Lifetime Management of FACTS Controllers

Narinder Dhaliwal and Thomas Magg

Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.1 FACTS Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2 Maintenance of Facts Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.1 Maintenance Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.2 Scheduled Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.3 Maintenance Philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3 Maintenance Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.1 Capacitor Banks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.2 Control and Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.3 Interface Transformers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.4 Reactors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.5 Semiconductor Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.6 Station Auxiliary Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.7 Surge Arresters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.8 Valve Cooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4 Documentation and Staff Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.1 Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.2 Staff Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
5 Spare Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
5.1 Types of Components Used Within Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
5.2 Replacement and Management of Obsolescence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
6 Management of System Performance and Faults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
6.1 FACTS Controller Faults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
6.2 Performance of the FACTS Controller in the AC System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
7 Life Assessment Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
7.1 Life Assessment Timetable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

N. Dhaliwal (*)
TransGrid Solutions, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
e-mail: [email protected]
T. Magg
Serala Power Consulting, Johannesburg, South Africa
e-mail: [email protected]

# Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018 1

S. Nilsson, B. Andersen (eds.), Flexible AC Transmission Systems,
CIGRE Green Books, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71926-9_24-1
2 N. Dhaliwal and T. Magg

7.2 Alternatives and Justification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

7.3 Basis for Replacement/Refurbishment of Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
8 Decommissioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
8.1 Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
8.2 Capacitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
8.3 Control Cabinets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
8.4 Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
8.5 Reactors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
8.6 Site Clean-Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
8.7 Structures and Building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
8.8 Switchgear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
8.9 Thyristors, IGBTs and Electronic Circuit Boards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
8.10 Transformers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Calculation of Facts Controller Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Abstract
A FACTS Controller is an important part of an integrated AC network. It is
important that it continues to operate at high reliability and availability. This
chapter provides information on operating and maintaining the equipment
throughout its lifetime to achieve the required performance. Maintenance man-
agement philosophies are introduced. A brief description of maintenance tasks
relating to specialized equipment used in FACTS controllers is provided. The
training requirements for the operating, maintenance, and engineering staff are
described. A methodology for measuring the operational performance is outlined.
A process for life extension decisions, including spare parts is included.

1 Introduction

FACTS controllers may form an important part of the overall ac networks. They may
be used for reactive power control, voltage regulation, and/or for enhancement of
system stability of interconnected networks. In some applications, FACTS control-
lers are used for special functions, e.g., supporting an HVDC system.
After their installation, it is important that the system continues to operate reliably
with high availability, so that they can continue to provide the required network
operation enhancement. A forced outage unavailability of less than 0.5% is expected
for critical systems. Such a high level of availability can only be achieved if the
system is maintained and operated in an efficient and economical manner. Mainte-
nance outages are normally scheduled at times when the operation of the FACTS
controller is less important.
The overall performance of a FACTS controller and its individual components
must be monitored on a continuous basis over its lifetime. This monitoring enables
steps to be taken to mitigate potential failures and avoid longer forced outages. A
Lifetime Management of FACTS Controllers 3

methodology for measuring the reliability and availability of FACTS controllers by

Cigre Study Committee B4 is presented in Appendix. A brief description of the
maintenance tasks relating to the various components is also provided.
Spares will be required to ensure that a FACTS controller can be returned to
service as quickly as possible in the event of the failure of equipment. The correct
level of spares is particularly important for the availability of the FACTS controller,
and this is discussed in this chapter.
Some components within the FACTS controller may need to be replaced during
its lifetime. This may for example be applicable to the control system hardware and
software, as the technology in this area continues to move on, making the mainte-
nance of “older” generations more difficult. Life extension of the FACTS controller
may be required after many years of operation, and the need for this may partly be
identified based on the above mentioned monitoring of reliability and availability.
The life assessment process is described in this chapter.
When the FACTS controller is no longer required, e.g., because of changes in the
ac network or because its operation is no longer economically justifiable, it will need
to be decommissioned. This process is relatively similar to that of a HVDC system
and is described at the end of this chapter.

1.1 FACTS Equipment

A FACTS controller may be one of the following:

• Static Var Compensator (SVC)

• Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM)
• Thyristor Controlled Series Capacitor (TCSC)
• Unified Power Flow Controller (UPFC)

These FACTS controllers have been described in chapter “▶ AC Network Using

FACTS Devices”.
The various components used in FACTS controllers are as following;

AC Filters
Some FACTS controllers may include AC filters to absorb any harmonics generated
by the FACTS controller.

AC Switchgear
High voltage circuit breakers are used to connect components of the FACTS
controller to the system bus.
Other switchgear includes disconnectors and grounding switches. The
disconnectors and grounding switches are used as part of normal operating switching
sequences and for maintenance isolation of the equipment.
4 N. Dhaliwal and T. Magg

Arresters
Arresters are used to protect the components of the FACTS controllers from over
voltages due to faults/switching/lightning surges. In TCSC systems, metal oxide
varistor (MOV) arrester banks are used to absorb energy during AC system faults to
prevent power frequency overvoltages being applied across the capacitors and the
semiconductor valves used in this type of system.

Auxiliary Power Systems

The station auxiliary power system includes station service transformers, medium
voltage switchgear, Motor Control Centers (MCC), battery banks, first grade power
supplies, and uninterruptable power supplies (UPS).

Control Systems
The control system perform the switching of various components (fixed capacitors,
fixed reactors, etc.) according to preset setpoints, and the switching of the semi-
conductor valves to achieve the desired steady state, transient and dynamic perfor-
mance of the FACTS controller, e.g., ac bus voltage and/or power flow. The control
system also includes local and supervisory controls and related communication and
human machine interfaces (HMI) systems.

Cooling System
Most semiconductor valves require forced cooling of the switching devices and
liquid cooling is used in most FACTS controllers. The cooling liquid is normally
de-ionized water including antifreeze for outdoor valve installation. The water is
then cooled by means of either dry or evaporative cooling towers.

Fixed Reactors or Capacitors

Fixed reactors or capacitors including filter capacitors may be used to change the
applied reactive power compensation between high loading and light loading con-
ditions. The switching is performed by circuit breakers, as mentioned above.

Interface Transformers
FACTS controllers typically operate at lower voltage than the ac network that it
controls. Shunt connected FACTS Controllers, such as SVCs and STATCOMs, are
connected to the AC power network through a step-up transformer. Depending on
the design, these transformers may have more tap positions than a normal power
transformer. Series connected systems such as the UPFC may also incorporate
transformers with windings connected in series with the power line. Other series
connected FACTS controllers such as the TCSC are placed in series with the
transmission line on an insulated platform similar to those used for series capacitor
installation and does not use transformers.
Lifetime Management of FACTS Controllers 5

Protection Systems
The function of the protection system is to detect faults and initiate corrective actions
to prevent failures of components that might be caused by prolonged overloads of
the equipment.

Semiconductor Devices
FACTS controllers use semiconductor devices for continuous voltage regulation
and/or power flow control.
The semiconductors device may be thyristors that relies on the ac voltage to turn
off the device. Thyristors are used in SVCs to provide Thyristor Controlled Reactors
(TCR), Thyristor Switched Capacitor (TSC), and in TCSCs to control power flow.
Self-commutating devices such as Gate Turn Off Thyristors (GTO) and Insulated
GateBipolar Transistors (IGBT) are typically used in STATCOMs and UPFCs.

Voltage Sourced Converter Interfaces (VSC)

FACTS controllers like the STATCOM and UPFC are based on voltage sourced
converter concepts, which use GTOs or IGBTs.

2 Maintenance of Facts Controllers

2.1 Maintenance Management

Some of the components used in FACTS controllers are not standard AC equipment,
and their maintenance might require specific maintenance processes applicable to
those components. The maintenance might be performed by the owners or might be
outsourced.

2.1.1 Owner-Performed Maintenance

This maintenance philosophy is more common in companies that have multiple
FACTS controllers in their system. This type of maintenance management is also
called In-house maintenance.
The maintenance will be performed by staff of the company that owns or operates
the FACTS controller. The staff must be trained to perform the maintenance on all
the special equipment because there will probably be very little participation from
the FACTS controller supplier after the initial training has been provided and the
system has been handed over. Before commissioning, the FACTS controller detailed
maintenance procedures must be developed by the FACTS supplier.

2.1.2 Out-Sourced Maintenance

This type of philosophy is more suitable for owners whose systems contain only one
or two FACTS controllers or the system is small and the owner has only limited
maintenance staff. This type of maintenance management is also called
Sub-Contracted Maintenance.
6 N. Dhaliwal and T. Magg

The maintenance will be performed by outside contractors. In many cases, the

main contractor is the original FACTS supplier since the FACTS controllers is
comprised of special equipment. If another party is contracted to do the maintenance,
it is essential that the FACTS controller provider provides a detailed and compre-
hensive training program for the intended maintenance contractor. Furthermore, it is
also desirable that the FACTS Controller provider is contracted to provide a support
service after the warranty period, in case unforeseen problems arise.

2.2 Scheduled Maintenance

Proper maintenance is necessary to achieve high reliability and availability of the

FACTS controller, as well as a long service life. If proper maintenance is not
performed, the FACTS controller may quickly become un-reliable and its life may
be severely limited.
A short life may be acceptable if the FACTS controllers will not be needed after a
relatively short time, e.g., if the AC system is planned to develop, such that the issues
for which the FACTS controllers is needed might disappear in a known timeframe.
This may be the case when the FACTS controller is necessary to provide damping of
oscillatory modes in the AC systems or to improve the transient stability of the
systems, or if it is needed to eliminate line overloading, until a new or upgrade line is
in service.
Maintenance, which is either planned or which can be deferred until a suitable
time, is referred to as a scheduled maintenance.
As per CIGRE protocol (CIGRE TB 717 2018), scheduled maintenance of
FACTS controllers is classified in two categories:

Planned Maintenance
All maintenance work that is preplanned as part of the long-term maintenance
schedule is defined as planned maintenance. The work is performed at pre-
determined regular intervals.

