Paper accepted for presentation at 2003 IEEE Bologna Power Tech Conference, June 23th-26th, Bologna, Italy

Impact of Reactive Power Compensation

Equipment on the Harmonic Impedance of High
Voltage Networks
Johan H.R. Enslin1, Senior Member, IEEE; Johan Knijp; Cees P.J. Jansen and Johan H. Schuld

Abstract- The design of reactive power compensation
capacitor banks is evaluated on the basis of harmonic
measurements, harmonic analysis in the high voltage network
and transient studies. Two designs of mechanical switched
capacitor banks, based on a simple capacitor design with turn-on
reactor and a C-Type filter with harmonic damping network are
considered for 6 locations in the TenneT 380 kV and 220 kV
networks, totaling 1500 Mvar of capacitor banks. Based on these
studies the design and specifications of ten banks were finalized.
This paper summarizes the results of this evaluation, design and
analysis studies.
Index Terms- Harmonic Analysis; Power Filters; Power
System Harmonics; Reactive Power Control; Voltage
Transformers.
I. INTRODUCTION
II. HV MEASUREMENTS OF HARMONIC POLLUTION
Harmonic measurements at the different Dutch 380 kV
substations were performed to obtain zero-base harmonic data
(before installations of reactive power compensation
equipment or HVDC links). Harmonic voltage measurements
were carried out at six 380 kV substations where the planned
capacitor banks will be connected. Additionally a similar
measurement was carried out at the 380 kV substation
Maasvlakte, near Rotterdam, since a planned HVDC
connection is expected to be landed at this sub-station. The
purpose of these measurements was to quantify the harmonic
voltage distortion in the 220/380 kV network of TenneT over
a period of 5 consecutive days. The individual harmonics
were recorded up to the 40th harmonic.
To measure the harmonic voltage distortion of the network

D UE to the deregulation of the electricity market in

Europe, electricity generator companies and network
companies have to be independent on both economical and
at an acceptable accuracy level, a test set-up was specially
built in the appropriate substations. A photograph of this test
set-up is shown in Fig. 1.
technical merits [6]. As part of this process, the Dutch
network companies are installing large numbers of reactive
power compensating devices configured as mechanically
switched capacitor banks (MSCs).
Due to these new market developments and the European
wide renewable energy drive, non-traditional power suppliers
are entering the national Dutch power market. These new
power sources may be in the form of HVDC links from
neighboring countries, i.e. the UK and Norway, or large off-
shore wind parks on the North Sea. Some examples are the
planned BritNed and NorNed HVDC links and possible 6000
MW offshore wind farms off the coast of The Netherlands
[7].
These large HVDC links may introduce characteristic
harmonic currents at the different 380 kV substations, which
initiate system resonances between the large reactive power
compensation capacitor banks and the 380 kV network [3],
[4], [5], [6].

Fig. 1: Photograph of the measurement set-up at a 380 kV substation.

This work is done by KEMA TDC, and was supported by TenneT, the
Dutch HV Network Operator.
J. H. R. Enslin, J. Knijp and C. P. J. Jansen are with KEMA TDC Arnhem, The set-up consisted of a 380 kV RCR type voltage divider
The Netherlands (e-mail: j.h.r.enslin@kema.com). (shown in the middle of Fig. 1), a data logger and a coaxial
J. H. Schuld is with TenneT, The Netherlands (e-mail: connection. The voltage divider was installed in the coupling
j.h.schuld@tennet.org).
section of the substation and connected to one phase.

0-7803-7967-5/03/$17.00 ©2003 IEEE

 Before performing measurements on location, the
bandwidth of the voltage divider was checked and dielectric
tests were carried out at KEMA’s High-Voltage Laboratory.
A schematic diagram of the measurement set-up is shown Fig.
2.
380 kV Busbar Coupling Section
A result of the total voltage THD, 5th and 7th voltage
harmonics, at one of the substations is shown in Fig. 5.
Similar measurements at the other substations are available.
This data aided in the establishment of harmonic compatibility
and planning levels within TenneT.

