2019 IEEE 2nd International Conference on Power and Energy Applications
Assessment of Al Ain Distribution Network Capacitor Banks and Power Factor
Enhancement Study
Maha AlDahmi, Omar Al Ahmad, and Ezzat Ahmad
AlAin Distribution Company
AlAin, United Arab Emirates
e-mail: Maha.aldahmi@aadc.ae
Abstract—Enhancing capacitor banks' performance in Al Ain
Distribution Company (AADC) network will lead to power
factor and related network improvements. The aim of this
study is to optimize the existing capacitor banks and obtain the
maximum benefits by evaluating the capacitor banks' status
&condition, controllers' settings, and analyzing their
functionalities in conjunction with network assets based on real
time measurements. The analysis was divided into two
different approaches based on capacitor banks locations in
AADC network, as the capacitor banks operation concept is
totally different between the banks installed in primary
substations (directly connected to 11kV busbars consisting of
several stages) and the ones installed at 11kV overhead lines
(OHL) of one stage and usually smaller in capacity size. In this
paper, the classification is done based on network
characteristic and banks' controller types as well as
operational concept. AADC has more than 350 capacitor banks
installed in primary substations and 11kV OHLs with
approximately 930MVAR installed capacity providing high
potential of reaching high power factor if operated and
controlled well. The paper also explores the economic impact
of the expected capacitor banks operation enhancement by
saving energy and reducing power losses.
Keywords-AADC-Al Ain Distribution Company; P.F.- Power
Factor; Capacitor Banks; Loss Reduction; DMS
I. INTRODUCTION
Al Ain Distribution Company (AADC) is one of the two
distribution companies under Department of Energy in the
United Arab Emirates (UAE). AADC is the supplier of
Electricity and Water in Al Ain City with an area of 13,444
sq.km. The company is responsible for operating and
maintaining the power distribution network of voltage levels
0.4kV up to/including 33kV in eastern region of Abu Dhabi
emirate. The power network covers about 168 nos. 33/11kV
primary / package units substations and about 16000 nos.
11/0.4kV distribution substations. AADC always strive to
meet its prime objective of providing safe and secure power
supply to its customers, with recorded peak load of 2.3GW in
2018 [1].
Power factor is defined as the ratio between the KW
(actual load power) and the KVA (apparent load power)
drawn by an electrical load. It is simply a measure of how
efficiently the electrical power is being converted into useful
work output [2]. Technically, the P.F. is improved by
reducing the consumed reactive power by supplying KVAR
978-1-7281-1596-2/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE 159
through installed capacitor banks. Capacitor banks act as
reactive power generators to reduce the drawn KVAR and
then reduce the total amount of current a system draws from
the grid [3]. Also, the underground cables behave like
capacitor banks due to the nature of their design since a cable
has two electrodes: the core of the cable and the sheath
separated by dielectric material [4].
Some 11kV feeders in AADC network are suffering from
low power factor (PF), where the capacitor banks are located
in different locations at 11kV OHL feeders only. Also,
around 45% of primary substations (PRY) have capacitor
banks at 11 kV side. The capacitor bank logic is acting
according to the controller settings which has been tuned to
fixed value (more details will be discussed in analysis
section). So, improving the P.F. by optimizing the existing
capacitor banks can lead to the following benefits to AADC
network:
1) Optimize the electrical network performance,
increase its efficiency and maximize the utilization
of existing assets.
2) Reduction in maximum demand (MVA).
3) Increase system capacity (free up capacity on the
network component).
4) Improve the voltage and reduce the voltage drop.
5) Reduce the power and energy losses.
6) Reduce carbon footprint.
7) Meet the Regulatory Obligations, Electricity
Transmission Code (ETC) for power factor at
interface point with Abu Dhabi Transmission &
Dispatch Company (TRANSCO) at least 0.91.