Deferred Maintenance
From time to time some equipment failures or problems may occur which do not
cause an immediate forced outage but if left uncorrected till the next planned
maintenance will increase the risk of a forced outage. A short outage is normally
taken to correct these failures at a convenient time. It is important to keep track of
these failures to justify future replacement and to perform fault analysis on the
components that are failing repeatedly.

2.3 Maintenance Philosophy

Most utilities employ a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS).

During the warranty period, the FACTS supplier’s maintenance requirements must
Lifetime Management of FACTS Controllers 7

be followed, and with the maintenance work being well documented to prove that
the required maintenance has been completed. After this period, the owner might
adopt different maintenance philosophies because of continuing pressure on reduc-
ing maintenance costs and outage times.
Some utilities have adopted the so-called Reliability Centered Maintenance
(RCM) processes and have moved away from time-based systems (Moubray
1997). RCM generally relies on doing maintenance based on levels of inspections,
importance of equipment, and equipment condition. RCM relies on appropriate
and timely maintenance intervention. This typically has the effect of improving
the reliability and availability of the equipment and leads to reduced maintenance
costs.
The time-based systems use calendar-based or annual maintenance strategies
where equipment is taken out of service every year or every second year. The results
using this strategy are normally good, but the costs are high.
Many suppliers recommend the calendar-based or annual maintenance schedule
approach, which then would be required during the warranty period to maintain the
warranty. Some Vendors have progressed from this system as higher availability
requirements have been inserted in the contractual specifications.
In order to increase the system availability and reduce maintenance costs one or a
combination of the following philosophies are now followed:

• Periodic maintenance
• Condition Based Maintenance (CBM)
• Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM)

Periodic Maintenance
The maintenance philosophy in which the maintenance is performed at fixed
time interval regardless of the equipment condition is called Periodic Maintenance.
The philosophy of Annual Maintenance falls in this category. This maintenance
philosophy may result in reduced availability and higher maintenance costs.

Condition Based Maintenance (CBM)

The next maintenance system to come along was Predictive Maintenance based
on equipment Condition Monitoring. This system relies upon inspections and
testing to categorize the equipment’s deterioration and to eventually recommend
or predict when the maintenance of that equipment is required. For some condition
of monitoring processes (e.g., Tan-Delta measurements), an outage will be
required
Some examples of condition monitoring are:

• Dissolved Gas Analysis (DGA) for transformers

• Continuous On-line Gas Monitoring for transformers
• Tan-Delta measurements for bushings
• Infrared Scanning
• Corona Scope checks
8 N. Dhaliwal and T. Magg

Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM)

Reliability Centered Maintenance (Moubray, John) uses some or all the tools listed
above but in addition looks at the importance of the equipment and built in
equipment redundancy. RCM is also a “living system” and needs to be updated as
new information becomes available. For example, a bathroom fan can fail but an
exhaust fan for the battery room would not be permitted to fail unless it is duplicated.
The uninterruptable power system (UPS) might be duplicated and then allowed to
fail rather than being maintained.
Information gathering and Root Cause Analysis (RCA) of failures are important
to ensure that the maintenance is effective. There are many ways to do this, but the
method will require the use of computer tools to guide the analysis and for storage of
the results for future reference. Six Sigma processes if applicable or just a trend
analysis might be used. The information must be drilled down to the component
level since otherwise a system or a larger piece of equipment may be replaced rather
than just a less expensive component.
RCM principles are proven from use in HVDC systems (Dhaliwal et al. 2008).
Since FACTS controllers are comprised of lots of equipment, the same process can
be applied to FACTS controllers.

3 Maintenance Tasks

The maintenance tasks performed on standard AC equipment used in an AC

substation station with FACTS controller are the same as for normal AC station
equipment. As many of the components used in FACTS controllers are similar to
those used in HVDC systems (CIGRE TB 649 2016), the same maintenance
principles apply. This section only refers to specific equipment unique to FACTS
controllers.
This section only refers to the maintenance tasks to be performed during planned
maintenance.

3.1 Capacitor Banks

Depending on the design of the FACTS controller, there may be some fixed
capacitors that can be switched ON/OFF to change the steady state output of the
FACTS controller, depending on system requirements.

Maintenance
During periodic planned maintenance, the capacitor cans should be checked for any
leaks or bulging. Internally fused capacitors should be checked to ensure that the
internal fuses have not operated. Replacement of capacitor cans with internal fuses
that have operated might be required. The manufacturer’s instructions should be
followed. The main components of the capacitor banks should be checked every
8 years.
Lifetime Management of FACTS Controllers 9

The effect of switching a fixed capacitor bank on the bus voltage should be
continuously monitored, and any undesired impact on system operation should be
investigated.

3.2 Control and Protection

The FACTS control and protection systems control and protect both variable and
fixed components of the FACTS controller. Modern FACTS controllers have digital
control and protection system. For reliability reasons, the control and protection
systems are typically duplicated and self-monitoring. If a problem is detected in the
primary system, the changeover logic will switch over to the standby system. For
critical protection applications, triple redundancy with a voting scheme might be
applied.

Maintenance
Control systems are required to maintain continuous operation. Any problem in
control system performance will result in a system disturbance.
Self-checking should be used to ensure that the primary control systems are
known to be working properly. Even the standby system should be continuously
monitored, e.g., by occasionally manually switching between control systems. For
example, a FACTS controller that is online and producing the correct response
(reactive power flow, voltages, etc.) indicates that a large percentage of the control
system is functioning correctly. It is recommended that the performance of the
control and protection system should be reviewed in detail after every major system
disturbance.
Since the digital controls typically are duplicated, maintenance at regular inter-
vals may not be required. Nevertheless, it is recommended that maintenance be
performed at regular intervals to keep the staff familiar with the control systems. The
transfer scheme, if used, between the primary and backup systems should be
exercised at least once a year.
Protective relaying functions do not respond until required. However digital
metering functions in protective relays can provide proof that the input signals
(A/D) circuits are most likely functional. Digital control and protection systems
generally have an advantage over their analogue counterparts. They include self-
monitoring circuits such as watch-dog timers or input signal monitoring, which are
able to detect failures within portions of the system.
All protection settings and operations should be checked during periodic
maintenance.
Maintenance of digital control systems may still require clearance, isolation, and
restoration procedures as well as a description of the actual test set-up procedure
along with necessary test equipment. However, it can be modified to only include
verification of input and output signal paths. The internal control algorithm (operat-
ing in software or firmware) which was tested during commissioning should not
10 N. Dhaliwal and T. Magg

have changed or degraded in any way with time and does not need to tested. Self-
monitoring circuits will ensure that the control processor(s) are operational.
It is common to have sanity checks of the input signals performed to identify
failure of an input. These checks may include confirmation that the signals are within
an acceptable range, comparison tests with redundant inputs, and the utilization of
signals that require a value for a valid zero level input. It is a relatively common
feature to have the ability to monitor internal parameters within the control algo-
rithm. Software modifications and possible upgrades require thorough testing to
ensure that the systems are still secure. The time to perform maintenance for digital
controls can be considerably shorter than for the analogue equivalent systems. This
may be seen as a benefit, but familiarity with the equipment is sacrificed making it
more difficult to troubleshoot when on-line problems and failures occur.
A maintenance tracking system and version control for digital controls is essen-
tial. This tracking system contains similar elements to the system required for
analogue systems, although the numbers of functions that require maintenance
checking will be significantly less.

• Listing configuration settings for each digital board

– Jumpers, optional add-in hardware, firmware revision (to name a few).
– It is possible that one type of controller boards is used in many different
locations within the overall control structure. When a spare card is installed
replacing a defective controller, it is important to ensure all components of the
“spare” replacement match the board removed from service. This includes
hardware settings, firmware, software, and all the programmable settings that
are “user” definable within the software.
• Test procedures for calibration of input/output signals
– Procedures include input or output interface terminals, signal levels and
calibration, schematic references, and instructions to observe the change or
activate the output from within the software environment. This procedure may
have been documented as part of the precommissioning test plan.
• Documentation regarding software settings
– This can include controller parameters, time constants, thresholds, and/or
alarm limits. Any setting that can be changed by the control system owner
should be documented and tracked. If a setting change is required, a rigid
process of checks, justification, and approval should be followed as well as
documentation and drawings updated.
• Documentation of software version installed
• Password identification for every security level
• Procedures to install maintenance monitoring tools

One of the issues regarding digital control is the uploading, replacement, or

upgrade of the software and/or firmware of the controller. In a maintenance program,
it is not likely the software program will be modified, but it is possible that software
will have to be uploaded when installing a spare “replacement” controller. When
new software is uploaded and installed, the entire control structure (algorithm) is
Lifetime Management of FACTS Controllers 11

replaced. From a maintenance point of view, a question regarding the depth and
completeness of commissioning or re-commissioning tests required is a valid one.
Checks and verification are required to ensure that the software version intended for
installation is the software version that is actually installed and that it uploaded
properly.

On-line Maintenance
The following is a list of on-line maintenance possibilities:

• Control system redundancy

– A redundant control system allows for the possibility of testing one control
system while the plant remains in operation with the other control system. It is
possible, in theory at least, to perform maintenance on the deactivated control
system (with its control outputs blocked). The decision to perform mainte-
nance with the system operating on the redundant path will depend on how
serious the threat is to the operation of the FACTS controller if something goes
wrong. Human errors will be the greatest concern. If the system load is low,
online maintenance of the deactivated control and protection system is usually
allowed.
– Scheduled transfer of a redundant controls system from one system to the other
while it is online will exercise the transfer scheme. The advantage here is the
configuration of the system, system loading, and timing of the procedure is
known. Maintenance staff is on site and present to assist in troubleshooting,
should the transfer mal-function.
• Built in test functions
– Tests of plant control systems, which are occasionally used but not continu-
ously in service, should be performed. Examples include activation of either a
thyristor switched capacitor (TSC) test (1 second) scheduled or during a
special online testing period. Testing of this nature risks system outages or
disturbances if the procedure or the equipment fail during the test. The
advantage of course is that the timing for the test (system configuration) can
be controlled so the impact of a failure is reduced.
• Review of DFR and SER records: This should be performed after every distur-
bance to ensure that the normal sequences are functioning as expected. Unfortu-
nately, this is also time consuming and is therefore often not performed. However,
a review (or comparison with a previous record) of the FACTS controller
response to an AC system fault will provide information on the status for a
significant portion of the control system.