R-C-R Divider 2
Rp
Divider ratio 4000:1
400 MΩ
Attenuation at 2 kHz 0 dB
3x 575 pF 1.5
Attenuation at 3 kHz -0,46 dB
Capacitors
Attenuation at 5 kHz -1,1 dB

Data-logger
LV-arm
Fig. 2: Measurement set-up for open-air substations
The measurements performed at the Maasvlakte substation
were carried out on a GIS installation. For this purpose the
capacitive voltage indicator in the installation was used. The
indicator itself was removed and its plug was connected to a
termination capacitor. In this way a capacitive voltage divider
was realized. Before starting measurements, the bandwidth of
this set-up was checked at a spare GIS section at the
substation. A schematic diagram and photograph of the GIS
measurement set-up are given in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4.
GIS Tube
Busbar 400 kV
C1
Datalogger
C2
Fig. 3: Measurement set-up for GIS substation
0.5
U1THD % avG
U1H5 % avG
U1H7 % avG
0
25-02-02 26-02-02 27-02-02 28-02-02 01-03-02 02-03-02 03-03-02 04-03-02 05-03-02
00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00
Fig. 5: Harmonic measurement result in a 380 kV substation
The results of these harmonic measurements indicated that
some of the characteristic voltage harmonics were
approaching the planning harmonic levels on the 380 kV
network. It was concluded that with the planned HVDC links
and MSCs directly connected onto the 380 kV network, the
planning harmonic levels might be exceeded if no measures
are taken. Care should therefore be taken when capacitive
reactive power compensation equipment is connected to the
380 kV network, in order to avoid possible resonance points
near characteristic harmonic frequencies.
III. REACTIVE POWER COMPENSATION
1500 Mvar reactive power compensation equipment are
currently installed for the TenneT 220 kV and 380 kV
network at 6 different sub-stations. All individual banks were
configured as 150 Mvar banks and at some of the substations
two parallel banks will be implemented. Due to the low
number of expected switching operations per day (1 – 4) it
was decided to use mechanically switched capacitor banks for
this purpose. Point-on-Wave synchronized switching would
be implemented in the breaker designs. These banks will
however dramatically impact the 380 kV network impedance
and these harmonic impedance results are also required to
perform a good HVDC filter design. The designs of both
capacitor with turn-on reactors (MSC) [4] and C-Type
capacitor bank with damping network (MSCDN) [2], [5],
were evaluated. The harmonic impedance of the network and
the transients at some of the 380 kV substations were
evaluated, using regular capacitor only banks and a C-Type
damped capacitive filter bank.

IV. C-TYPE DAMPED MSC DESIGN

The damped MSCs, investigated in this paper, is based on
the 3rd harmonic tuned C-Type filter [2], [5], with the single-
Fig. 4: Measurement plug for GIS substation
phase line diagram shown in Fig. 6 below:
 R1 S SC
HV C1 f r = f1
Q
(1)

where f1 is the fundamental network frequency, SSC the short-

circuit power at the point of connection, and Q the total amount of
Connection capacitive rating of the capacitor banks and cable network.
In this simple equation, no information on the network
C2 L R2 damping is available. In practical networks, resistive damping
in the lines, transformers and loads, limits the resonance and
Fig. 6: C-Type Damped MSC Topology (MSCDN)
harmonic impedance amplification, Zh/(hZ1), to 3 – 10 times
The C-type filter is normally tuned to the 3rd harmonic with or between 200 and 800 Ω (Zh is the harmonic impedance at
characteristic impedance shown in Fig. 7 below. specific harmonic, h harmonic number and Z1 the harmonic
impedance at fundamental frequency).
In practical harmonic analyses the harmonic impedance is
calculated with software programs based on a specific
network configuration. A number of these cases generate then
a harmonic impedance area, which determine the worst
stringent rating or performance specifications. The results of
these programs represent the harmonic impedance in terms of
a R-X polar plot.
The definitions of the harmonic impedance parameters are
shown in Fig. 8. The R / X values in the inductive (above 0
ohms line) or capacitive regions (below 0 ohms line) are
expressed as the tan ϕ1 or tan ϕ2 respectively.

