Suggestion of a New Protection Scheme for a Transmission System Equipped with a Thyristor-Controlled Series Capacitor

Abstract

A thyristor-controlled series capacitor (TCSC) is employed to a transmission line in order to enhance the usable capacity of the present as well as upgraded lines, improve system stability, reduce losses, and improve power flow control capability. However, in an abnormal situation, the TCSC may transit from the existing operation mode to the other mode according to its control system and protection strategy. There is much difference in the impedance of the TCSC between each mode. This threatens the reliability of the conventional protection system, especially the distance relay, that works based on the measurement of line impedance. In this paper, we suggest a new protection scheme for a distance relay of a transmission line equipped with a TCSC. In the suggested method, in order to mitigate the effect of the TCSC in the fault loop, the TCSC injected voltage is subtracted from the measured phase voltage before supplying the voltage signal to the distance relay. The suggested scheme was verified by a real time digital simulator (RTDS)-based closed-loop test bed of a protective relay. The effect of the TCSC in the fault loop was completely mitigated. The distance relay works properly with the suggested scheme.