Conservation Voltage Reduction (CVR) at Northeast Utilities

This paper presents the results of field tests conducted on the Northeast Utilities (NU) distribution system to measure changes in energy consumption resulting from voltage reduction. The economics of achieving a permanent voltage reduction by compressing existing state voltage limits to a narrower band is also examined. Although the field tests indicate that there are energy savings associated with voltage reduction, it is uneconomical to achieve voltage reduction on the NU system by compressing existing voltage limits. The use of existing line drop compensation controls is identified as a practical method of achieving voltage reduction without changing existing voltage limits.