Fig. 7: C-Type MSCDN Characteristics

Although the C-type characteristics indicate a series

resonance at the 3rd harmonic (150 Hz), C2 and L forms a
series resonance at 50 Hz. This implies that the impedance at
the fundamental frequency is close to zero over C2 and L. The
fundamental reactive rating of the filter is thus only
determined by C1. Damping is provided for all frequencies
higher than 50 Hz and is determined by the size of the
damping resistor R1. The basic design investigated in this
Fig. 8: Definition of Generalised Harmonic Impedance of a Network
project is shown below for both the 220 and 380 kV
configurations.
To evaluate the effect of the harmonic impedance of these
Table 1: 150 Mvar C-Type MSCDN values for 380/220 kV network
MSC designs, harmonic impedance calculations based on the
Filter Component Unit 150 Mvar @ 150 Mvar @
full Dutch 380 / 220 / 150 kV Network model, using
380 kV 220 kV
DIgSILENT program were performed. The modeling
Main Capacitor C1 [µF] 3,31 9,86
principles were based on the CIGRé [1] calculation method.
Filter Capacitor C2 [µF] 26,45 78,92
Single capacitors (MSC) designs and the C-Type, 3rd
Filter Inductance L [mH] 383,0 128,4
Damping Resistor R1 harmonic tuned capacitor with damping network (MSCDN),
[Ω] 900 300
were evaluated at all the TenneT substations. In this study it
L Series Resistor R2 [Ω] 0,4 0,13
was found that the planned 1500 Mvar capacitor banks
Q-Factor of Circuit [-] 300 300
dramatically influence the harmonic impedance of the Dutch
380 and 220 kV network. Some of the results from this study
V. HARMONIC ANALYSIS are shown in terms of the harmonic impedance Z (Ω), in Fig.
9 and Fig. 10.
The harmonic impedance of the network can be determined
From these impedance plots it is clear that the C-Type
by different methods. In most cases mainly the inductive line
MSCDN (Fig. 10) is not affecting the harmonic impedance at
impedances and the capacitive parameters of cable networks
the substation or in the rest of the network. Switching the
and reactive power compensation capacitor banks, influence
MSCDN banks do not change the resonance frequencies of
the harmonic impedance. These two main reactive
the network. On the other hand, the simple MSC capacitor
components (L and C) determine possible resonant points in
banks (Fig. 9), dramatically change the resonance frequencies
the network. In the simplest form the resonant frequency is
of the 380 kV network. Furthermore, these C-Type MSCDNs
determined as shown in the following simple equation:
damp the network to acceptable levels.
 It is clear that there are fewer resonance peaks with much
2000.
more damping for the MSCDN design compared to the MSC
design. The maximum radius for the MSC design in this case
1500.
is 2500 Ω, plotted in Fig. 11, while the maximum radius for
the MSCDN design was only 600 Ω, calculated from Fig. 12.
The amplification of harmonic voltages when switching in
1000.
a capacitor bank at the different sub-stations also played an
important role in the selection process between the MSC or
500.
MSCDN designs. It is required that the harmonic voltage
amplification levels should be less than 1,0 for the 4th
harmonic and higher. See the following table.
0.0

Table 1: Maximum allowable amplification of harmonic voltages

-500.
Harmonic order no. Amplification
0.0 600. 1200. 1800. 2400. [Hz] 300
2 ≤ 1,3
Fig. 9: Result of harmonic impedance Z (Ω) calculations with simple
capacitor MSCs (Effect shown on Harmonic Impedance with a single 150 3 ≤ 1,2
Mvar MSC switching) 4 to 31 ≤1
2000.
The harmonic amplification can be plotted in terms of the
calculated network impedance Znet, and the impedance of the
1500. C-Bank, Zc. These amplification factors are compared
between a MSC and a MSCDN design at Diemen. These
results are plotted in Fig. 13:
1000.

Harmonic Amplification (|Zc/(Zc+Znet)|) at Diemen

500.
MSCDN MSC
7

6
0.0

4
-500.
0.0 600. 1200. 1800. 2400. [Hz] 30
3
Fig. 10: Result of harmonic impedance Z (Ω) with C-Type damped
MSCDN design (Effect shown on Harmonic Impedance with a single 150 2
Mvar MSCDN switching) 1

0
For the next result all the ten capacitor banks (1500 Mvar) 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
in the network are switched on, and the harmonic impedance frequency [Hz]
at one substation is generated.
The results are compared between the simple MSC design Fig. 13: The harmonic amplification plotted in terms of the network
and a C-Type MSCDN design for all banks. The polar R-X impedance and the impedance of the C-Bank.
results are plotted in Fig. 11 and Fig. 12 respectively for the
MSC and MSCDN designs. It is clear that the MSC design does not comply to the
indicated voltage amplification levels. The MSCDN design on
Harmonic impedance the other hand complies fully with this requirement.
500

VI. TRANSIENT STUDY WITH MSC DESIGNS

The in-rush currents and voltage transients were also
Reactance [Ω]

Fig. 11: R-X Polar plot of harmonic
impedance with simple MSC design
0
evaluated for both MSC and MSCDN designs. Although
Point-on-Wave synchronized circuit breakers are considered
in the MSC designs, the transient calculations were based on
−500
the fact that these breakers did not operate on the zero voltage
0 500 1000 crossings. As a worst case it is assumed that two phases of the
Resistance [Ω]
bank are turned on at the peak voltage of one phase and the
Fig. 12: R-X Polar plot of harmonic other phase 3,3 ms later. Firstly the regular MSC with a turn-
impedance with MSCDN Design on reactor of some 30 mH (Maximum practical value) and the
minimum short circuit impedance was considered. The inrush
current for the bank is shown in Fig. 14.
 3.0

DI SILEN
400.

