.
Calculation of the thyristor junction temperature verified
that it remains below 120 degrees C at the end of current
flow when the valve is required to withstand the recovery
voltaae. Hence, it is concluded that the thyristor valves in

(Fault current test)

that components are rated properly and not overstressed

in the extreme conditions.
The network impedance as a function of frequency must
be known for proper filter performance design. The
impedance versus frequency characteristics of the Eddy
County bus were computed for many system conditions.
The following parameters were varied during the system
impedance evaluation study:

- range of generation
- range of load
- various steps of HVDC compensation
- system configuration (lines out).

Figure 12 shows the system impedance boundary that

was determined from the impedance versus frequency
calculations. For all frequencies and system conditions, the
network impedance is somewhere within the shaded area.
Data given on the figure quantitatively defines the network
impedance region.

Fig. 12: Network impedance equivalent area

The equivalent circuit for all harmonic calculations is
shown in Figure 13. The TCR is represented as the
harmonic current source. In parallel the SVC filter and TSC
branches are connected. The TSC branch may be
switched off according to the SVC operation conditions.The
LV bus is connected via the transformer impedance to the
230 kV system. At the 230 kV bus the HVDC filters and the
equivalent network impedance are represented. The HVDC
filter branches can be regarded according to the HVDC
operation.

equiv.
Fig. 11: Test results of the TCR valve type test
(DC trapped current)
Filter desiqn
Filter design is one of the most important steps in the
SVC design process. The first step in proper filter design
must ensure that the specified distortion limits are not
exceeded. The second step in filter design is to ensure

I v TCR

Fig. 13: Equivalent circuit for harmonic calculations

At a first step without knowledge about the system
impedance only a filter tuned to fifth harmonic was

762
assumed. Afterwards a two double tuned filter arrangement
had to be selected, but the total fundamental power for the
filter branch was not changed.
The worst resonance condition between the network
impedance boundary and the harmonic filters was
assumed for the calculation of the individual harmonic
voltage distortion. Harmonic voltage distortion was also
computed with the network circuit open. The total harmonic
distortion (THD) was computed with the two highest
individual harmonic distortion values from the worst case
network resonance conditions and the remaining harmonic
distortions determined with the network open circuited.
This yields to the worst possible THD results.
Harnnonic performance is based on:
Nominal system voltage
Maximum initial mistuning due to tolerances
Detuning according temperature range
Assuming m a . magnitudes of TCR harmonic current
independant on firing angle
Negative sequence voltage content which gives rise
to generation of triple harmonics outside the delta
Firing angle unsymmetry which results in generation
of even harmonics
Loss of capacitor units of up to alarm level
Operating ranges of the TCR
Rating calculations for the filter components are done
seperately from the performance calculations. They are
based on similar conditions as above with the addition that
the following conditions are imposed:

Maximum system voltage of 1.1 pu

units up to trip level.

Ambient harmonics

- Increase of harmonic currents by 10/~

- Extended detuning effect due to loss of capacitor
I

In principal the same equivalent circuit was used. The

limitation of the impedance area by the straight lines was
increased to 80. The maximum impedance was set to
infinity. This leads to higher amplification factors and
results in higher safety margins for the components. The
influence of ambient harmonics on filter component rating
is considered assuming the infeed of harmonics from the
HVDC station at the 230 kV busbar.

Rating values of the components have also been

checked for transient conditions of:

- SVC energization
- Three phase system fault and voltage recovery.

Saturation by neighbor transformers

Figure 14 shows worst case stresses of the 3 I 5 DF

components during the condition of a three phase fault and
volta e recovery. Harmonic currents generated by the
HVD8 and SVC transformer results in extreme high
stresses for the filters. The voltage and current stresses of
the parallel circuit of the DF in this case determine the
actual rating values for these components.

CONCLUSION
A Static Var Compensator meeting the, -50 MVAr to

+ 100 MVAr compensation range required by the

Southwestern Public Service Company has been designed

and installed at the Eddy County substation near Artesia,
New Mexico. Basic requirements on voltage and reactive
power were determined for Eddy County by computer
studies and projections of future SPS needs. Costumer
load, fuel expense, voltage regulation, generation, energ
losses, and system reliability were considered in the SV;
design specification.
A basic configuration consisting of a TSC branch, a TCR
branch and two double tuned filter branches has been
designed to meet the system requirements. An economical and efficient design has been achieved by applying
thyristors with surge arrester protection, where necessary,
that have been previously type tested for conditions more
severe than those that can exist in the Eddy County SVC.
Loss curves and evaluation has indicated favourable SVC
efficiency. Filter branches in the SVC were designed to
meet the SPS performance specifications and component
ratings were selected to exceed stresses imposed by the
system. Close working cooperation between Southwestern
Public Service Company and the SVC supplier during all
stages of the project (studies, design, installation and
commissioning) made it possible to meet all SVC
requirements and to put the SVC into commercial
operation within the scheduled time frame.

