1

Abstract This paper presents an adaptive short-time

compensation scheme for improving power system stability. The
proposed compensation is based on the use of Static Synchronous
Series Compensator (SSSC), which provides the needed phase-
wise compensation resulted from selective-pole switching of
parallel transmission lines. The transmission system is balanced
during the dead-time; time lapsed from fault clearing to high-
speed reclosing (HSR).
The validity and effectiveness of the proposed compensation
scheme in enhancing power system stability are demonstrated
through time-domain simulation studies on a multi-machine
power system using the EMTP-RV program.
Index TermsFACTS Controllers, power system stability,
static synchronous series compensator, selective-pole switching.
I. INTRODUCTION
Elective-pole switching of a transmission line is the
tripping and high-speed reclosing of only the circuit-
breaker poles of the faulted phases [1]. With such a
switching process, one pole would be tripped and reclosed for
a single line-to-ground fault (single-pole reclosing), two poles
for a line-to-line or a double line-to-ground fault, and all the
three poles for a three-phase fault.
Although selective-pole switching of parallel transmission
lines would improve significantly the system stability, it has
been seldom, if ever used, for clearing line-to-line and double
line-to-ground faults [2], [3]. The reason is the concern for the
generator rotor excessive heating due to the negative-sequence
currents flowing in the generator as the result of the
unbalanced operation during the dead-time between fault
clearing and line reclosing. Moreover, the negative-sequence
current produces a double frequency (120 Hz) electromagnetic
torque component which could excite one of the torsional
frequencies of the turbine-blades [4].
In the studies presented in this paper, it is proposed to clear
unsymmetrical faults, namely line-to-line, single and double
line-to-ground faults on parallel transmission lines using
selective-pole switching. The transmission system is then
balanced (adaptive short-time compensation) during the dead-

S.O. Faried and N.E. El-Kharbawe are with the Power Systems Research
Group, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A9, Canada (e-
mails: sherif.faried@usask.ca, nee917@mail.usask.ca).
A. Edris is with the Siemens Energy, Inc., 1350 Shorebird Way, Mountain
View, CA 94043-1338, USA (e-mail: abdel-aty.edris@siemens.com).
time between fault clearing and high-speed reclosing (HSR)
using an existing Static Synchronous Series Compensator
(SSSC) [5], [6]. The main advantages of such a scheme are as
follows [7]:
1. The pre-fault transmission system capacity is restored
immediately after fault clearing not after reclosing. This
will greatly enhance the system stability.
2. Since the system balance is restored, the adverse effects
of the negative sequence currents are eliminated.
The validity and effectiveness of the proposed scheme are
demonstrated through time-domain simulation studies on a test
benchmark system using the EMTP-RV program.
II. TEST BENCHMARK
The test Benchmark used for the study is shown in Fig. 1.
This Benchmark system was proposed and described in details
in [8]. It was developed and recommended to be used for
testing FACTS models. The Benchmark consists of twelve
busses, six 230 kV transmission lines and one 345-kV link
(between busses 7 and 8). Power flow studies have revealed
that in the event of a loss of generation from G
3
, or a loss of
the transmission line between busses 4 and 5, line 16 is
overloaded while the transmission capacity of the parallel path
through the 345 kV double-circuit transmission lines 78 is
underutilized. Moreover, small signal stability studies have
shown that the system has poorly damped inter-area
oscillation modes. One option for relieving this congestion
and damping the inter-area oscillations is to install an SSSC
on line 78 as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig.1. Test benchmark.

S.O. Faried, Senior Member, IEEE, N.E. El-Kharbawe, Student Member, IEEE and
A. Edris, Senior Member, IEEE
The Use of Static Synchronous Series
Compensator for Improving Power System
Stability in Response to Selective-Pole
Switching
S
L
7-8

