Impact on Voltage Rise of PV Generation in Future

Swedish Urban Areas with High PV Penetration

Yining Hou #1, Jesper Magnusson #2, Gran Engdahl#3, Lars Liljestrand *4
#

Department of Electromagnetic Engineering, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology

Teknikringen 33, 10044 Stockholm, Sweden
1

yiningh@kth.se
2
jema@kth.se
goran.engdahl@ee.kth.se
*

ABB Corporate Research

Forskargrnd 7, 72178 Vsters, Sweden
4

lars.liljestrand@se.abb.com

AbstractThere has been a large amount of statements from

different countries, claiming that the integration of photovoltaic
generation in the distribution grids can eventually impact the
power quality and pose challenges for the distribution system
operator. In Sweden, the level of penetration of small scale
distributed generation is still low and no such problems have
been observed. This study is conducted to investigate the voltage
levels in an urban distribution grid when the level of photovoltaic
generation is increased.
The study is done by modeling the Swedish urban area by
PSCAD. The aspects of the model include network design of a
real distribution grid, everyday load, photovoltaic generation
based on real data, photovoltaic penetrations at different levels
and considers the current regulations in Sweden.
The results indicate that there are no problems with overvoltages even with a high penetration of photovoltaic generation.
Instead the risk of over-current through the installed cables
seems to be a greater limitation. The loading of the distribution
transformers are decreased due to the mix of commercial and
domestic loads in the local grid.
Keywords: over-voltage, photovoltaic generation, photovoltaic
penetration, power system modelling, power quality, voltage
profiles, solar irradiation, distribution grid, power system
planning.

I. INTRODUCTION
With fast growing penetration of photovoltaic (PV) as well
as other distributed power generation, the impact of PV on the
grid and vice versa is under discussion. There are a number of
concerns and possible problems as the distributed generations
reach a high penetration. Such problems comprise flicker [1]
[2], harmonics distortion [3], and voltage rise effects [4].
The voltage rise in the LV distribution grid is one of the
most frequent concerns in the leading countries of residential
PV market. Unlike the loads in an LV distribution grid, that
occur at statistical varying times and thus smoothen the peak
load of the system, the PV production occurs almost
simultaneously in all residential PV systems connected in the
same area. The increased reversed power flow might result in
voltage drops along the distribution feeder and a voltage
above the allowed limits at the end of the feeder. This overvoltage depends on solar irradiation, installed PV capacity,

load levels and the design of the LV distribution grid and

cannot be easily calculated.
In Germany, the German Renewable Energy Sources Act,
which came into effect in 2000, has created favorable political
and financial framework conditions for PV production [5].
This has resulted in large annual installations of PV
generation; by 2012 the total installations were 27.926GW [6].
In Sweden there are no or low economic incentives to install
distributed generation and the installed capacity in 2012 was
8.4 MW [7]. Hence the problems in Sweden are less obvious
and less research is performed in the area. However, that the
incentives are constantly under discussion and with a strive
towards green energy makes a high penetration of distributed
PV generation a possible scenario also in Sweden, and the
consequences should be investigated.
A. Scope and Limitations
In this context, the main contribution of this paper is to
present the simulation study results of voltage rise effects in a
typical Swedish urban area due to the applications of
residential PV systems in the future. The studied system
consists of a typical Swedish distribution grid, which is
assumed to have no installations of residential PV systems yet.
The actual level of installed PV generation is not known, but it
should be a fair assumption since the total installed capacity in
Sweden is low. The study is carried out based on the
envisioned PV penetration in the future. In addition, results of
impact on active power flow and loading on the transformers
are included.
The paper is limited to the voltage levels and power flow in
the steady state and does not consider transient effects or short
term problems such as flicker.
B. Outline of the Paper
The paper is organized such that Section II presents the
relevant Swedish rules and regulations. Section III describes
the distribution grid and its model in PSCAD. Section IV
presents the load and PV generation. Section V describes the
case studies. Section VI presents the simulation results and
analyses. The paper is concluded in Section VII.

II. RULES AND REGULATIONS

This section describes the voltage requirement and Swedish
regulation for the distribution system operator (DSO)
regarding PV penetration.

buses serve as the common coupling points (CCPs) in the

targeted LV distribution grid.

