Abstract:
This project presents the development of detailed 1-phase and 3-phase simulation models of a Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM) and investigates their application in Pakistan’s national grid operated by ISMO (formerly NPCC). The work is motivated by increasing demand, voltage instability, and reactive power imbalances in the transmission network, where traditional compensation devices provide limited controllability and slow response. Using MATLAB/Simulink, converter-level models and associated control schemes are implemented for both single-phase and three-phase STATCOM configurations, along with a corresponding integration with a grid representation suitable for system-level studies. The models are combined with a representative PSS/E-based transmission network to analyze the effects of the placement of STATCOMs on the voltage profiles along the buses, reactive power flows and the system performance under different load and fault conditions. The findings indicate that properly managed STATCOM units can contribute to an increase in the voltage regulation to a considerable extent and to the strengthening of key transmission corridors, which will allow to lessen an urgent need to strengthen a network.
