Enhancement of voltage stability in an interconnected network using unified power flow controller

In this paper, the optimal placement of Unified Power Flow Controllers (UPFC) in a large-scale transmission network in order to improve the loadability margin was considered. In other to achieve this aim, the Line Stability Factor (LQP) as a technique for the optimal location of UPFC in the IEEE 14-bus network and 56-bus Nigerian national grid was adopted. The power injection model for the UPFC was employed to secure improvements in the loading margin of the IEEE 14-bus network and 56-bus Nigerian national grid system. Continuation power flow was used to assess the effect of UPFC on the loadability margin. Steady-state simulations using Power System Analysis Toolbox (PSAT) on MATLAB was applied to determine the effectiveness of placing UPFC between bus 13 and bus 14 in the IEEE 14-bus network and between bus 44 (Ikot-Ekpene) and bus 56 (Odukpani) in the 56-bus Nigerian national grid system. The results showed that the loadability margin increased by 8.52 % after UPFC was optimally placed in the IEEE 14-bus network and increased by 195.5 % after UPFC was optimally placed in the 56-bus Nigerian national grid system. Thus, these enhance the voltage stability of both network and utilizing the network efficiently.