Brazilian Successful Experience in the Usage of Current Limiting Reactors for Short-Circuit Limitation

With the deregulation of the Brazilian electric sector, the connection of independent power producers to the basic network causing the increase of short-circuit levels not included in previous long-term planning forecasts requires more and more knowledge of techniques for short-circuit limitation at High- Voltage (HV) levels of the existing network. The objective of this article is to present the Brazilian successful experience in the usage of air-core current-limiting reactor (CLR) for short-circuit limitation at the primary transmission network, regarding aspects like the transmission system performance under steady- state and transient conditions, the definition of the physical dimensions for the equipment, the specifications of the electrical characteristics and the special cares with respect to the possible damages caused by the magnetic flux generated by the CLR to human life, directly or through contact with metallic structures in the vicinities, the economic profits of this limitation in short- circuit level compared to the costs of the substitution of overloaded equipment and facilities and erection in site.