3.3 Interface Transformers

All FACTS controllers are designed to operate at the lowest and most economic
voltage necessary to achieve the specified rating. Except for TCSC systems, trans-
formers are used to connect the FACTS controllers to the AC network. These
12 N. Dhaliwal and T. Magg

transformers are not subjected to any DC potential and therefore, are designed like a
standard, fully insulated (often three winding for delta and Y connections on the low
voltage side) ac transformer. Depending on the design of the system, the number of
taps may vary between 10 and 30.
The interface transformers, where used, has a major impact on the efficiency,
reliability, and availability of a FACTS controller. The failure of a transformer can
result in outages of up to two years if spares are not available. A continuous gas in oil
monitoring system should be installed on the interface transformer. These monitor-
ing systems are well proven and might provide advance information about potential
problems in the transformer before the occurrence of any catastrophic failure.
If no on-line monitoring is installed, oil samples should be taken every 6–12
months in addition to the maintenance tasks below. The oil samples should also be
taken immediately after an alarm is initiated by the monitoring system.

Maintenance
The maintenance of an interface transformer is similar to that of an AC power
transformer. The following sections below indicate where there may be a difference
or where additional care is required due to the differences. Maintenance includes oil
sampling, checking for leaks, and infrared inspections.

Bushings

Bushings require visual inspections noting the condition of the shed surface area for
signs of excess heating, tracking, dirt build up, damaged sheds, or contamination.
The most common problem is external contamination due to climate and environ-
mental conditions. Periodic cleaning may be required. Oil leakage or weeping is
another issue. The oil gauge may indicate too high or too low levels indicating a seal
failure internal to the bushing. Measurement of capacitances and loss angle (tan
delta) with trending and comparing to factory results is required on a regular basis.

Tap Changers

Due to the large number of operations by the on-load tap changers, regular inspec-
tion and overhaul as per OEM recommendations is required to keep them operating
reliably. Because of the complexity, highly trained staff and/or the use of a manu-
facturer’s representative are normally required. The drive linkages must be inspected
for wear, and in some cases, the safety guards or shields must be removed to do this
inspection. A recommended practice is to move the tap changer periodically through
the entire tap range in both directions checking for binding or excessive motor
current. Remove the diverter, inspect it, and clean it according to the manufacturer’s
recommendations. Replace with new oil. Ensure that the diverter vessel and diverter
are out of oil for the shortest possible time, as contacts will oxidize and cause
overheating problems.
On-line filtering of the oil has been implemented on some oil filled diverters and
generally if more than 15,000 operations per year are required. Some diverters have
Lifetime Management of FACTS Controllers 13

vacuum bottles. In this case, it is necessary to measure the contact wear every 4 or
5 years and trending it is also recommended to determine remaining life.

Core and Windings

There is very little that can be done in the field for problems with the core and
windings.

Coolers

Unless forced cooled transformers are used, coolers are relatively simple devices.
The manufacturer’s recommendations and guidelines for maintenance and mainte-
nance schedule of the coolers should be followed. Maintenance is normally a visual
inspection for leaks and contamination. Ultrasonic monitoring can detect bearing
failure if forced cooling of the transformer is used. On-line monitoring is also
available. Fan motor and contactors should also be checked periodically.
In some cases, a valve may show that it is in the open state, whereas the valve is
partially closed or a pump may be wired/running backwards. A periodic infrared
inspection twice per year will pick this up as one cooler will be running cooler than
the rest.

Auxiliary Devices

These devices are for the most part replaced if defective, although some repairs can
be done to the Drycol control cabinet. The Pressure Relief Device (PRD) can be
checked for proper operation at the set point. The Drycol will alarm if defective.

3.4 Reactors

The reactors can be oil filled, air or forced cooled pieces of equipment or air core or
air insulated reactors. With the advances in reactor technology, newer FACTS
controllers only use air core reactors. Therefore, only air core reactors are discussed
in this document.

Performance Issues
Air core reactors have an exterior coating of paint or Room Temperature Vulcanizing
silicone (RTV), which protects the insulation from Ultraviolet (UV) rays. Cracks in
this coating have allowed moisture to get into the windings and causing failures.
These coatings have to be re-applied or renewed approximately every 10 years
depending on environmental solar effects and pollution conditions. Some air core
reactors may also have been lifted improperly during installation, which eventually
can cause reactor failures. When they are tested in the factory, air core reactors can
pass the noise test because there are no harmonics flowing through the windings
during the tests. However, in the field, with harmonics present, they become noisy
14 N. Dhaliwal and T. Magg

and are often outfitted with noise barriers. Some air core reactors exhibit “Black
Spots” on them but no failures have been reported to date as a result of these spots.
The addition of corona rings may eliminate the black spots if these spots are the
result of corona damage.

Maintenance
A regular visual inspection of the air core reactors is recommended to look for
broken bushing sheds, bird nesting, small animals residing in the coils, and anything
abnormal. Infrared and corona scope tests are also recommended yearly, looking for
hot spots on the reactor and any associated bus work and bus connections. All
insulators should be checked for cracking or damage and contamination. Special
attention should be paid to look for any “black spots” on the reactor insulation.
Keeping the air cooling vents clear of debris and blockage is most important for
the air core reactors as well as inspection of the outer coating to protect the
insulation.
For oil cooled reactors, diagnostic tests similar to those performed for AC trans-
formers are recommended.

3.5 Semiconductor Devices

Thyristor type semiconductors are used for TCR, TSC, and TCSC. IGBTs are used
in some FACTS controllers like STATCOM and UPFC.
The semiconductor valves are usually compact and generally floor mounted
except for TCSC, which are placed on top of an energized platform. All semicon-
ductor valves are mounted in an enclosure.
The semiconductor valves typically have monitoring systems which provide
detailed information about the location of thyristor and gating circuit failures.
When these failures occur, the repairs typically do not need to be completed
immediately since there is normally some thyristor level redundancy built into the
thyristor valve. Should the redundancy be used up, the semiconductor device will
trip and cannot be re-energized until it is repaired or replaced. Therefore, it is
recommended that the failed components should be replaced at the first available
opportunity when the FACTS controller is not in operation.
Deionized water usage should also be monitored and if excessive could indicate a
water leak.

Maintenance
The semiconductor valves themselves usually require very little maintenance. The
exception is the deionized water used for cooling of the semiconductors and thyristor
snubber circuits and air cooling systems. The water typically is continuously being
deionized to ensure that it has good dielectric withstand capability. Also, for outdoor
applications such as is found in TCSC systems, antifreeze is added to the water to
enable operation when the ambient temperature goes below 0oC.
Lifetime Management of FACTS Controllers 15

Infrared scans should be performed twice per year and viewing ports may be
required to view all portions of the valve hall. (This might be difficult to do for a
TCSC system unless drones can be used.) The viewing ports are opened only for the
duration for the infrared scans and are closed after use. If a corona scope device is
available, ultraviolet light corona scope scans can be used to check for defective
insulators and problems with the corona shielding of the structure. These scans
should be done once per year.
Changes in audible noise levels can indicate an impending problem. Changes in
the “smell” of the air also can indicate a component failure which might be self-
clearing and not necessarily picked up by the fire/smoke detectors. These should be
investigated as required.
When the FACTS controller is out of service, it is important to analyze and
replace any defective components in the control unit electronics, fiber optic cables,
and semiconductors themselves that showed up by the continuous monitoring.
The supplier should have supplied test equipment and documentation to success-
fully diagnose and fix these problems. Any infrared scan hot connections
and corona scope defective insulators, among others, are also addressed at
this time.
One of the most important aspects is a thorough visual inspection to look for
anything out of the ordinary, such as dust accumulation, black spots indicating
corona damage, and water evaporation residue, which are some of the evidence
marks to uncover in these inspections. A partial list is outlined below but this is not
intended to supersede the supplier’s check list:

• Check the electrodes in the de-ionized water circuit for corrosion or deposits.
• Check the surge arrestors visually, record and trend the number of operations. If
the number of operations is more than a few per year this should be investigated
and the arrestors tested as required.
• A percentage of the semiconductor devices may be checked with the supplier
supplied test set, but the testing must be done immediately after de-energization
(within 2 h) before they have cooled down.
• Visually check the air-cooled valve reactors for red dust indicating the cores are
loose, vibrating, corrosion, and any signs of overheating. If so, they should be
replaced, analyzed for the root cause of the problem, and tested by the supplier
supplied test set as required.
• Clean the wall bushings, insulators, and equipment based on dust accumulation.
• Check the Thyristor Valve transient voltage grading capacitor for capacitance and
dissipation Factor.
• Replacement components must be of high quality.
• Components may not be available from the suppliers or are very costly. Other
sources are usually available but one must do sufficient reverse engineering to
ensure that they will work properly.
• Check the safety interlocks and grounding switches as required.
• Check the deionized water piping and manifolds for any cracks or leaks.
16 N. Dhaliwal and T. Magg

• Check the cooling fans, filters and heat exchangers and replace or clean as
necessary.
• Replace any lighting and repaint as necessary.
• Check all installed smoke detectors, air sampling system and fire alarms for
proper operation, fouling, and response time as required by RCM and/or the
fire code.

