Utilizing Voltage Drop Model Analysis to Determine the Optimal Voltage Regulated Distribution Transformer (VRDT) for Grid Feeders

The Malaysian government aims for a 20% use of renewable energy in utility grids by the year 2025. Load demand and renewable energy (RE) generation increase as the population increases as more Malaysian citizens will buy photovoltaic (PV) panels and attach them to the roofs of their businesses and homes. Thus, there is an excess of power, causing the feeder to experience undervoltage when there are too many loads, and overvoltage when there are too many RE generations. The feeder will experience loads instability if voltage deviation exceeds +10% or −10%. As such, grid planning for grid expansion has never been more important. Therefore, the voltage-regulated distribution transformer (VRDT) is a viable solution to these issues in the grid as it can increase or decrease the tap setting of the transformer so that it can curb the issues of undervoltage and overvoltage. This project is carried out by modeling several feeders; residential, commercial, and industrial, while increasing load growth by 1.13% every year and RE generation by 25% every five years over the course of the following years: 2025, 2030, 2035, and 2040. These simulations will be done with and without the VRDT for a fair comparison between the two.