Infinite
bus
3
10
6
8 7
9
11
4
5
2 1
G
1
SSSC
G
3
G
2
G
4
12
2
For the time-domain simulation studies, the synchronous
generators are represented in the d-q-o reference frame. The
transmission lines are modeled as a transposed lumped
parameters using series impedance representation. The
infinite bus is represented as a bus having constant amplitude
sinusoidal voltage at the synchronous frequency. Circuit-
breakers are represented as ideal switches which can open at
current zero crossing. Dynamics of the turbine-generator
excitation and governor systems are included in the simulation
model. The EMTP-RV is the used simulation study tool.
III. PRINCIPLE OF THE ADAPTIVE SHORT TIME COMPENSATION
SCHEME
The basic intent of the adaptive short-time compensation
scheme is to balance the transmission system during the period
between clearing and reclosing unsymmetrical faults using
selective-pole switching. The short-time compensation is
performed using the existing SSSC shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 2
illustrates the process of the short-term compensation, which
is described in the following:
1. Detection of the fault, type and faulted phase(s) is
carried out by the protection system.
2. Two signals are provided by the relaying and control
system, one for tripping the faulted circuits (a
1
, b
1
, Fig.
2(a)), and the other for operating the SSSC in a phase
imbalanced mode. The latter action will balance the
transmission system if the SSSC is injecting equal
capacitive voltages in phases a and b such that this
voltage is compensating one half of the inductive
reactance of one circuit of the transmission line as
shown in Fig. 2(b).

(a)

(b)
Fig. 2. Adaptive short-time compensation of a double line-to-ground fault: (a)
basic scheme, (b) equivalent circuit of the transmission system.
3. HSR is performed and the SSSC imbalance mode of
operation is disabled.
IV. IMPLEMENTATION OF SSSC IN THE UNBALANCED
OPERATION MODES
This section describes the implementation and control of the
adapted SSSC. The developed SSSC model provides the
implementation options of being three phase SSSC, two phase
SSSC and/or single phase SSSC configuration. The
unbalanced operation of the SSSC is achieved by controlling
the injected voltage of each phase to the desired value. Fig. 3
shows the block-diagram of SSSC controller.
The difference between the injected voltage (v
inj
= v
2
v
1
in
p.u.) and the voltage reference value is processed in a PI
controller. The output of the PI controller acts as a modulation
index for the PWM converter. Positive value of v
ref
is taken
for capacitive compensation while negative value is taken for
inductive compensation. Only the capacitive operation of
SSSC is considered in this paper.

Fig. 3. Block diagram of an SSSC controller.
The DC voltage is controlled at a reference value by
implementing a separate PI controller. The difference
between the actual DC voltage and the reference DC voltage is
processed in this controller to generate a small angle
dc
for
charging/discharging the DC capacitor. The angle
dc
is
added to the PLL (Phase Locked Loop) output angle. The
value /2 is added to the angle so that the injected voltage
is in quadrature with the transmission phase current,
quadrature leading for inductive compensation and quadrature
lagging for capacitive compensation respectively. The cosine
reference wave and a triangular wave are compared according
to gate signal generation logic and gate signal generation
logic.
Each single-phase SSSC is modeled using a three-level
IGBT based PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) converter. The
schematic diagram of the SSSC connected to the transmission
system is shown in Fig. 4. The line voltage and current as well
as other controllable variables are measured and passed to a
controller. A series transformer is used to inject the respective
voltage into the transmission line. An LC filter is used to filter
out the high-frequency switching noises. The DC capacitor
size is selected such that the DC transient voltage overshoot is
limited to 20%. Technical detail of the single-phase SSSC
implementation is given in the Appendix. The controller
parameters were adjusted through repeated time domain
simulations for different operating conditions. The controller
cos
v
ref
v
inj, pu
i
sys, pu
MI
vPWM
+
Triangular
Wave
Generator
Gate Signal
Generator
Gate
Signal
vcarrier
Fc ,Hz
2 /

MImax
MImin
KP +
KI
s
verr
-
+
PLL
V
dc, pu
V
dc ref
KPDC +
KIDC
vdc err
+
ABS()
SIGN()
dc

min dc

max dc

s -
C
j0.5X
L

B
A
jX
L

~
jX
L

-j0.5X
L
I
~
-j0.5X
L
I
a
1
a
1
b
1

C
jX
L

jX
L

jX
L

jX
L

jX
L

jX
L

B
A
b
1
~
~
~
V
in
= 0
V
in
= -j0.5X
L
I
V
in
= -j0.5X
L
I
C.B. closed C.B. open
3
parameters are also given in the Appendix.