3.6 Station Auxiliary Supplies

The station auxiliary supplies include the station service transformers, medium
voltage switchgear, Motor Control Center (MCC), battery banks, first grade supplies,
and uninterruptable power supplies (UPS).
The auxiliary supplies are normally duplicated or in some cases even triplicated.
There are usually many performance issues because the design of these systems
has not been sufficiently thought through. The operating staff would like the
duplicated auxiliary supplies to be run in parallel to avoid downstream transfer
issues. However, this increases fault levels and a fault can take the entire system
down. A reliable design would have the duplicate system separated from the primary
system to minimize the amount of power that is lost and rely on automatic down-
stream transfers.
Maintenance of the medium voltage switchgear and Motor Control Centers
(MCC) is often lacking. Therefore, the transfers to the alternate systems do not
occur or are slow. This might cause protections to operate. The breakers should
be exercised (operated) periodically to ensure that they will work when required.
In some cases, the AC auxiliary supplies will be manually paralleled only for a
short time (make before break) to prevent downstream transfers as a comprise
solution. Older transfer controls and relays can prove to be troublesome and
unreliable and should be replaced if miss-operation becomes a problem.
Battery banks may appear healthy and yet unable to pick up the load when
required. To avoid this situation, the batteries should be load tested to ensure that
they are okay. Some systems will have three battery chargers and two battery banks
in separate rooms for each battery system.
The first grade power supply systems might be compromised if loads are added
that should not be connected to this type of supply, (e.g., computers, printers, etc.)
and the system reliability becomes compromised. UPS systems are usually allowed
to fail and be replaced as they are duplicated.

Maintenance
The battery banks should be inspected periodically for post leaks, tested for
bad cells, and the electrical connections cleaned from corrosion. The battery
room air exhaust system, hydrogen detection must also be inspected and tested
regularly.
Lifetime Management of FACTS Controllers 17

The medium voltage switchgear and Motor Control Center (MCC) breakers
should also be inspected periodically, timing checked, for number of operations
and contact wear.

3.7 Surge Arresters

All modern surge arresters are gapless zinc oxide metal oxide varistors (MOV).
Their housing may be made of fiberglass with silicone rubber sheds instead of
porcelain.

Performance Issues
Moisture ingress in the fiberglass insulating column or on the walls of the MOV
blocks are the most critical issues as the applied voltage can then cause the unit to fail
and it may fail catastrophically.

Maintenance
For the MOV arresters the leakage current is measured in-service or during a test if
the unit can be removed from service and tested. However, if there are parallel MOV
columns used in an energy absorber, the new MOV column has to have exactly the
same V/I characteristics as the existing columns. This is normally not possible. To
avoid having to replace the entire energy absorber, spare columns should be installed
when the absorber is first installed. Then if a column shows indications of impending
failure, it can be removed from the absorber and the rest of the columns should still
be able to handle the operating duties.
The leakage current test should be done at regular intervals (<8 years), but it can
be accomplished also be means of a continuous leakage current monitor. The leakage
currents may go down over time, which indicates that the protective levels are
increasing, or may increase over time, which could indicate that the protective
level is being reduced. If several units of a similar type are replaced, consideration
should be given to replacing them all.
Visual inspection of the arresters should be conducted on a regular basis
(6 months), and counter reading should be regularly recorded. Special attention
should be paid to the integrity of the counter. In addition to the regular inspection,
the arresters should also be inspected after a major system disturbance.

3.8 Valve Cooling

This section refers to the cooling systems for both thyristor valves and IGBT-based
valves. The discussion is limited to the cooling equipment that is external from the
valve itself and outside the Valve Hall. It is not intended to discuss the building’s
heating and cooling systems, if any. These are commonly called HVAC systems as
they are usually separate from the equipment cooling systems.
18 N. Dhaliwal and T. Magg

The Thyristor Valves and IGBT-based systems generate heat from the losses
associated with the device switching operations, the forward voltage drop, and
load current through the electronics switching devices and valve reactors when
they conduct and from the snubber circuits when they operate during turn on and
turn off. Heat from the other components in the valve hall will make up the
remaining heat loss but this is usually minimal.
De-ionized Water (DIW) is a very efficient heat transfer media and has become
the norm for modern valves. It allows for a more compact design, higher power
levels, and is usually a closed loop systems. The water needs to be deionized to
remove free ions and minimize current flow in the water in the cooling pipes. This
is accomplished with catalytic ion and anion resin beds, which require regular
maintenance. Some suppliers do not vent the deionized water system and thus have
oxygen scavengers in the resin beds as well. Other suppliers vent to air as
breakdown of the water into Hydrogen and Oxygen occurs at high voltage. In
addition, there are sacrificial anodes in the water steel or sacrificial anodes of
platinum to prevent corrosion. For outdoor valve positions such as in TCSC
systems, antifreeze is added to the cooling water if the system is expected to
encounter freezing conditions. The cooling systems must be checked periodically
for corrosion or deposits.
The water circuit may be a single loop system (includes industrial grade glycol for
cooler circuit made of stainless regions) or a double loop system. The double loop
system will have DIW in the Valve circuit and regular water or glycol in the outdoor
cooling circuit, glycol for cooler regions. A single loop system brings the DIW to
outdoor water to air cooler, whereas the double loop system has an intermediate heat
exchanger.
The secondary circuit is usually glycol filled in cold climates but may be water
only in moderate climates. The end device heat exchanger transfers the heat to the
air, many with the assistance of water. The water is used when the air temperature is
high with just air used at lower temperatures. The water can be sprayed on a fill type
material to make use of the water evaporation high heat dissipation capacity, be
sprayed in an air curtain with the cooling air drawn through the water spray or be
sprayed directly on the coolers themselves. The secondary circuit will usually have a
spare cooler and fan which can be valved-off for maintenance and repairs.
With recent schemes, the use of water in the air has been eliminated wherever
possible.
Modern FACTS controllers typically use duplicated digital or PLC-based control
and protection system for the cooling systems.

Maintenance
The following the maintenance tasks for the valve cooling systems should be carried
out on regular basis:

1. Conductivity
The conductivity of the cooling medium in the valves must be maintained below
0.1uS. The resin should be changed at regular intervals to maintain the
Lifetime Management of FACTS Controllers 19

conductivity at an acceptable level. Any sudden increase in conductivity should

be investigated.
2. Coolant pressure and flow
Any alarm indicating drop in coolant flow and/or pressure should be investigated
as soon as possible and in-line filters changed if necessary.
3. Pumps
The performance of the pumps should be monitored by taking vibration readings
at regular intervals.
4. Transfer schemes
For reliability reasons, the pumps for the main and secondary cooling systems are
probably duplicated. If the running pump fails, the controls automatically turn on
the standby pump. The operation of the transfer schemes should be verified
during maintenance.
5. Expansion tank level
The level of expansion tanks should be monitored on a periodic basis. Any
sudden drop in level should be investigated.

The following tasks should be performed during planned maintenance:

• Calibrate all measuring devices

• Check all Alarm and Trip levels
• Verify transfer schemes
• Check for leaks
• Check all cooling fans

4 Documentation and Staff Training

4.1 Documentation

The management of the documentation of a FACTS controller throughout its lifetime

is an important task.
Documentation will generally comprise of contractual documentation supplied by
the supplier during or at the end of the project implementation and documentation
that is compiled to record and manage the performance and maintenance of all
components of the FACTS controller and devices.
Plant documentation such as operating and maintenance manuals and drawings
should be kept at the FACTS station, and other documentation such as performance
and fault records may be kept at the station or at another location depending on the
owner’s operating and performance management philosophy. Generally, most if not
all plant documentation will be supplied in electronic format, although paper copies
are often still requested in contracts.
Copies of the operating and maintenance manuals, drawings, and plant documen-
tation should also be kept in a central archive or library and in engineering or
maintenance support departments. Over the lifetime of a FACTS controller,
20 N. Dhaliwal and T. Magg

documentation is likely to get misplaced or go missing and it is therefore important

to maintain backup copies.

4.1.1 Plant Documentation

The plant documentation refers to the documentation provided and handed over the
by the contractor to the owner during or at the end of the implementation of the
project.
In general, the documentation comprises the following:

Studies and Design Reports

These are the engineering studies and design reports that are produced by the
contractor during the system design and engineering phase of the project. These
reports provide important information if design modifications are required during the
lifetime of the system.

Operating and Maintenance Manuals

The operating procedures and maintenance instructions should provide de-
tailed operating procedures and maintenance instructions. They should be in
sufficient detail to allow engineers/technicians who were not involved in the
original installation/commissioning to operate, investigate faults, and maintain
the FACTS controller over its lifetime. Technical descriptions and detailed
drawings of all systems and components used in the FACTS controller should be
included.

Drawings
A full set of drawings of the complete FACTS controller should be supplied as part
of the contract. These drawings should include layouts, schematics, drawings of
subsystems, equipment, components, and bills of materials. All drawings of the
converter station should be maintained up to date.

Equipment Purchase Specifications

Equipment purchase specifications should be provided by the contractor for all plant
and materials supplied under the contract. The original equipment manufacturer may
not remain in business throughout the lifetime of the FACTS controller, and equip-
ment purchase specifications will assist the utility/owner to purchase replacement
equipment and parts in future.

Software
Nearly all equipment included in a FACTS controller is controlled and/or monitored
by computers and specialized processors. Over the lifetime of the FACTS controller,
it can be expected that improvements and modifications will be made to the software
used in these systems. It is important that chronological records of modifications and
updates made be kept. It is also important that backup copies of software be kept
off site.
Lifetime Management of FACTS Controllers 21

Site Acceptance Testing and Commissioning Results

The results of the site acceptance and commissioning tests should be provided by the
manufacturer once the FACTS installation is complete. The results are important for
future retesting and commissioning of systems or components that are replaced or
modified.

4.1.2 Maintenance and Performance Records

For the RCM and/or the CBM to work effectively, it is essential that detailed
information of the maintenance results and equipment problems be maintained.
The maintenance records can either be kept at the station where the FACTS
controller is installed or at another location, e.g., maintenance depot depending on
the utility/owner standard practice. It may be prudent to keep the records at more
than one location.
Reliability, availability, and maintenance (RAM) figures are recorded to evaluate
the general performance of the FACTS controller and can be used to motivate
replacement/refurbishment projects in future.
Performance records can also include dynamic performance results and transient
fault recordings. These can be used to analyze performance and to optimize perfor-
mance and change parameters or protection settings if needed. It is important to keep
records of any changes made.