1.8 240.

1 80.0

-0.6 -80.0

-1.8 -240.

-3.0 -400.
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 [s] 0.05 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 [s] 0.05
R 2: Phase Current A/Terminal i in kA DIM\-: Phase Voltage A in kV
R 2: Phase Current B/Terminal i in kA DIM\-: Phase Voltage B in kV
R 2: Phase Current C/Terminal i in kA DIM\-: Phase Voltage C in kV

Fig. 14: Result of turn-on current transient at peak voltage, using regular Fig. 17: Result of Turn-on Voltage Transient with 380 kV 150 Mvar C-
380 kV, 150 Mvar capacitor bank and a turn-on reactor of 30 mH (Turn-on Type damped MSC design (Two phases switch at time 0 and the other
of two phases at time 0 and the other phase 3,3 ms later) phase 3,3 ms later)

A peak of more than 2 kA at 380 kV is calculated. The From these transient calculations it is clear that the C-Type
nominal rms-current is around 220 A. The voltage transients MSCDN capacitor banks are also the preferred choice.
at the 380 kV bus bar are shown in Fig. 15. These are no
acceptable transients for such a high voltage substation. VII. C-TYPE MSCDN DESIGN AND SPECIFICATION
CONSIDERATIONS
500.

Based on these above-mentioned and other considerations,

300.
the design of the 1500 Mvar reactive power compensation
equipment was based on the C-Type MSCDN. These
100.
MSCDNs are currently engineered and installed on the
TenneT 220 kV and 380 kV network at 6 different sub-
-100. stations. All the ten individual banks were configured as 150
Mvar banks and at some of the substations two parallel banks
-300. will be implemented. Point-on-Wave synchronized switching
will be implemented in the breaker designs.
-500. Some considerations to the design have to be well
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 [s] 0.0
DIM\-: Phase Voltage A in kV
DIM\-: Phase Voltage B in kV
engineered in order to have a reliable and environmentally
DIM\-: Phase Voltage C in kV good system. These include considerations to the larger
Fig. 15: Result of turn-on voltage transient at peak voltage, using regular footprint size, large air-core reactors, noise production,
380 kV, 150 Mvar capacitor bank and a turn-on reactor of 30 mH (Turn-on
of two phases at time 0 and the other phase 3,3 ms later) electromagnetic induction in surrounding equipment, fences
and foundations as well as the turn-on transients across the
In the C-Type MSCDN design, the same conditions at damping resistor R1. The losses in the damping resistor was
turn-on were considered, and the results of the in-rush also considered using maximum harmonic compatibility
currents and the voltage transients are plotted in Fig. 16 and levels. The current (voltage) transient through the damping
Fig. 17 respectively. A maximum of 900 A current peak was resistor R1 on a 380 kV design is shown in Fig. 18.
calculated. The voltage transient is barely noticeable.
0.4
DIgSILEN