REFERENCES
G.Thumm, H.Tyll, A Closer Look at Thyristors in
SVC applications, Siemens Energy and Automation,
Vol. 1 pp. 12-17, 1989
B. Endres, G. Thiele, I. Bonfanti, G. Testi, Design
and Operational Testing on Thyristor Modules for the
SVC Kemps Creek, IEEE Transaction on Power
Delivery, Vol. 5, No 3, July 1990, pp. 1321-1328
W.Baver. K. H. Kruaer. D. Povh. B. Kulicke. Studies
for HVDC and SVC Using the NETOMAC Digital
Program System, IEEE I CSEE Joint conference on
High Voltane Transmission Systems in China, 1987,
Paper 873C-32
H. Tyll, K. Leowald, F. Labrenz, D. Mader, Special
Features of the Control Svstem of the Brushv Hill
SVC , Canadian Electrical Association, Power Sistem
Planning and Operation Section, Spring meeting,
Toronto 1989

kV
Fig. 14: Voltage and current stresses of the components
in the parallel circuit of DF 3 / 5

K. Bergmann, B. Friedrich, K. Stump, W. Elliot,

Digital Simulation, Transient Network Analyzer and
Field Tests of the Closed Loop Control of the Eddy
County SVC, IEEE 93 - WM 056 - 2 PWRD

763

BIOGRAFIES
William H. ( Bill ) Elliott was born in Bird
City, KS on June 1, 1942. He received a
bachelor of sience degree in electrical
engineering
from
Kansas
State
University, Manhattan, Kansas in 1965.
He joined Southwestern Public Service,
Amarillo, TX in 1965. Mr. Elliotts
activities have been in the field of
system and transmission operation,
system
engineering and planning.
-~
Currently he is working as Principal
Engineer in Electrical Operations. Mr. Elliott is member of
the Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers (IEEE), the
Texas Society of Professional Engineers ( TSPE ) and the
National Society of Professional Engineers ( NSPE ).
Klaus Habur was born in Furth, Bavaria,
Federal Republic of Germany on April 8,
1952. He received his education at the
Ohm-PolytechnikumiNurnbergand at the
DAG-TechnikumMlurzburg. He joined
Siemens AG 1980 as a design engineer
for electrochemical plants. Previous to
this work, he was with a consulting
engineers company. In 1985 he joined
the Reactive Power Compensation Sales
Department and worked as a project
engineer and project manager for various SVC projects.
Gabriele Huesmann was born in
Munster, Westfalia, Federal Republic of
Germany on March 18, 1963. She joined
Siemens in 1982 and received an
education as engineers assistant. After
two years work in the Transportation
Systems department, she joined the
network planning department. Since
1986 she is active in the field of
programming, SVC design and harmonic
system analysis.
Keith B. Stump was born in Richmond,
Indiana, on February 12, 1941. He
received a bachelor of Science de ree
in electrical engineering from 8hio
University in 1963, and a Master of
Science degree in electrical engineering
from Purdue University in 1965. He was
employed by Allis-Chalmers Corp. in
Milwaukee, WI, from 1965 through 1977.
He then transferred to Siemens-Allis,
Inc. in 1978 which became Siemens
Energy &Automation, Inc., Atlanta, GA. Mr. Stump is
currently working in the Power Systems Technology
department in the area of system simulation and analysis.
Mr. Stump is a member of the IEEE Power Engineering
Society and vice chairman of the IEEE Surge Protective
Devices Committee.

Frank E. Truiillo was born in Deming,

New Mexico, on July 17, 1954. He
received a Bachelor of Science Degree
in Electrical Engineering from New
Mexico State University, Las Cruses,
New Mexico in 1976. He joined
Southwestern Public Service, Amarillo,
TX in 1977. Mr Trujillos activities have
been in the field of system engineering.
Currently he is working as Senior Design
Engineer in the System Engineering
group for SPS. Mr. Trujillo is a Senior member of IEEE.
Heinz K. Tyll was born in Hof, Bavaria,
Federal Republic of Germany on May
15, 1947. In 1968 he graduated in
Electrical Engineering from Coburg
Polytechnikum. In 1974 he received the
diplom degree from the Technical
University of West-Berlin. After joining
Siemens AG, he worked in their High
Voltage
Transmission
Engineering
Department since 1975 in the field of
SVC system analysis with transient network analyzer and di ita1 programs. Since 1988 with the
System Engineering &oup of the HVDC and SVC Sales
Department he is responsible for SVC design and
transmission system analysis. He is member of IEEE,
ClGRE WG 38 TF 04 and 05 and also IEC WG 22F TF 05.