4.2 Staff Training

FACTS controllers are comprised of sophisticated and technologically advanced

equipment. The unavailability of a FACTS controller may have severe consequences
on a transmission system. It is therefore important that these systems be operated and
maintained by personnel specially trained in FACTS controllers.
The utility/owner operations and maintenance philosophy will determine the
types and level of training required. Some utilities prefer to do all their maintenance
in-house while others may engage suppliers or other maintenance service providers
in maintenance contracts.
The following outlines the different types of training that are required to operate,
maintain, and monitor performance, optimize or undertake design changes of a
FACTS controller.

4.2.1 Training Requirements

The following levels of training will be required for maintenance personnel not
belonging to the original supplier:

Control/Dispatch Center Operators

• Must have general knowledge of the FACTS controller operation.
• Must understand the general interaction between the FACTS controller and the
AC network, e.g., dynamic performance, voltage control, reactive power
control.
22 N. Dhaliwal and T. Magg

• Must understand the parameter setting changes that are possible from the
control/dispatch center via the SCADA system.
• Must have a basic knowledge of the functions on each the auxiliary systems.
• Must have basic knowledge of the FACTS controller switching and clearance
procedures.
Station Operators (if any)
• Must have general knowledge of the FACTS controller operation.
• Must understand the general interaction between the FACTS controller and the
AC network, e.g., dynamic performance, voltage control, reactive power
control.
• Must have specific knowledge of the all the auxiliary systems and their
operation.
• Must have comprehensive knowledge of the FACTS controller switching and
clearance procedures.
• Must have basic knowledge of fault finding.
Maintenance Staff
• Must have general knowledge of the FACTS controller operation.
• Must have comprehensive knowledge of the maintenance of the AC system
components.
• Must have specific knowledge of the maintenance requirements of the FACTS
controller components.
Engineering Staff
• Must have comprehensive knowledge of FACTS design and operation.
• Must have a specific knowledge of FACTS controller components and sub-
systems, including monitoring and recording devices.
• Must have general knowledge of the purpose and operation of the FACTS
controller in the AC system.
• Must have general knowledge of the maintenance requirements of the FACTS
controller equipment.
• Must have detailed knowledge of testing, fault finding, fault analysis and the
ability to make parameter and setting changes in the control and protection
systems.

4.2.2 Training Program

Staff to be trained should be identified at the beginning of the project. This should
include the control/dispatch center operators, station operators, maintenance staff,
and engineering staff. The training programs should be designed to achieve the
required levels of competency for all of these staff members. The engineering staff
should participate in the design reviews, factory testing, and the commissioning of
the equipment, including system tests. The maintenance and operating staff should
participate in the installation, site acceptance testing, and commissioning of all
components, subsystems, and systems.
Comprehensive training in a classroom environment should be provided imme-
diately after the commissioning is completed. Different training courses should be
provided for the different categories of staff to be trained, i.e., control center staff,
Lifetime Management of FACTS Controllers 23

station operators, maintenance, and plant engineering staff. The instructors should be
the supplier’s specialists in their individual areas. For example, the FACTS control-
ler controls should be presented by the controls specialist. The training should
include the following:

• An overview of the FACTS controller design and the main functions it is expected
to perform in the AC system.
• Detailed descriptions of the operations procedures.
• Detailed descriptions of the equipment maintenance requirements and
procedures.
• The most likely failure modes of equipment and systems and the consequences of
failures.
• Fault finding and how to use the monitoring and recording equipment and
sequence of events recorder to assist in identifying the cause of the faults.
• Hands-on training of how to replace/repair various components, e.g., replacing a
capacitor can or thyristor.

It is normally a challenge to maintain trained staff over the lifetime of a FACTS

controller. The staff trained initially may move to other positions, leave the company,
or retire. All classroom lectures and hands-on training should therefore be video
recorded for future reference. The contractor can also be asked to provide repeat
training in the first few years of operation of the FACTS controller.
Where several FACTS controllers are installed in a network it may be worth
procuring a training simulator to continuously develop and train the staff over the life
of the project. The training simulator should be able to replicate all the normal and
fault conditions of the FACTS controller, transformer, and the thyristor/IGBT valve
cooling plant, in order to train the operator to take the necessary corrective action.
The simulator will also allow for simulation of unusual events that cannot normally
be applied in a real system to allow the operators to be trained for various
contingencies.

5 Spare Parts

A FACTS controller consists of equipment normally used in AC substations such as

circuit breakers and disconnectors and equipment specific to FACTS and power
electronic systems such as thyristor/IGBT valves, valve cooling systems, and control
systems. This section covers spare parts required specifically for the FACTS con-
troller, as general AC equipment spares are normally kept by the utility. However, for
each FACTS project, it should be checked whether the utility has spares of the AC
equipment used in the FACTS controller or whether spares should be purchased
under the contract.
Normally FACTS controller purchase specifications will require the contractor to
perform Reliability, Availability, and Maintainability (RAM) calculations. These
calculations will show the minimum number of spares that should be kept to meet
24 N. Dhaliwal and T. Magg

the specified RAM requirements over a certain period, typically 5 years. In addition,
the utility/owner may want to purchase additional spares to have spares available for
a longer period for components which cannot readily be purchased on the open
market. The number of spares to be purchased is also influenced by the expected
time during which the FACTS controller will be needed, and the utility’s location in
relation to suppliers of spare parts.
When a FACTS controller approaches the end of its operational lifetime, the
failure rate of components can be expected to increase. This will require additional
spares and result in increased maintenance costs. The Owner of a FACTS controller
should evaluate the number/level of spares kept for a FACTS controller well before
the end of its lifetime to allow the purchase of additional spares if required.

5.1 Types of Components Used Within Controllers

FACTS controllers use a wide variety of very different components supplied by a

wide range of suppliers. These can be categorized into component types from the
spares replacement point of view.

Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) Components

These are available on the open market and delivered as a complete product. They
are ordered against a manufacturer’s catalogue number. These components include
power supplies, processor modules, Ethernet switches, relays, terminal blocks, fuses,
current transformers (CTs), voltage transformers (VTs), mini circuit breakers
(MCBs), capacitors, reactors, AC switchyard components, and more.
Product design life, operational life, and reliability figures should be defined by
the component manufacturers as part of their standard literature.

Bespoke (Customized) Products

These products are designed to meet the functional specification provided to the
supplier by the owner and are normally associated with the FACTS controller itself.
Normally a specialist supplier is responsible for the detailed design and must
contractually guarantee that the product meets all the criteria specified in the
technical specification. These guarantees will include the performance criteria
(sometimes risk mitigated by the suppler via acceptance testing), the design life,
and reliability availability and maintainability guarantees.
Typical equipment of this type includes:

• Interface transformers
• Thyristors/IGBT’s
• Valve firing electronic units/cards
• Thyristor valve cooling plants
• Reactors
• Capacitors (this includes dry type, self-healing capacitors used in STATCOM or
in general in VSC type converter systems)
Lifetime Management of FACTS Controllers 25

• Surge arrestors
• FACTS control and protection systems

The FACTS controller purchase order should also include contractually binding
spares, replenishment time, and specify a minimum time over which spares parts will
be available.

5.2 Replacement and Management of Obsolescence

For commercial off the shelf components (COTS), the marketability of a product is
severely decreased if a better (faster/smaller/more functional) replacement product
becomes available. Alternatively changes to legislations that govern the processes or
materials used to manufacture the components (lead free solder, greener PCB
cleaning technologies, etc.) can make a product very unattractive to manufacture.
Typically, manufacturers will advise clients, who have purchased their FACTS
controllers, when spares are soon to be discontinued, so that they can be replenished
as desired.
Bespoke designs normally use third party components that are subject to the same
lifecycles as the COTS products.

5.2.1 Commercial Off the Shelf Components

Most mass market manufacturers tend to renew their product offering over a period
of about 3 to 10 years. The normal sequence is as follows:

1. Market a new product

2. State that the old product is not to be used for new designs
3. Increase the price of the old product
4. Send an End of Design Life (EOL) statement to all customers, often accompanied
with a “last time buy” opportunity
5. Part only available on the “grey” market
6. Part available from a “secondary” market e.g., a supplier who used to work for the
OEM
7. Parts available directly from the sub-supplier of the OEM when the OEM no
longer has a contract with the sub supplier
8. Part not available

5.2.2 Bespoke Components

These are components designed to meet a specific specification.
In general components of this nature do not become obsolete unless the manu-
facturer goes out of business.
Physically simple components such as capacitors, reactors, and resistors normally
use a standardized manufacturing process that is parameterized (via specifications
and drawings) by the manufacturer’s in-house design team to provide a value or type
of component. The lowest risk solution is normally to ask the original manufacturer
26 N. Dhaliwal and T. Magg

to re-use the original design information to create an exact spare. While changes to
legislation and materials used can still affect their ability to produce a spare, the
manufacturer can normally be expected to provide a compatible spare, and this is the
next lowest risk solution. As components of this type are made to a functional
specification, it is also possible to request a different manufacturer to create a
spare, though in this case the specification may have to be reviewed to ensure that
the new component is fully compatible.
Two critical systems are the thyristor or IGBT valves and the FACTS control and
protection system. These critical items should be identified early and a plan put in
place to procure an increased number of spares or consider replacement.
Modern control and protection systems for FACTS controllers are based on
digital technology. This technology becomes obsolete fairly quickly with typical
lifetimes being in the order of at most 15 years. It can thus be expected that the
control system will have to be replaced at least once during the lifetime of the
FACTS controller if the FACTS controller is needed for longer than 15 years
In anticipation of this replacement, the control and protection interface bound-
aries should be clearly defined in the specification to allow for easier replacement in
the future.
As many components used in FACTS controllers are the same as those used in
HVDC systems (CIGRE TB 649 2016), the same principles might therefore be
possible to apply.