This section of the paper provides an overview of AADC
network and the importance of P.F. improvement. The
following section presents the used methodology to evaluate
the existing capacitor bank. The third section analyzes the
capacitor bank statues in both primary substation and OHL,
while the fourth section illustrates the power and energy
losses saving resulted from P.F. improvement in AADC
network from economic perspective. Then future plan for
further P.F. enhancement was highlighted, and the final
sections cover the recommendation and conclusion.
II. POWER FACTOR ENHANCEMENT AND CAPACITOR
BANK OPTIMIZATION
The Capacitor Banks (CPBK) of AADC existing network
is analyzed in this section. The analysis is based on the
collected data from different source such as 24 hours reading
on peak day, Distribution Management System (DMS) and
received feedback from concerned sections. The analysis is
divided into two main parts based on capacitor bank location
as following:
A. Capacitor Banks at Primary Substations
Analysis& Findings: There are 79 (out of 170) primary
(PRY) substations in AADC network that contains capacitor
bank with total 170 units (with capacity of 856 MVAR) were
evaluated in this study, to investigate the functionality status
of capacitor bank to assure that the PF is within the desired
setting value 0.95.
As the capacitor bank controller at primary substations is
driven by the PF of the feeding Power Transformer (PTR),
the load profile of each related PTR is studied and analyzed.
The line graph in below Fig. 1 shows real MW, MVAR of a
specific PTR at AADC network. In this example, connected
CPBK is not functioning as desired; however, the PTR
MVAR value is simulated, and the corrected value is shown
based on well-functioning condition of the said banks.
Figure 1. Load curve of a PRY substation with and without CPBK impact.
The automatic power factor correction device is
developed based on embedded system having 89S52
microcontroller at its core. The voltage and current signal
from the system is sampled and taken as input to measure the
power factor and if it falls short of the specified value by
utility, then the device automatically switch on the capacitor
banks to compensate for the reactive power [5]. In order to
understand the well-functioning status that achieves desired
and required values, the controller of substation's CPBK is
illustrated in Fig. 2 showing SLD of controller circuit and its
inputs.
Figure 2. Capacitor bank’s controller logic at PRY substation.
160
The figure illustrates the logic of CPBK controller at
PRY substations which can drive a bank stages (1 stage =
1.25 KVAR, No of. stages = 3 to 4) and switch them ON to
reach the desired P.F. value based in two main conditions:
1) P.F is less than the controller set value (0.95).
2) The reactive power at transformer 11 kV side
(required Q to enhance PF to the set value 0.95) is ≥
60% of Qc of a stage value (in case of 1.25MVAR
stage size it equals 0.75 MVAR).
Based on the above-mentioned two conditions and
measured Qc max (MVAR), all existing capacitor banks
performance at PRY substation were reviewed to evaluate
and categorize them based on their functionality. The
following Table 1 shows samples of some analyzed 11kV
PTR feeders at different PRY substations along with the
findings that includes required actions. The details and actual
PRY substation names in this analysis are not shown for
brevity and confidentiality.
TABLE I. SAMPLES OF SELECTED ANALYZED 11KV FEEDERS AT
PRY SUBSTATIONS
After reviewing all capacitor banks at PRY substations,
the following summary in Table 2 can be concluded:
TABLE II. TOTAL NO OF CAPACITOR BANK UNITS BASED ON THEIR
STATUS
Number of
CPBK Units Condition/Status
CPBK Units
Capacitor Banks functioning as desired and meeting
125 (74%)
target PF.
Capacitor Banks connected to lightly loaded power 9
transformer and private primary.
Disconnected Banks, no free panels at PRY
7
substation.
Banks require correction Action (Faulty stage/unit,
29
controller, settings, Circuit Breaker, etc.)
Total Number of Banks 170
From the above table it can be noticed that 74 % of
Capacitor bank units are well functioning; however, 7 units
are either disconnected or no free spare panels and need efforts
by planning team, while 29 units need corrective actions by
maintenance team to rectify problems of the said stages/units
as well as issues in controllers or accessories after
conducting site survey.