1.00

0.2

0.6

0.1

0.2

-0.08

-0.20

-0.24

-0.60

-0.40
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 [s] 0.05
-1.00 RL 2: Phase Current A/Terminal i in kA
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 [s] 0.05 RL 2: Phase Current B/Terminal i in kA
CL 2: Phase Current A/Terminal i in kA RL 2: Phase Current C/Terminal i in kA
CL 2: Phase Current B/Terminal i in kA
CL 2: Phase Current C/Terminal i in kA Fig. 18: Result of turn-on current (voltage[x900]) transient through the
Fig. 16: Result of Turn-on Current Transient with 380 kV, 150 Mvar C- damping resitor R1, at peak voltage, using the regular 380 kV, 150 Mvar
Type MSCDN design (Two phases at time 0 and the other 3,3 ms later) capacitor bank (Turn-on of two phases at time 0 and the other 3,3 ms later)
 Since the turn-on current of the damping resistor R1 is
taken, the voltage transient is the same scaled by the resistor
value of 900 Ω.
A surge arrester is designed across this resistor to handle
these transients when the Point-on-Wave synchronization
breaker switch is not operating.
VIII. CONCLUSIONS
From the harmonic voltage measurements, the zero base
harmonic voltage values are obtained for reference and
specification purposes of future MSC and HVDC
installations. When comparing the characteristics of the
network model obtained from implementing the C-Type
MSCDN with that of a simple capacitor MSC, the network
resonances are much better damped with the C-Type MSCDN
design. Furthermore the C-Type MSCDN is not affecting the
harmonic resonance frequencies and has an excellent wide-
band damping effect of the network resonances. The
transients are kept well under control. Some design
considerations are however important in this design. These
include the rating and transients of the damping resistor, as
well as the series reactor losses, noise production and
electromagnetic induction.
The design of the 1500 Mvar MSCs has now been finalized
on a C-Type MSCDN design. The harmonic resonance
characteristics are calculated for the Dutch 380 and 220 kV
network, taking into account future network upgrades and the
1500 Mvar capacitive reactive power compensation
equipment. It was found that the network damping is the
worst when the capacitors are out of operation.
IX. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of
Ali Atmadji and Erwin Hoeksma for some simulation studies
and Jeremy Price from NGC, for good technical discussions
during this project.
X. REFERENCES
Periodicals:
[1] A. Robert, T. Deflandre, CIGRé Working Group CC02, "Guide for
assessing the network harmonic impedance", Cigré Electra, no. 167,
August 1996.
Books:
[2] J. Arrillaga, D.A. Bradley and P.S. Bodger: “Power system harmonics”,
John Wiley & Sons, Norwich, 1985.
[3] N. Mohan; T.M. Undeland; W.P. Robbins: "Power electronics:
Converters, applications and design, 2nd Edition" New York, Wiley &
Sons, 1995.
[4] T.J.E. Miller: "Reactive power control in electric systems," New York,
John Wiley & Sons, 1982.
Papers from Conference Proceedings (Published):
[5] N.M. MacLeod, J.J. Price, I.W. Whitlock, "The control of harmonic
distortion on an EHV system by the use of capacitive damping
networks”, in Proc. IEEE 8th International Conference on Harmonics
and Quality of Power (ICHQP-98), pp 706-711, 14-16 October 1998.
[6] A.M. Foss, S.P. Downs, H. Urdal, “Transmission System Voltage
Quality Management in a Deregulated Environment”, Paper 37/38/39-
103, CIGRÉ-2000, Paris, July 2000.
[7] J.H.R. Enslin, J. Knijp, C.P.J. Jansen, P. Bauer, “Integrated approach to
network stability and wind energy technology for on-shore and offshore
applications”, in Proc. 24th PCIM Conference (PCIM-03), Nuremberg,
20-22 May 2003.
XI. BIOGRAPHIES
Johan HR Enslin (M'85, SM'92) received the B.Eng,
M.Eng and D.Eng. degrees in Electrical and Electronic
Engineering from the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU),
South Africa, in 1981, 1993 and 1988 respectively.
Through 1982 to 1985 he was with SPOORNET in South
Africa. He joined the Department of Electrical
Engineering at the University of Pretoria in 1986 and
served as Professor and Head of Department until 1991.
Through 1991 - 1999 he held the Chair of Energy Systems
in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University
of Stellenbosch, and was also the SAPSSI Technical Director at ESKOM.
Since 2000 he holds a senior consulting position with KEMA in Arnhem, The
Netherlands. He is involved in consulting and research work in the fields of
reactive power compensation, renewable energy, power quality and power
electronics.
Johan Knijp graduated from the Groningen (The
Netherlands) College of Advanced Technology in
Electrical Engineering in 1991, and Groningen College of
Business Administration in 1992. He joined KEMA in
1994 as a researcher in Power Quality and is since 1998 a
consultant in power quality, design and utilization of power
systems. He is presently responsible for the Risk analyses,
Economics en Power Quality Group of KEMA T&D
Consulting, Arnhem, the Netherlands.
Cees P.J. Jansen received the M.Eng degree in Electrical
Engineering from the Technical University Eindhoven
(TUE), The Netherlands, in 1982. Through 1983 to 1986
he was with ASEA in Sweden. Since 1986 he holds a
senior consulting position with KEMA in Arnhem, The
Netherlands. He is involved in system studies and network
calculations for public networks and industrial
installations.
Johan H. Schuld received the M.Eng degree in Electrical
Engineering from the Technical University Eindhoven in
the Netherlands. From 1982 to 2000 he was with KEMA
at different departments. He started in a research
department in the field of power electronics and dispersed
power generation and in particular in combination with
wind turbines. From 1986 he worked at the engineering
department in power system analysis. As consultant he
carried out numerous studies on network development and
on the integration of power generation in industrial and public networks.
Since 2000 he holds a senior position at the Dutch TSO TenneT in the
department of Network Strategy and System Development where he is among
others responsible for the development of the 220-kV and 380-kV network
including the connections to the regional networks (110-kV and 150-kV) and
the interconnections with Belgium and Germany.