Fig. 4. Schematic diagram of single-phase SSSC implementation.
V. TIME DOMAIN SIMULATION RESULTS
A. Double Line-to-Ground Faults
Fig. 5 illustrates the load angle responses of generators G
2
,
G
3
and G
4
during successful reclosing of a 3-30 cycles double
line-to-ground fault (phases a1&b1) on line 7-8 for the cases
of triple-pole switching (TPS) and Selective-pole switching
(SPS) with adaptive short-time compensation. As it can be
seen from Fig. 5, the maximum generator swing angles in the
case of the adaptive short-time compensation are smaller than
those corresponding to triple-pole switching. This is due to
the fact that the adaptive short-time compensation restored the
pre-fault transmission system capacity just after fault clearing.
This resulted in lower acceleration of the generator rotors and
improved the system stability. As generators G
3
and G4 are
more close to fault than generator G
2
, the improvements in
their stability are more noticeable.
B. Line-to-Line and Single line-to-Ground Faults
Clearing line-to-line faults does not necessarily require that
both faulted phases be opened. The discussion section of [1]
reported that single pole switching of line-to-line faults was
applied and performed correctly on three - 230 kV circuits in
Quebec, Canada. In such a case, the equivalent circuit of the
transmission system during adaptive short-time compensation
of line-to-line and single line-to-ground faults is shown in Fig.
6, where the SSSC would be injecting only in one phase a
capacitive voltage to compensate one half of the inductive
reactance of one circuit of the transmission line.
Fig. 7 illustrates the load angle responses of generators G
2
,
G
3
and G
4
during successful reclosing of a 3-30 cycles line-to-
line fault (phases a1&b1) on line 7-8 for the cases of triple-
pole switching (TPS) and Selective-pole switching (SPS) with
adaptive short-time compensation. As it can be seen from Fig.
7, the maximum generator swing angles in the case of the
adaptive short-time compensation are also smaller than those
corresponding to triple-pole switching.
The load angle responses of generators G
2
, G
3
and G
4
during
successful reclosing of a 3-30 cycles single line-to-ground
fault (phase a1) on line 7-8 for the cases of single-pole
switching (SPS) and single-pole switching with adaptive
short-time compensation are shown in Fig. 8. Fig. 9 illustrates
generator G
3
field current response during the same single
line-to-ground fault of Fig. 8. The system unbalance during
the dead- time in the case of single-pole reclosing without
compensation is clearly noticeable in Fig. 9(a). Such
unbalance is eliminated by adaptive short-time compensation
as shown in Fig. 9(b). The improvement of the system stability
is very noticeable also in this case as shown in Fig. 8.



Fig. 5. Generator load angle responses during successful reclosing of a 3-30
cycles double line-to-ground fault on line 7-8.

Fig. 6. Equivalent circuit of the transmission system during adaptive short-
time compensation of line-to-line and single line-to-ground faults.
VI. CONCLUSION
The paper presented the potential use of an existing SSSC
in improving system stability during selective-pole switching
of parallel transmission lines. The effectiveness of the
proposed adaptive short time compensation scheme is
demonstrated through detailed digital computer simulations on
a benchmark test system. The results of the investigations
have shown that adaptive short-time compensation of
unsymmetrical faults tripped with selective-pole switching
enhances significantly the system stability. Furthermore, since
the pre-fault transmission system capacity is restored
immediately after fault clearing, reclosing of the tripped
conductors can be delayed (the dead-time can be increased) to
ensure a complete extinction of the secondary arc. This will
increase the potential of a successful reclosure and, therefore,
further improvement of the system stability.
v
1
v
2
V
dc
A
B
LC filter
PWM
Converter
DC
Capacitor
Controller
i
sys
Gate firing
C1 C2
+
-
signals
i
L
v
1
v
2
26
30
34
1 2 3 4

G
2
,

D
e
g
.
Time, Sec.
TPS
SPS & Compensation
-63
-45
-27
1 2 3 4

G
3
,

D
e
g
.
Time, Sec.
TPS
SPS & Compensation
-40
-25
-10
1 2 3 4

G
4
,

D
e
g
.
Time, Sec.
TPS
SPS & compensation
C
j0.5X
L

B
A
jX
L

~
-j0.5X
L
I
j0.5X
L

4



Fig. 7. Generator load angle responses during successful reclosing of a 3-30
cycles line-to-line fault on line 7-8.




