An integrated autonomous protection system against voltage instability based on Load Tap Changers

In this paper we propose a local, completely autonomous protection system against voltage instability that can be readily integrated in the controller of each bulk power delivery LTC transformer. The protection system will identify an imminent voltage instability and will subsequently apply the necessary corrective measures to restore stable operation by properly adjusting the distribution voltage setpoint of the LTC. Application of this system on a 52-bus test system showed excellent performance for two unstable cases. For reasons of comparison, the indirect load curtailment proposed in a severe instability case is compared with direct load shedding schemes based on the local detection of instability, as well as on a global detection of instability assuming wide area measurements.