ComEd´s Elmhurst SVCs: Challenges and opportunities

Elmhurst Substation is located in Commonwealth Edison´s (ComEd´s) Northeast subzone. To support reliability in that area of the system when synchronous condensers that have been in operation in the region are retired, two identical 300 MVAr Static VAr Compensators (SVCs) will be installed at the Elmhurst Substation. Each SVC consists of three Thyristor Switched Capacitors (TSCs) rated at 75 MVAr (TSC1), 75 MVAr (TSC2), and 150 MVAr (TSC3). This paper provides details of the two 300 MVAr SVCs to be installed and commissioned by SIEMENS at the Elmhurst substation. The paper provides the background of system needs for dynamic reactive power support, the designed structure of the two SVCs, and the control and protection system of the two SVCs. The paper also presents results of engineering simulation studies conducted using PSS^®E, EMTDC, and RTDS platforms.