HVAC Submarine Cable Loss Reduction at Variable Voltage Level

The transmission losses of a long AC cable line overating at low load can be significantly reduced by coordinated control of terminal voltages resulting in an apt reduction of the line voltage. Since a significant share of those losses is due to cable charging current and inductive shunt compensation. Operation at voltages significantly lower than the normal minimum voltage can result in an overall reduction of losses. The paper evaluates the impact of terminal voltage control on the losses of a 245 kV – 50 Hz cable line, for several different line lengths, operated with a symmetrical current and reactive power profile. Results confirm that operation of a lightly loaded CL at significantly reduced voltage is associated to smaller line losses.