765 kV Series Capacitors:
A World First
In Brazil, a series capacitor rated at 1056 Mvar and supplied by
ABB Power Systems has been commissioned in the FURNAS
765 kV AC power transmission corridor bringing hydro power
from the vast Itaipu hydro power plant in the south-west of the
country up to the customer area of So Paulo. The corridor, com-
prising three parallell 765 kV lines, is more than 900 km long.
Series compensation is utilized in order to safeguard stable trans-
mission of large amounts of hydro power along the corridor to the
load area.
The series capacitor, located at the Ivaipor substation (Ivaipor
VI), is part of the third line recently commissioned in the Ivaipor-
So Paulo section of the power transmission corridor. It is but the
latest of its kind in a series of installations in the Itaipu-So Paulo
power transmission corridor, where the first units were commissio-
ned in 1989. Today, a total of eight series capacitors are in opera-
tion, all of which supplied by ABB, six at Ivaipor and two at Itaber,
the substations located about one third from each end of the tie.
Ratings vary between 1017 Mvar (Ivaipor) and 1242 Mvar (Itaber).
When introduced, the series capacitors were the first to be instal-
led in Brazil, as well as the first in the world to be installed at
765 kV. When in operation, the power transmission capacity of
this part of the Itaipu link was increased by nearly 100%.
Without series compensation, the power transmission capacity
of the link would be limited to 4500 MW in the worst case.
With the eight series capacitors in operation, the full available
generating capacity of 6300 MW can be safely transmitted from
Itaipu over the 765 kV AC corridor to the load area.
Furthermore, the road is paved for transmission of power from
two additional generating units at Itaipu.
The importance of the Itaipu-So Paulo power corridor goes still
further, as it facilitates power import from south Brazil to the
south-east offered by thermal generation in Uruguaiana and via
power interconnecting ties with Argentina and Uruguay.
Single-line Diagram, Ivaipor VI
765 kV
 MediaService, ABB Support 0105
Main circuit diagrams Layout (Ivaipor VI)

Each series capacitor comprises two equal segments per phase,

6
enabling the overall degree of compensation to be variable in steps. 4 3 3 4
The total degree of compensation equals 40% at the line section 7 7
Itaipu-Ivaipor and 50% at the section Ivaipor-Itaber respectively.
The series capacitors are prepared for a future increase of the rated 6 6
3 5 1 2 2 1 5 3
current from 2780 A to 3150 A.

6
The series capacitors Ivaipor I-V, commissioned in 1989-91, are 4 3 3 4
equipped with Dual Gap protection. Ivaipor VI, in operation in 7 7
62 m
2000, has ZnO Varistors as its main circuit protection. The varistors
have been designed to withstand, without bypassing, the energy 6 6
3 5 1 2 2 1 5 3
from an external single line to ground fault including one reclosing
into fault with a maximum of one of the three lines between Ivaipor
6
and Itaber disconnected. The ZnO varistors furthermore have to 4 3 3 4

withstand the worst case of fault current through the series capaci- 7 7
tor, which is an internal fault close to the series capacitor. In this
case, the bank is permitted to be bypassed. 6 6
3 5 1 2 2 1 5 3

Platform to ground communication is achieved by means of Digital

Optical Current Transformers (DOCT), relying on optical fibre cables
30 m
for signal transmission. This safeguards non-sensitivity to disturban-
ces and enables operation of the series capacitor without any relay 59 m

protection or auxiliary power at platform level.

1. Capacitor bank 5. Trigger control
Control and protection 2. ZnO varstor 6. By-pass breaker
3. Spark gap 7. Platform
The control system is based on the MACH2 4. Damping reactor
concept, which is microprocessor based
and built around an industrial PC with add-
in boards and I/O racks connected through
standard type field busses. This concept
Technical data
enables very high performance as well as Ivaipor Ivaipor Ivaipor Itaber
small dimensions. The system is redundant, I-III IV-V VI I-II
using dual outputs of the DOCT.
Rated voltage, kV 765 765 765 765
The operator interface is a separate PC pla-
Rated current, A 2780 2780 2780 2780
ced at the operators desk (OWS). All opera-
tions and settings for the series capacitor Rated power, Mvar 1017 1056 1056 1242
are performed from the OWS. All event and
alarm lists are displayed on the OWS. There Deg. of compensation,% 40 50 50 50
is also back-up control available by means
Type of protection Dual gap Dual gap ZnO Single gap
of a mimic panel placed in the control and
protection cubicles. ZnO varistor rating, MJ - - 87 -

The series capacitor can also be remotely No of segments/phase 2 2 2 2

controlled via a SCADA.

ABB Power Systems AB Application note A02-0112 E

S-721 64 Vsters
Sweden
Tel: +46 21 32 40 00
Fax: +46 21 18 31 43
E-mail: info.sepow@se.abb.com
www.abb.com/FACTS