B. Capacitor Banks at 11kV Overhead Line (OHL)
Analysis & Findings: Similar to PRY substations’
Capacitor Banks, OHL banks are being protected through
two different schemes that involve protection of the bank
against faults occurring within the bank itself including those
inside the capacitor units and the compartment; and
protection of the bank against system disturbances and faults
[6]. However, AADC OHL banks differ than the ones
installed at PRY by KVAR capacity size and being only one
stage.
Overall, there are 180 OHL Capacitor banks (CPBK)
installed in AADC network in 2016. There are two different
ratings of the installed CPBKs. The first type is CPBK with
the capacity of (300 KVAR), where 61% of the
commissioning CPBKs in OHL are under this type. In
contrast, the remaining 39% of commissioning CPBKs are
under second type, which has a capacity of (600 KVAR). In
fact, installing the CPBKs along the AADC network help to
provide 75MVAR to the network, which in turn helps to
enhance the overall PF in different subnetwork. It’s essential
to note that controller settings in each bank is 0.99 P.F. with
maximum daily operation of 10 times per day based on
manufacturer recommendations. And it’s worth to highlight
that the number of stage in OHL CPBK used in AADC
network is designed to entre one stage only depend on the
capacity (300/600KVAR). As continuous evaluation of the
existing OHL banks, the PF has been checked with the
available measurements of 11kV feeder heads of the
connected OHL on annual basis to evaluate the status in
addition to physical site inspection once required. The
following figure shows the functionality of the CPBK
controller at OHL feeder.
Figure 3. Capacitor bank’s controller logic at OHL.
Fig.3 shows that the controller at OHL CPBK is working
to switch a stage ON based in two main conditions:
1) P.F is less than the controller set value (0.99).
2) The reactive power at connection point of OHL
feeder (required Q to enhance the PF to set value
0.99) is ≥ Qc value (300 or 600KVAR based on
CPBK rating).
Based on the above-mentioned two conditions, all
feeders with OHL capacitor banks have been analyzed, and
corresponding PFs have been evaluated to investigate the
condition of the said banks and their functional status.
Samples of analyzed OHL feeders along with PF
enhancement impact are shown in Table 3. The details of this
analysis are not shown for brevity and confidentiality.
TABLE III. SAMPLES OF SELECTED ANALYZED 11KV OHL FEEDERS
After reviewing all existing capacitor banks at 11kV OHL
feeders, the following summary in Table 4 is concluded:
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TABLE IV. TOTAL NO OF CAPACITOR BANK UNITS BASED ON THEIR
STATUS
Number of CPBK
CPBK Units Condition/Status
Units
Capacitor Banks functioning as desired and
88
meeting target PF
Dismantled & recovered Banks 4
Banks Required relocation/ further evaluation 30
Banks require EMD Action (status, settings,
58
Fuse, etc.
Total Number of Banks 180
From the above table it can be noticed that just below
half of OHL Capacitor banks are well functioning; moreover,
30 units need joint efforts by maintenance team and network
studies team to re-adjust them and assure that they are well
functioning, while 58 units need purely maintenance team
efforts to rectify problems of those units as well as related
issues in their controllers or accessories.
III. EXPECTED ENHANCEMENT AND SAVING
A. Power and Energy Saving Calculation Methodology
As far as the power and energy saving economically
impact is to be considered from all prospective, the saving
from improving the P.F. in AADC network is evaluated. The
following calculations considering all CPBK stage(s) are
functioning well and operating as desired to reach the target
set power factor at primary substation, then summated in
MVAR at related grid stations are deducted from recorded/
consumed MVAR on AADC system Peak Day (12-7-2018).
Hence, the annual saving calculation in this section is based
on the improvement of PF in primary substations only, while
OHL banks related calculations required more field efforts.
Such required evaluation might be conducted later in other
dedicated study.
The following equations are used for calculating the
220/33kV Grid stations enhanced resulted PF and the saving
in MVA and MW were founded:
E losses (MWH) = P losses (MW) × t × LSF, (1)
LSF= K× LF +(1-K) × LF2 [7] (2)
LF= Davg/Dmax (3)
where:
E = Annual energy loss.
t = Hrs./year (8760).