Fig. 8. Generator load angle responses during successful reclosing of a 3-30
cycles single line-to-ground fault on line 7-8.

(a)

(b)
Fig. 9. Generator 3 field current response during successful reclosing of a 3-30
cycles single line-to-ground fault on line 7-8: (a) single-pole switching and
reclosing, (b) single-pole switching and adaptive short-time compensation.
APPENDIX I
TABLE I
PI CONTROLLER PARAMETERS FOR SSSC CASE STUDIES
Controller gains
KP = 2.5, KI = 100 KPDC = 0.5, KIDC = 50
TABLE II
SSSC PARAMETERS
Coupling transformers
3 x 42 MVA, 42 kV/6.6 kV (converter
side)
xt = 0.1 p.u. rt = 0.002 p.u.
Three-level PWM
L = 0.09 mH C = 0.09 mF
Converter type 14 kV
LC Filter 0.8 mF
DC side base voltage fc = 1980 Hz
DC capacitor 0.8 mF
Carrier signal frequency fc = 1980 Hz
26
30
34
1 2 3 4

G
2
,

D
e
g
.
Time, Sec.
TPS
SPS & Compensation
-65
-46
-27
1 2 3 4

G
3
,

D
e
g
.
Time, Sec.
TPS
SPS & Compensation
-40
-25
-10
1 2 3 4

G
4
,

D
e
g
.
Time, Sec.
TPS
SPS & Compensation
27
29
31
1 2 3 4

G
2
,

D
e
g
.
Time, Sec.
SPS
SPS & Compensation
-47
-41
-35
1 2 3 4

G
3
,

D
e
g
.
Time, Sec.
SPS
SPS & Compensation
-30
-25
-20
1 2 3 4

G
4
,

D
e
g
.
Time, Sec.
SPS
SPS & Compensation
1
2
3
1 1.5 2
I
f
3
,

P
u
Time, Sec.
1
2
3
1 1.5 2
I
f
3
,

P
u
Time, Sec.
5
APPENDIX II
IMPROVEMENT OF POWER SYSTEM STABILITY USING SINGLE-
POLE SWITCHING OF LINE-TO-LINE FAULTS ON SINGLE-
CIRCUITS TRANSMISSION LINES
This section demonstrates the improvement of power
system stability by using single-pole switching and reclosing
of line-to-line faults on single-circuit transmission lines. In
this context, the test benchmark is modified by assuming that
line 7-8 is a single-circuit transmission line as shown in Fig.
10.
Fig. 11 illustrates the load angle responses of generators G
2
,
G
3
and G
4
during successful reclosing of a 3-30 cycles line-to-
line fault (phases a1&b1) on line 7-8 for the cases of triple-
pole switching (TPS) and single-pole switching (SPS). Fig. 12
illustrates generator G
3
electrical power response during the
same fault of Fig. 11. As it can be seen from Fig. 11, the
maximum generator swing angles in the case of the single-
pole switching are much smaller than those corresponding to
triple-pole switching. Moreover, Fig. 12 shows that the low-
frequency oscillations in the electrical power of generator 3
are more damped in the case of single-pole switching than in
the case of triple-pole switching. This is a clear evidence of
the advantage of single-pole switching of line-to-line faults.

Fig.10. Modified test benchmark with L7-8 is a single-circuit transmission line.