A. Voltage Requirement
In an LV distribution grid, the nominal line-to-line voltage
level is 400 V. The required voltage range at operation is
400V 10% and applies to every household and every part of
the LV distribution grid.
B. Swedish DSOs regulations:
In Sweden, the companies selling electricity to the
consumers also offer the possibility to buy the excess
production if one installs a PV system. If the annual
consumption is larger than the annual production of electricity,
the grid tariff for the PV system is 0 SEK. If the annual
production exceeds the consumption, the tariff increases to
1875 SEK [8] because they are considered producers of
electrical energy rather than consumers.
For example E.ON, who has a large part of the Swedish
electricity market, offers to buy as much as 43.5 kW PV
production from one individual household since the
distributed PV generation is consumed locally and the grid
loss is then decreased. 43.5 kW is set based on the limit
current of a fuse in one Swedish household [9].
The price for purchase of PV production usually includes
two parts: compensation for the reduced losses in the grid and
payment for the electrical energy. An example is that in
Stockholm, E.ON pays 5.6 re (Swedish currency) per kWh
PV production as the compensation of reduced grid loss and
the spot price on Nord Pool minus 4 re as the electricity price
[8].
III. THE GRID AND ITS MODEL
The studied grid is located in an urban area in Vsters,
Sweden, about 100 km west of Stockholm. It consists of a
primary and secondary distribution grid. The primary
distribution grid is a 10 kV MV grid in the background which
is part of the simulation but omitted in this paper. The
secondary distribution grid is the targeted LV distribution grid
in this paper.
A. The Grid
The single-line diagram of the LV distribution grid [10] is
presented in Fig. 1. It shows the network design and grid
configurations of the targeted LV distribution grid. It is
composed of a 1.6 MVA secondary substation, 9 sections of
power cables, 12 buses, and 11 aggregated loads. Each load
resembles an accumulation of a number of flats, supermarket,
school, day-care center of kids and/or offices. The loads are
assumed as balanced three phase loads (residential-,
commercial-, or mixed-type) operating at a power factor of
0.9 lagging. The residential part of the 11 aggregated loads
consists of 450 flats. Each bus connects different sections of
power cables, loads and/or the secondary substation. The 12

Fig. 1. Single-line diagram of the targeted LV distribution grid

The secondary substation in the targeted LV distribution

grid has two 800 kVA, delta-wye, 11 kV/420 V distribution
transformers with the star point solidly grounded on the LV
side. Each distribution transformer is installed with an offload tap changer. The effective transformer ratio for the step
of the default tap position is 11.275 kV to 420 V. The
configurations of the distribution transformers and the 9
sections of power cables are further described in [10].
The LV distribution grid is connected into the primary
distribution grid, which has a nominal voltage level of 10 kV.
The primary distribution grid then is connected into the sub
transmission network with a nominal voltage level of 130 kV.
The primary distribution grid was built in 1980s [10] and
has a total load capacity of 80 MVA, though relevant records
show that the peak total load ever in the primary distribution
grid is only 30 MVA. Thus, the primary distribution grid is in
a status of light load. The primary distribution grid has a
short-circuit capacity of 3080 MVA and consists of one 80
MVA primary substation, 19 sections of power cables and 19
aggregated, balanced three phase loads and the targeted LV
distribution grid. The load factor is assumed to be 0.9 lagging
for all loads also in the primary distribution grid.
The primary substation consists of two 40 MVA, wye/wye
145 kV/11.6 kV transformers with the star point grounded
through a reactance on the LV side. Each transformer is
equipped with an on-load tap changer on the secondary
winding. The control strategy of tap changing is to maintain
an acceptable voltage at the primary substation.
B. Grid Model
Both the primary distribution grid and the targeted LV
distribution grid have been modelled. All the transformers, PI
section lines, loads, PV production and branches are simulated
based on standard models and logic functions in the main
library of PSCAD. The network parameters are provided in
[10]. All loads and PV generation are assumed to be three
phase and balanced and no transient analysis are performed in
the grid model.

which means the nominal and potentially maximum output

power of the PV system is 3.36 kW. The PV production and
electricity consumption of the house for the year of 2011 have
been recorded as in [10].
From this, the envisioned PV production in the grid model
has been calculated by linear scaling with a time resolution of
1 hour (kWh). The data shows that each kWp installed
capacity produces 860 kWh annually.