6 Management of System Performance and Faults

The performance of FACTS controllers and faults related to FACTS controllers can
be classified into two categories:

• FACTS controller faults

• Performance of the FACTS controller in the AC system

6.1 FACTS Controller Faults

This section discusses the faults that result in partial or total loss of the controller
capability, and analysis of performance of FACTS controllers in an AC system. An
example of such an analysis for TCSC system performance was reported in 2013 by
CIGRE Working Group B4-49 (CIGRE TB 554 2013). In general, the performance
of all TCSC systems was very high even though no standard method of reporting
was available.
CIGRE study committee B4, Advisory Group AG B4-04 conducted a survey of
the performance of the SVC/STATCOM in 2016 and the report was presented at the
2016 B4 committee meeting (CIGRE AG B4-04 2016 SVC/STATCOM Report).
The survey results showed that most outages occurred due to the failure of AC
Lifetime Management of FACTS Controllers 27

equipment and the Auxiliary systems. The outages due to switching equipment
(TCR, TSC, STATCOM) and controls were very small.
CIGRÉ Study Committee B4, Advisory Group AG B4-04, collects information
that includes a system description, main circuit data, simplified one-line diagram for
each controller, and operational performance data annually from each controller.
Performance data includes reliability, availability, maintenance statistics, and a brief
description of cause of failures. Reliability data are confined to failures or events
which result in loss of FACTS controller availability. Statistics are categorized by
type of equipment that caused the reduction in controller availability. Advisory
Group B4-04 summarizes the performance statistics for all reporting FACTS con-
trollers every two year in a report. This report is helpful in providing failure rates and
causes of various components of the FACTS controllers. In addition, it provides a
benchmark for performance analysis of individual controllers.
In order to develop a standard method for calculating the performance of the
FACTS controllers CIGRÉ Study Committee B4, Advisory Group AG B4-04
prepared Technical Brochure 717-“Protocol for Reporting Operational Performance
of FACTS” in Jan 2018 (CIGRE TB 717 2018).
It is recommended that the reliability and availability of FACTS controllers
should be calculated and reported to CIGRE on an annual basis as per CIGRE
protocol for FACTS controllers (CIGRE TB 717 2018; CIGRE AG B4-04 2016).
Appendix provides a summary of the reporting protocol.
When a FACTS controller trips due to a fault, any fault recordings and alarm
listings should be checked. Any protection operation should be recorded and inves-
tigated for any equipment damage. If there is a failure of equipment, steps should be
taken to isolate the equipment for repairs. If the failure resulted in any environment
issues (e.g., oil leaks), immediate steps should be taken to mitigate the environmen-
tal issues before proceeding with any repairs.
A detailed report should be prepared for every failure in consultation with the
manufacturer. If the investigation shows any design deficiency, it should be corrected
not only on the failed FACTS controller but also in other systems of the same design.
These failures should be included in the report to CIGRE B4-04. This helps
CIGRE B4 committee identify failures that are common to various systems and
recommend changes to equipment standards and thereby improving the performance
of the new controllers.

6.2 Performance of the FACTS Controller in the AC System

The FACTS controllers are used to provide system stability under steady state and
transient conditions after a disturbance on the AC system. After every major system
disturbance the following information should be collected;

• Dynamic performance recordings and alarm listings for the station where the
FACTS controller is located and all other stations affected by the disturbance.
• Record the steady state system conditions before and after the fault.
28 N. Dhaliwal and T. Magg

The response of the FACTS controller should then be examined to see if the
controller worked as designed. The reasons for any abnormal response should be
investigated. If necessary, the disturbance should be repeated with digital simulation,
and control parameters adjusted if required to optimize the performance.
A detailed report should be prepared for each disturbance for future reference.

7 Life Assessment Process

Before starting a life extension project, it is necessary to obtain all available

information. It is desirable to collect the information in an electronic format that
enables the use of searches to quickly zero in on issues of concern.
A visit to the station is also necessary to discuss the life extension issues with the
maintenance staff. Also, discussion should take place with the operating staff to
determine if the equipment is meeting the expectations, with focus on continued
operational problems and areas requiring high maintenance work. Also, if there are
any additional requirements that the existing equipment cannot provide and possible
benefits should be determined.
The following should be part of the analysis:

• Operating problems or changes in the mode of operation.

• Maintenance records for the last 5 years.
• Any modifications performed after the original equipment was installed and why
they were initiated.
• Any significant failures and failure reports.
• Original quality or design issues.
• Any equipment replaced and when.
• Spare or replacements parts or obsolescence for major or critical equipment. An
example may be the failure rate of the semiconductor devices, spares on hand, and
whether they are available from a supplier.
• Status of spares – questions to consider are whether they are usable, have been
maintained, have seen actual service and been removed because of incipient fault
indications or if they have never been in service?
• Technical skills of staff to continue operating and maintaining the equipment. Is
additional training required?
• Normal expected life of each piece of equipment.
• Provide special attention to the smallest subsystem or components possible as it
may be possible to replace only some components and not the larger equipment
subsystem or system. This could save a lot of cost but requires that the detailed
information be available.
• Information provided in other chapters of this report would be useful.
• Criticality of the FACTS controller to the system and consequences if it is
unreliable or out of service.
• Risk assessment.
Lifetime Management of FACTS Controllers 29

• Some equipment may not have a history of problem and failures but consideration
should be given that some of this equipment may start to fail if the life extension is
long enough.
• Replacement costs; wherever possible, costs should be obtained from a supplier
but where this is not possible, estimated costs if any based on previous experience
is desirable.
• An implementation schedule will also likely be required. Wherever possible the
schedule should be obtained from a supplier. Where this is not possible, a rough
schedule preferably based on previous experience is needed.
• Since many reported problems with operating systems are related to cooling
system failures, it is highly recommended that vibration analysis measurements
be made to determine if the original installations were properly designed (cavi-
tation and vibration issues).

7.1 Life Assessment Timetable

CIGRE Technical Brochure TB 649 (CIGRE TB 649 2016) provides expected

lifetime various components for an HVDC converter station which includes many
of the components used in FACTS controllers. Table 1 show the expected lifetime of
FACTS controller equipment as per CIGRE TB 649.
These estimated life expectancies are based on experience from operating prop-
erly designed pieces of equipment in which components have been selected with
proper consideration of the operating duties of the components. The actual life might
be longer or significantly less than the figures provided in the Table 1.
The reality is that there is no piece of equipment where a firm number is accurate.
The expected life of typical electrical equipment depends on the operating temper-
ature of the equipment and its components. Statistical methods can be applied to get
an estimate for the likely end of life of components, but this is not a practical
approach unless there are a device failures and knowledge about the service life of
the components.
The desire to come up with a life expectancy number is that if a piece of
equipment has not caused any major problems up to the point in time when the
life extension project is considered, a life estimate for the specific piece of equipment
should be made to assess the remaining life, refurbishment and replacement of that
piece of equipment, subsystem or system, or if replacement is done, then the
replacement of the complete FACTS controller may be the best option.

7.2 Alternatives and Justification

In order not to degrade the performance of the FACTS controller when some
equipment is approaching its design life, the following alternatives are available:
30 N. Dhaliwal and T. Magg

Table 1 Typical life time of FACTS controller equipment

FACTS equipment typical lifetimes
Note: Excludes design and production run quality issues
FACTS controller Design life 35–40 years
Equipment Lifetime Comments
(Years)
Interface 40
transformer
AC bushings 25–30
Tap changer 30 or 350,000 operations, seals and springs (with appropriate oil
maintenance procedures)
Coolers 25
Thyristor valves 35
VSC valves 35 Snubber and grading circuits should receive special attention
and examination of failure records
Semiconductor 35 IGBT life expectancies are still in an extrapolation phase due
devices to the limited population of the larger IGBT devices and the
length of service experience
Controls (digital) 12–15 This includes device gate control units
HMI 7–10 Older installations may have HMI software that is very
difficult and expensive to modify and maintain
AC Filters 35
Capacitors 30 Might only apply to conventional power factor correction
capacitors
Reactors 30–35
Resistors 40
CT & PT 35
AC Control & 10–20
protection
AC breakers 20 Severe switching duty may require more frequent interrupter
overhaul/replacement
Reactors (air 30–35 Life expectancy is subject to coil surface finish coating
core) maintenance and re-coating
Surge arrestors 35
Cooling systems 25–30 Cooling system management has several important parts:
1) Pump vibration management 2) Coolant quality
management 3) Outdoor cooler coil maintenance
Switching 35 The operating mechanism would have to be refurbished
equipment periodically depending on the number of operations
DC supplies 15–20 Depending on battery type and maintenance cycles
(batteries, etc.)
Buswork, 50 Somewhat dependent on regular thermal visioning
structures monitoring
Communications 15
systems
Lifetime Management of FACTS Controllers 31

(a) Selective repair and refurbishment or replacement of FACTS controller

equipment
• Equipment can be repaired if spare parts remain available, and the knowledge
base (engineering and technical staff) is being retained.
• Equipment replacement is required if spare parts are not available (OEM’s are
no longer in business. Either the parts are phased out, discontinued, cannot be
remade or they are reverse engineered locally), or the knowledge base is lost
(maintenance personnel familiar with the equipment are retired). Software
and development systems to re-program operational-microprocessor based
systems can be problematic as major OEM(s) transition from one generation
to the next generation become shorter in terms of “life-cycle”.
• Selective equipment replacement is an excellent method to extend the design
life of the FACTS controller if other not refurbished or replaced components
can last till the end of FACTS controller extended life.
(b) Complete replacement of FACTS controller
• Complete replacement is required when the majority of the equipment is at
the end of its design life, and the FACTS controller is still required for power
transfer or AC system performance improvement. This can ultimately be a
combined economic or technical decision as to how extensive the complete
replacement may be.
• Complete replacement of FACTS controller is also an opportunity to increase
the steady state rating and add additional dynamic characteristics, depending
on the technology used within the project.
• In any case, actions for extending FACTS controller life needs to be
addressed before FACTS controller reliability and availability are impacted.