REFERENCES
[1] E.W. Kimbark, "Selective-Pole Switching of Long Double-Circuit EHV
Lines," IEEE Transactions on Power Apparatus and Systems, Vol. PAS-
95, 1976, pp. 219-230.
[2] IEEE Discrete Supplementary Controls Working Group, Power System
Engineering Committee, Single-Pole Switching for Stability and
Reliability, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, Vol. 1, 1986, pp. 25-
36.
[3] H.J. Haubrich, G. Hosemann and R. Thomas, "Single-Phase Auto-
Reclosing in EHV Systems," CIGRE, Report No. 31-09, Paris, 1974.
[4] A.J. Gonzalez, G.C. Kung, C. Raczkowski, C.W. Taylor and D. Thonn,
"Effects of Single- and Three-Pole Switching and High-Speed Reclosing
on Turbine-Generator Shafts and Blades," IEEE Transactions on Power
Apparatus and Systems, Vol. PAS-103, 1984, pp. 3218-3228.
[5] Yong Hua Song and Allan T Johns, Flexible AC Transmission Systems
(FACTS), The Institution of Electrical Engineers, Michael Faraday
House, 1999.
[6] Narain G. Hingorani and Laszlo Gyugyi, Understanding FACTS,
Concepts and Technology of Flexible AC Transmission Systems, IEEE
Press, 2000.
[7] S.O. Faried, An Adaptive Short Time Compensation Scheme for
Improving Power System Stability and Reducing Turbine-Generator
Shaft Torsional Torques, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, Vol.
15, May 2000, pp. 785-790.
[8] S. Jiang, U. D. Annakkage, and A. M. Gole, A Platform for Validation
of FACTS Models, IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, Vol. 21, No.
1, January 2006, pp. 484-491.



Fig. 11. Generator load angle responses during successful reclosing of a 3-30
cycles line-to-line fault on line 7-8 of Fig. 10.

(a)

(b)
Fig. 12. Generator 3 electric power response during successful reclosing of a
3-30 cycles line-to-line fault on line 7-8 of Fig. 10: (a) triple-pole switching,
(b) single-pole switching.
18
36
54
1 2 3 4

G
2
,

D
e
g
.
Time, Sec.
TPS
SPS
-530
-275
-20
1 2 3 4

G
3
,

D
e
g
.
Time, Sec.
TPS
SPS
-59
-17
25
1 2 3 4

G
4
,

D
e
g
.
Time, Sec.
TPS
SPS
-1.4
0.1
1.6
1 2 3
P
G
3
,

P
u
Time, Sec.
-1.4
0.1
1.6
1 2 3
P
G
3
,

P
u
Time, Sec.
L
7-8

Infinite
bus
3
10
6
8 7
9
11
4
5
2 1
G
1

G
3
G
2

G
4

12
6
Sherif Omar Faried was born in Cairo, Egypt. He
obtained B.Sc. and M.Sc. Degrees in Electrical
Engineering from Ain Shams University, Egypt and
M.Sc. and Ph.D. Degrees in Electrical Engineering
from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada where
he is presently a Professor of Electrical Engineering in
the Department of Electrical and Computer
Engineering. His research interest includes power
system dynamics, FACTS, reliability and power
quality. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in
the Province of Saskatchewan.

Nehad El-Sherif El-Kharbawe was born in
Cairo, Egypt, on October 17, 1978. He received the
B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in electrical engineering
from Ain Shams University, Cairo, in 2001 and
2005, respectively. He is currently pursuing the
Ph.D. degree at the University of Saskatchewan,
Saskatoon, SK, Canada.





Abdel-Aty (Aty) Edris was born in Cairo, Egypt.
He received his BS with honors from Cairo
University, the MS from Ain-Shams University,
Egypt, and the Ph.D. from Chalmers University of
Technology, Sweden. Dr. Edris spent 12 years with
ABB Company in Sweden and in the USA, in the
development and application of Reactive Power
Compensators and High Voltage DC Transmission
systems. From 1992 to 2008, Dr. Edris was with
EPRI as Manager of Flexible AC Transmission
System (FACTS) Technology and Senior Technology Manager of EPRI
Power Delivery and Markets. Dr. Edris is presently a Principal Consultant at
Siemens Energy Company.
Dr. Edris is a member of several IEEE and CIGRE Working Groups and
the recipient of the IEEE 2006 Award for Industry Leadership and Scientific
Contribution to FACTS Technology, pioneering transformation of electric
transmission system into flexible, controllable, yet secure system operated at
thermal capacity. Dr. Edris was, also, the recipient of the IEEE 2008
Outstanding Engineer Award of the IEEE Region 6 Central Area.