Fig. 2. Model of aggregated loads at CCPs

The topology of the aggregated loads in the targeted LV

distribution grid in PSCAD is presented in Fig. 2. Load 1 at
Bus 4 is taken as an example. In Fig. 2, the three phase load is
split into a combination of three single phases, i.e. phase a, b
and c. The reason to split the originally 3-phase load into the
combination of 3 single-phase loads is simply for model
implementation reasons. In PSCAD main library, variable
load models only include single-phase load components. Each
single-phase consists of one variable resistor and inductor in
parallel, as well as a variable current source. Without any
installed PV systems, the injected current will be zero and the
load will be passive. As the penetration of PV systems is
assumed, the produced power is modelled with an injected
current that is in phase with the node voltage. The reason why
a variable current source is used to model the PV production
is that there is no variable power source yet in the main library
of PSCAD.
All the aggregated loads except Load 5 and 6, have the
same simulation models for the PV-production. Load 5 and 6
are pure industrial loads and are assumed without any PV
production.
IV. THE LOAD AND GENERATION
A. The Loads
For the primary and LV distribution grid, the original load
data is limited to annual energy consumption in kWh and peak
load [10]. The load schemes for all 19 loads in the primary
distribution network and the 12 loads in the LV distribution
network are calculated in [11]. The calculations use a
probabilistic calculation method based on RTS-96 (IEEE
Reliability Test System). The obtained data is the average
demand/consumption of each load in the interval of one hour
(e.g. kWh/h).
B. PV Generation
The PV generation data originates from a private household
in Vsters, Sweden, already equipped with a residential PV
system. The PV system has an installed capacity of 3.36 kWp,

C. The Different Days Used in the Simulations

Two particular days have been selected for the simulations:
the winter day (December 20th) and the summer day (July
8th). On the winter day, the targeted LV distribution grid has
the peak load profile in the year [10] and almost no PV
generation. On the summer day, the grid has the lowest load
profile of the summer season and the PV generation close to
the peak in a year. Another option for the summer day would
have been the date when the PV system has its peak
production. However, due to a higher load, the difference
between consumption and production is lower than on July
8th. Hence, this day was chosen as the summer day as it
represents a worse case.
V. CASE STUDY
This section presents two simulation cases: peak generation
equals peak load (Peak-peak) and zero emission households
(ZEH). Envisioned PV generation is introduced to the two
cases. In both cases, 90% of the households at each CCP are
equipped with PV systems. The solar irradiation has the same
characteristics as in the recorded data. The only difference
between the two cases is the installed capacity of PV system.
A. Peak-peak Case
In this case, the installed capacity of PV system in each
household is equal to the peak load (0.8 kWh/h [10]) in the
LV distribution grid. Seen from the grid perspective, any
distributed generation where the peak produced power is
lower than the highest consumption should only be positive.
Hence, this is kind of PV system should never be able to cause
any problems for the DSO. Since the annual PV generation
per household is then only 20% of the annual electricity
consumption per household, the grid tariff for each household
to sell the excess PV generation to DSOs is zero which makes
it a reasonable system also for the customer.
B. ZEH Case
In this case, customers in each household intend to cover
ones annual electricity consumption. In that sense, the
household becomes a zero emission household (ZEH). Each
household is assumed to have an annual energy consumption
of 3500 kWh. Since the recorded production data shows 860
kWh annual production per kWp installed capacity, the
corresponding PV capacity is 4 kWp.
ZEH case is the highest possible realistic installation for a
household. If people install PV for their own sake or
environmental causes rather than economical reasons,
covering ones own needs is a reasonable limit. As it looks
today, there is no economical reason in Sweden to install PV,

so all people installing PV do it for other reasons, which make

this a reasonable limit.
In this case, in order to let the grid tariff for a household to
sell excess PV production be zero, it is assumed that the
annual PV generation of a household is very close to and
slightly smaller than the annual energy consumption.
C. PV Generation in the Peak-peak and ZEH Cases
By linear scaling of the PV production from a 3.36 kWp
PV system to 0.8 kWp in the Peak-peak case and 4 kWp in the
ZEH case, envisioned PV generation of the two cases is
obtained and plotted as in Fig. 3. The blue and red columns
represent PV generation of the Peak-peak and ZEH cases
respectively. The horizontal axis represents hours in a day.
The vertical axis shows PV generation in kWh.