7.3 Basis for Replacement/Refurbishment of Equipment

The criteria for the equipment replacement and refurbishment are related to the risks
the asset owner is ready to take and potential lost revenue which is correlated to
equipment performance. It is also related to the expected useful life of the FACTS
controller as a part of the AC system.
For example, capacitors can be replaced after design life is exceeded. However,
they can also be replaced after the number of failures exceeds for example >2 % of
installed capacitors per year. The latter option implies a number of filter bank trips or
loss of redundancy (maintenance outage), which are the consequence of failed
capacitor cans.
A conservative approach to any subsystem replacement is to operate these
components only to the manufacturers recommended design life, but this might
result in significant waste of capital to pay for unnecessary replacement of equip-
ment. A critical assumption is that the spare parts and skilled and knowledgeable
maintenance personnel are still available to the FACTS controller owner.
The following conditions could require equipment replacement and refurbish-
ment even before the expected life as per Table 1 is exceeded:
32 N. Dhaliwal and T. Magg

• Poor performance of equipment. An unacceptable number of FACTS controller

forced trips caused by this equipment reducing FACTS controller availability,
or long-scheduled outages required to keep the equipment in a serviceable
condition.
• The type of equipment has become discontinued by the OEM (for example circuit
breaker), and there are no other supply source of spare parts. It is possible to
postpone the replacement of the whole equipment fleet say of circuit breakers by
replacing one or more circuit breakers and using the parts from the units removed
from service as a source of spares. In some cases, the parts can be reverse
engineered by the owner or utility, if it still has the knowledge or by other firms
such as tap changer parts which specialize in this field
• Engineering and maintenance staff retiring and the knowledge base of how to
maintain some equipment is being lost and the supplier also cannot support
maintenance of the equipment.
• The results of equipment condition assessments showing poor or deteriorating
equipment conditions (for example very low degree of polymerization paper
inside converter transformers) could justify earlier replacement, even before
equipment design life is not exceeded.
• Failures of the same type of equipment at other FACTS controllers could
justify unscheduled equipment condition assessment and, if required, early
replacement
• Manufacturer instructions to remove equipment from service due to production
defect (e.g., use of unsuitable material for components during production) could
result in early equipment refurbishment.
• Under direction from an outside regulatory body (safety or environmental issues
for example).
• Technical obsolescence – older software versions are no longer supported by the
OEM and the new software requires new hardware.
• The high cost of Operations Maintenance and Administration. (OPEX) which is
defined as a measure of Operating Expense.

8 Decommissioning

The issues of de-commissioning a FACTS controller are technically similar

to de-commissioning of an AC substation. It is very important that the de-commis-
sioning process meets all the local, state, and national environmental regulations of
the country where the device is located. Since the environmental regulations are
different for each location (even within the same country), only a general guideline is
provided in this section.
Before proceeding with de-commissioning, it must be verified that all environ-
mental regulations will be met by the proposed process. In general, there are
probably qualified companies available in each area that can be contracted to assist
with the de-commissioning of FACTS controllers.
In general, the equipment can be disposed of as follows:
Lifetime Management of FACTS Controllers 33

8.1 Cables

Before disposing of the cables, it should be verified that the cable insulation does not
contain PCB, asbestos, or any other hazardous materials (e.g., lead, etc.).

8.2 Capacitors

It is very unlikely that the capacitors will contain PCB. However, if there is any
doubt the oil should be tested for PCB before finalizing the disposition procedure
depending on the test results.

8.3 Control Cabinets

Control cabinets can be dismantled and sold as scrap.

8.4 Cooling System

Any parts of the cooling system that are obsolete can probably be scrapped. If the
cooling system used glycol, the glycol must be taken out and disposed of as per
environmental regulations and then the system should be flushed before being
scrapped.

8.5 Reactors

All air-cored type reactors might be sold as scrap. Oil-filled reactors can be disposed
of in a manner similar to interface transformers.

8.6 Site Clean-Up

After all the equipment has been disposed of, the site should be cleaned to meet
the prevailing environmental regulations. In some cases, it may be necessary
to scrape and remove some of the soil and transport it to an acceptable disposal
facility.

8.7 Structures and Building

Steel structures can be salvaged and sold as scrap. If the buildings cannot be
reused, they should be demolished and the site cleaned up as per local regulations.
34 N. Dhaliwal and T. Magg

8.8 Switchgear

Switchgear may be reclaimed and used in other places. Any SF6 should be reclaimed
and reused.

8.9 Thyristors, IGBTs and Electronic Circuit Boards

Thyristors, IGBTs, and electronic circuit boards can be disposed as electronic waste.
Copper pole pieces can be recycled. The silicon wafers might have to go to a land fill,
but there could be gold plating and silver solder that might be possible to reclaim.

8.10 Transformers

The transformer oil should be drained, stored, and can be used again after pro-
cessing. If the transformer has a tap changer which might be used on a similar
transformer in the company, it can be salvaged. The remaining parts can be sold to a
recycling company. Depending on the age and condition of the bushings, it might be
possible to use the bushings in other units or to keep them as spares.

Appendix

Calculation of Facts Controller Performance

CIGRE Advisory Group B4-04 has developed a protocol for calculating the perfor-
mance of FACTS controllers (CIGRE TB 717 2018). The following is the summary
of definitions and method of calculating the performance.

Definitions

Capacity Terms
Rated Capacity (Qm) – The maximum capacity (+/
MVARS), excluding the
added capacity available through means of redundant equipment, for which contin-
uous operation under normal conditions is possible, is referred to as the rated
capacity.
The rated capacity is equal to the sum of reactive (inductive and capacitive)
ratings of the device.
For a station with more than one FACTS controller, the rating of each device is
calculated on its own.
Lifetime Management of FACTS Controllers 35

Note: When the maximum continuous capacity varies according to seasonal

conditions, the highest value is to be used as the capacity for the purpose of reports
prepared according to this protocol. However, this excludes over-load capability
available during low-ambient temperature.
Outage Capacity (Qo) – The capacity reduction (+/
MVARS) which the outage
would have caused if the system were operating at its rated capacity (Qm) at the time
of the outage is called the outage capacity.
Outage Derating Factor (ODF) – The ratio of outage capacity to rated capacity
is called the outage derating factor.

ODF ¼ Qo =Qm

Example:

If the normal rating of an SVC =
60/+150 Mvar.

Available rating after the forced outage =
40/100 Mvar
Qm = 60 + 150 = 210 Mvar
Qo = 210 – (40 + 100) = 70 Mvar
ODF = 70/210 = 0.33

Outage Terms
Outage – The state in which the FACTS controller is unavailable for operation at its
maximum continuous capacity due to an event directly related to the failure of one or
more of its components. Failure of equipment where a back-up equipment (standby
pump, etc.) is available, is not considered as an outage for purposes of this report.
Outages related to AC system or failure of other equipment not part of the FACTS
controller will be recorded but not included in FACTS controller reliability calcula-
tions. For the purpose of this report, outages taken for major reconfiguration or
upgrading of the switching FACTS controller such as breaker additions, etc. are not
reported.
Scheduled Outage – An outage that is either planned or which can be deferred
until a suitable time is referred to as a scheduled outage.
Scheduled outages can be planned well in advance, primarily for preventive
maintenance purposes such as the annual maintenance program. During such
planned maintenance outage (PM), it is customary to work on several different
equipment or systems concurrently. It is not necessary to allocate such outage time
to individual equipment categories. Only the elapsed time is reported in Scheduled
Outage Unavailability, SOU as “PM”.
Classified under the scheduled outage category are also outages for work which
could be postponed until a suitable time (usually night or weekend) but cannot be
postponed until the next planned outage. Equipment category code should be used
for outages of this type.
Forced Outage – The state in which the equipment is unavailable for normal
operation at its rated capacity (Qm) but is not in the scheduled outage state is referred
to as a forced outage.
36 N. Dhaliwal and T. Magg

Trips – Sudden interruption in reactive power transmission by a protective action or

manual emergency shutdown.
Other Forced Outages – In general, other forced outages are unexpected FACTS
controller equipment problems that force immediate reduction in capacity of the
FACTS controller but do not cause or require a trip. Also in this category are
outages caused by switch-on delays.

Outage Duration Terms

Depending on the design of the FACTS controller, it is possible that the FACTS
controller may remain in operation in a de-rated status. The entire duration of
the derating is to be reported as a Forced Outage using the ODF.
The outage time should be given in “decimal hours,” i.e., 6 h: 30 min = 6.5 h.
Actual Outage Duration (AOD) – The time elapsed in decimal hours between
the start and the end of an outage is the actual outage duration. The start of an outage
is typically the first switching action related to the outage. The end of an outage is
typically the last switching action related to return of the equipment to operational
readiness.
Equivalent Outage Duration (EOD) – The actual outage duration (AOD) in
decimal hours, multiplied by the outage derating factor (ODF), so as to take account
of partial loss of capacity is called the equivalent outage duration.

EOD ¼ AOD  ODF

Each equivalent outage duration (EOD) may be classified according to the type of
outage involved:

Equivalent forced outage duration (EFOD) and

Equivalent scheduled outage duration (ESOD).

Time Categories
Period Hours (PH) – The number of calendar hours in the reporting period is
referred to as the period hours. In a full year, the period hours are 8760, or 8784, in
leap years. If the equipment is commissioned part way through a year, the period
hours will be proportionately less.
Actual Outage Hours (AOH) – The sum of actual outage durations within the
reporting period is referred to as the actual outage hours.
X
AOH ¼ AOD

The actual outage hours (AOH) may be classified according to the type of outage
involved:

Actual forced outage hours (AFOH) and

Actual scheduled outage hours (ASOH).
Lifetime Management of FACTS Controllers 37

X
AFOH ¼ AFOD
X
ASOH ¼ ASOD

Equivalent Outage Hours (EOH) – The sum of equivalent outage durations

within the reporting period is referred to as the equivalent outage hours.
X
EOH ¼ EOD

The equivalent outage hours (EOH) may be classified according to the type of
outage involved:

Equivalent forced outage hours (EFOH) and

Equivalent scheduled outage hours (ESOH).
X
EFOH ¼ EFOD
X
ESOH ¼ ESOD

Availability Terms
Outage Unavailability (OU) – A measure of the Mvar capacity of the FACTS
Controller that was not available is referred as Outage Unavailability.

