Assessing the Future Trends of Reactive Power Demand of Distribution Networks

Abstract

In the last decade, the transmission system operator (TSO) in Great Britain has seen an acute declining trend of reactive power demand during periods of minimum load. Reactive power traditionally being absorbed by distribution networks is now in many cases injected to transmission. This not only results in significant voltage regulation challenges to the TSO but may also trigger future requirements for distribution network operators (DNOs) to manage these reactive power exchanges. Nonetheless, for the TSO and DNOs to adopt suitable investment strategies, it is crucial to first quantify the extent of this decline in the near future. This study proposes a methodology to identify trends of reac..