K : is factor ranges between 0.1 : 0.3
LSF= Loss Factor.
LF= Load Factor.
Davg= Average Demand, Dmax= Maximum Demand.
• Load Factor is calculated from archived load
readings from DMS for one grid as a sample (LF=
0.558, LSF = 0.385) assuming AADC subnetworks
are similar.
• The cost of annual energy losses is calculated by
using actual kWh value of AED 0.305($ 0.083) per
 kWh as per latest AADC Water and Electricity
Tariff [8].
B. Benefits Achieved from P.F. Enhancement
In case of implement recommendations of this study and
ensuring all capacitor banks at primary substations are well
functioning and setting as desired, the following is the
expected achievements without any additional investment in
the network:
• Increase load carrying capabilities in existing
network by approximately 19 MVA, almost equal
2/3 firm capacity of new primary substation 3x15/20
MVA, hence save new investment about AED 30
Million around ($ 8 Million) based on last contract
value and related generation, transmission cost and
resulted carbon footprint reduction.
• The power and energy losses will be reduced by 17.5
MW & 58,929.6 MWH respectively,
• Annual energy loss saving will be around AED 18
Million around ($ 5 Million).
• Meet the Regulatory Obligations at ETC for P.F. at
interface point with Abu Dhabi Transmission &
Dispatch Company (TRANSCO) at least 0.91.
• Optimize the electrical network performance,
increase its efficiency and maximize the utilization
of existing assets.
• Improve the voltage and reduce the voltage drop.
Ensuring all OHL capacitor banks are well functioning
and setting as desired will add further benefits and annual
saving and will be evaluated later by different study.
IV. FUTURE ENHANCEMENT PLAN
• Set the controller for existing capacitor banks at
primary substations to 0.97 desired power factor will
add further enhancements and savings.
• Ensure that controller settings for existing capacitor
banks at PRY switch the stage ON if required
MVAR is 0.5: 0.6 of stage MVAR value to increase
probability to switch on more stages/more time.
• Include re-location the OHL capacitor bank in the
scheme of undergrounding the OHL to alternative
location for optimal utilization of AADC assets.
• Advise technical specifications committee to
evaluate adjustable controller settings for new
capacitor banks units are at primary substations to
switch the stage ON if required MVAR is 0.4: 0.7 of
stage MVAR , to increase the probability to switch
on more stages/more time.
• For future OHL reactive power compensation
projects, smaller fixed type units compared with
existing (300, 600 KVAR switchable) to be used.
V. RECOMMENDATION
The improvement of Power Factor can be achieved along
with expected saving (AED 18 Million) by utilizing the
existing capacitor banks without any additional investment.
Reviewing the status/condition of existing capacitor
banks units, related controller status/condition and settings at
162
primary substations and OHL is highly recommended, which
includes the following rectification to ensure the CPBK
functionality to obtain the desired power factor value.
1) Rectify the defected capacitor bank units and
controllers at primary substations by Electricity Maintenance
Department and Testing & Protection Department, where 36
units need correction action to solve the problem.
2) Rectify the defected capacitor banks units and
controllers at OHL by Electricity Maintenance Department,
where 88 units need corrective action to solve the problem.
VI. CONCLUSION
In conclusion, capacitor banks status in AADC network
for both primary substations and OHL were evaluated in
order to enhance the power factor. The analysis focused on
the capacitor bank controller logic to compare the power
factor and the amount of reactive power (VAR) from the
source with the desired setting value. Enhancing P.F. values
in AADC network can save at least AED 18 million around
($ 5 Million) with zero investment. Also, by enhancing the
performance of the capacitor banks and achieving the
expected P.F. improvement, AADC will comply with ETC to
maintain 0.91 P.F. value at interface points with transmission
company to avoid related penalties. Furthermore, it’s
believed that the voltage profile will be significantly
improved as the voltage drop values will decrease especially
in the OHL capacitor banks feeders. In addition, the network
can get further improvements if the future enhancement plan
mentioned in this paper is implemented.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We convey our appreciations and gratitude to AADC
management, and all AADC team.
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