Outage Unavailability%OU ¼ ðEOH=PHÞ  100

Forced Outage Unavailability%FOU ¼ ðEFOH=PHÞ  100

Scheduled Outage Unavailability%SOU ¼ ðESOH=PHÞ  100

Controller Availability (CA) – A measure of equivalent duration for which the

FACTS controller was available at rated capacity.

Controller Availability%CA ¼ 100
%OU

Equipment and Fault Category Terms

FACTS controller equipment is classified into major categories for the purpose of
reporting the cause of capacity reduction or FACTS controller outages. Failure of
the equipment resulting in an outage or loss of FACTS controller capacity is charged
to the category to which the failed equipment belongs. Failures or outages of
redundant equipment which do not result in a loss of FACTS controller capacity
are not reported. The outage may be forced as a direct consequence of the failure or
miss-operation, or the outage may be scheduled due to maintenance requirements.
38 N. Dhaliwal and T. Magg

Only scheduled outages classified as deferred are categorized according to

equipment type. In the interest of providing information which can be used to
further describe problem areas and help to improve designs, major categories
are divided into subcategories. These subcategories are described in the following
subsections. The performance report should utilize these subcategories by app-
ending the respective subcode to the major outage code when maintaining the
outage log.
A.C. and Auxiliary Equipment (AC-E) – This major category covers all ac
main circuit equipment of the FACTS controller. This includes everything from the
incoming ac connection to the ac connection of the FACTS controller. This category
also covers low voltage auxiliary power, auxiliary valve cooling equipment, and ac
control and protection. This category does not apply to capacity outages resulting
from events in the ac network external to the FACTS controller. The following
subsections give the different subcategories of equipment included in this category
and contain examples of each type of equipment.

A.C. Filter (AC-E.F) – Loss of FACTS controller capacity due to failure of passive
and active ac filters. Types of components included in this subcategory would
be capacitors, reactors, resistors, CTs, and arresters which comprise the ac
filtering.
A.C. Control and Protection (AC-E.CP) – Loss of FACTS controller capacity due
to failure of ac protections, ac controls, or ac current and voltage transformers is
assigned to this subcategory. AC protections or control could be for the main
circuit equipment, for the auxiliary power equipment, or for the valve cooling
equipment.
FACTS Controller Interface Transformer (AC-E.TX) – Loss of capacity due to
failure of a FACTS controller interface transformer is assigned to this sub-
category. Included in this subcategory is any equipment integral with the
FACTS controller interface transformer such as tap changers, bushings, or trans-
former cooling equipment.
Auxiliary Equipment and Auxiliary Power (AC-E.AX) – Loss of FACTS con-
troller capacity due to failure or misoperation of auxiliary equipment. Such
equipment includes auxiliary transformers, pumps, battery chargers, heat
exchangers, cooling system process instrumentation, low voltage switchgear,
motor control centers, fire protection, and civil works.
Note: The cooling system for the Thyristor/IGBT valve is not included in this
category.
Other A.C. Switchyard Equipment (AC-E.SW) – Loss of FACTS controller
capacity due to failure of ac circuit breakers disconnect switches, isolating
switches or grounding switches is assigned to this subcategory. Also included
are other ac switchyard equipments such as ac surge arresters, bus-work, or
insulators.
Lifetime Management of FACTS Controllers 39

Valves (V) – This major category covers all parts of the valve itself. The valve is
the complete operative array forming an arm, or part of an arm of the FACTS
controller. It includes all auxiliaries and components integral with the valve and
forming part of the operative array. The valve category is divided into four
subcategories.

Valve Electrical (V.E) – Loss of FACTS controller capacity due to any failure of the
valve except for those related to that part of the valve cooling system integral with
the valve is assigned to this subcategory.
Valve Cooling (V.VC) – Loss of FACTS controller capacity due to any failure of the
valve related to that part of the valve cooling system at high potential integral with
the valve is assigned to this subcategory.
Valve Capacitor (V.C) – Loss of STATCOM controller capacity due to failure of
either the main valve capacitor or any subcomponent of the capacitor where the
capacitor is not a single element.
Phase Reactor (V.PR) – Loss of FACTS controller capacity due to failure of the
phase reactor.

Control and Protection Equipment (C-P) – This major category covers

the equipment used for control of the overall FACTS controller system and for
the control and protection of each Thyristor Switched Capacitor (TSC), Thyristor
Controlled Reactor (TCR), Thyristor Controlled Series Capacitor, Voltage Sourced
Capacitor, and STATCOM excluding control and protection of a conventional type
which is included in “a.c. and auxiliary equipment.”
The equipment provided for the coding of control and indication information to
be sent over a telecommunication circuit and the circuit itself is included.
Capacitor Banks (C) – This category covers fixed capacitors and thyristor
switched capacitors. The capacitors related to STATCOM or Voltage Sourced
Converters are not included in this category.

Fixed Capacitor (C.F) – Loss of FACTS controller capacity due to failure of any
fixed capacitor or any sub component of the capacitor where the capacitor is not a
single element.
Thyristor Switched Capacitor (C.S) – Loss of controller capacity due to failure of
any thyristor switched capacitor or any sub component of that capacitor where the
capacitor is not a single element.

Reactors (R) – This category covers fixed reactors and thyristor controlled
reactors. The phase reactors related to STATCOM are not included in this category.

Fixed Reactor (R.F) – Loss of FACTS controller capacity due to failure of any fixed
reactor or any subcomponent of the reactor where the reactor is not a single
element.
40 N. Dhaliwal and T. Magg

Thyristor Controlled Reactor (R.S) – Loss of FACTS controller capacity due to

failure of any thyristor controlled reactor or any subcomponent of that reactor
where the reactor is not a single element.

Human Error (H) – Loss of FACT controller capacity or extension of outage

duration due to human error is assigned to this category. If, after an outage due to an
event in another category, the outage duration is extended due to human error in
maintenance or operation, the consequential extension in outage time is charged to
this category.
Other (O) – Loss of FACT controller capacity or extension of outage duration
due to unknown causes is assigned to this category.
Outages due to act of nature (storm, flood, etc.), small animals, and bird nesting
are also included in this category.
External AC System (EXT) – Loss of FACTS controller capacity due to faults
or events in the ac network external to the FACTS controller is charged to this
category.
Note: The outages due to this category are not included in the calculation of
forced outage unavailability.

References
CIGRE AG B4-04: SVC/STATCOM report, Report on SVC/STATCOM Performance Survey, CIGRE
B4 meeting 2016. http://b4.cigre.org/Publications/Other-Documents/SVC-STATCOM-PERFOR-
MANCE-SURVEY (2016). Accessed 5 Mar 2018
CIGRE TB 554: Performance Evaluation and Applications Review of Existing Thyristor Controlled
Series Capacitor Devices. CIGRE, e-cigre.org (2013)
CIGRE TB 649: Guidelines for Life Extension of Existing HVDC Systems. CIGRE, e-cigre.org (2016)
CIGRE TB 717: Protocol for Reporting Operational Performance of FACTS. CIGRE, e-cigre.org (2018)
Dhaliwal, N.S., Schumann, R., McNichol, J.R.: Application of Reliability Centered Maintenance
(RCM) to HVDC Converter Station. CIGRE paper B4-107 (2008)
Moubray, J.: Reliability Centered Maintenance, 2nd edn 1997. Industrial Press Inc, New York, NY.
ISBN 0-8311-3078-4
Lifetime Management of FACTS Controllers 41

Narinder Dhaliwal received the B.Sc. degree in electrical

engineering from Punjab University, Chandigarh, India,
in 1968 and M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from
the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada, in
1974. He joined Manitoba Hydro, Winnipeg, MB,
Canada, in 1974 and worked as a system study engineer
for about 5 years.
He was Senior Plant Engineer for Nelson River HVDC
system from 1979 to 2015. During this time he was
responsible for maintenance and operation of Nelson
River BP1 and BP2 HVDC systems. He commissioned
all components of the HVDC system (i.e., controls,
valves, valve base electronics, DC controls, valve cooling, etc.).
He is currently Chief Engineer with TransGrid Solutions. His areas of expertise are
specification preparation, design review, participation in factory testing and
commissioning.
Mr. Dhaliwal is a Registered Professional Engineer in the Province of Manitoba,
Canada.
Mr. Dhaliwal is a member of CIGRE and convener of Advisory Group AG B4-04
responsible for monitoring the performance of HVDC systems around the world.

Thomas Magg, Principal Consultant, Serala Power

Consulting, South Africa. Thomas Magg is a regis-
tered professional engineer in South Africa with more
than 27 years’ experience in the electric power industry.
Thomas started his career at Eskom and has experience
in the utility, consulting, and equipment supplier sectors.
He has extensive experience in project management and
project engineering of high-voltage transmission AC
and DC systems in Africa. Thomas has experience on
reactive power compensation and the integration of
large nonlinear loads into transmission systems. He
has been responsible for the project engineering of sev-
eral large Static VAr Compensators (SVC’s). Thomas
was the Technical Advisor for the 350kV High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC),
300/600MW Caprivi Link VSC HVDC scheme in Namibia, which was successfully
completed in 2010. He is presently the Senior Technical Advisor and lead engineer
for the Songo 533kV HVDC converter station upgrade project on the Cahora Bassa
HVDC scheme in Mozambique. He has been an active member of CIGRE Study
Committee B4 (HVDC and Power Electronics) since 2006 and has been a member of
several SC-B4 Working Groups. From 2008 to 2014, he was the Regular Member
for South Africa for CIGRE Study Committee B4.