except 10 kV for Bus 1, since it connects the primary side of

the two distribution transformers in the LV distribution grid.
The result is reasonable considering the peak load on the
winter day and partially shows that the model is reasonable.
Fig. 5 presents the active power flow at the 12 buses. The
peak active power flow at Bus 1 is below 0.87 MW, which is
still far below the capacity of the two distribution transformers.

3.5
3
2.5
kWh

2
1.5
Fig. 4. Voltage profile of the winter case

1
0.5
0
1

9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23

Fig. 3. Hourly PV generation of Peak-peak and ZEH cases

VI. SIMULATION RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

In total, four different cases have been simulated in PSCAD.
The first case corresponds to the winter day. The second
simulates the summer day without PV generation and named
the summer base case. The third and fourth cases are the Peakpeak and ZEH cases. Simulations have been performed in
both the primary and targeted LV distribution grids. They are
considered as the worst cases in the year with PV production.
Subsections A-D present the simulation results in terms of
voltage profile and power flows at buses in the LV
Fig. 5. Active power flow of the winter case
distribution grid. The power flow at a bus means the power
flow going into the bus from the cable connecting it and the
B. Summer Base Case
bus above it.
This case shows what the grid looks like on the summer
In subsections E-F, analysis of the PV impact has been
day with no PV. The voltage profile and active power flow at
made based on the simulation results.
the 12 buses are presented in Fig. 6 and Fig. 7 respectively. In
A. Winter Case
Fig. 6, the voltages at all buses except Bus 1 are between
This case is used to simulate the voltage levels along the 0.97-1.02 pu. In Fig. 7, the peak load of the LV distribution
feeders at full load to verify the model. This is the base case grid is only 0.51 MW, which is much lower than 0.9 MW of
for a winter day and the voltage levels are supposed within the winter case. Due to the lower load compared to the winter
case, the voltage variations during the day are smaller. Since
margins of 0.9-1.1 pu since this is how the grid is defined.
Results of the voltage profile at the 12 buses are presented there is no PV production, all the power flows are positive, i.e.
in Fig. 4. The voltages all keep within limits of 0.9-1.1 pu as the grid is passively consuming energy.
expected and stay at a low level. In most hours voltages keep
below 1.0 pu and lowest bus voltage is lower than 0.92 pu.
The nominal value of the voltage is 400 V for all the buses

Fig. 6. Voltage profile of the summer base case

Fig. 8. Voltage profile of the Peak-peak case

Fig. 9. Active power flow of the Peak-peak case

Fig. 7. Active power flow of the summer base case

C. Peak- peak Case

This case shows how the grid behaves, if households install
PV so that the grid is loaded with a peak generation from each
household equal to the peak load of each household.
The voltage profile and active power flow in the grid are
presented in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9 respectively. In Fig. 8, the bus
voltages stay between 0.97-1.02 pu, except Bus 1. Certain
buses, e.g. Bus 10-12, have wider voltage ranges compared to
the summer base case. But the voltages have at most increased
by 1%. In Fig. 9, the ranges of active power flow at buses are
close to the summer base case. Though excess PV power is
generated at certain buses e.g. Bus 7-9, 11, and 12, the
positive power flow at buses 1, 2 and 3 shows that the LV grid
is still locally consuming all the PV power generated.

D. ZEH Case
This case presents the behavior of the grid if the PV
installations are pushed to the extreme. The voltage profile is
shown in Fig. 10 and the active power flow in Fig. 11.
Fig. 10 shows that the bus voltages have a larger range
compared to the summer base case. The bus voltages are
between 0.97-1.094 pu except Bus 1 that is almost unchanged.
The voltage at Bus 11 reaches 1.094 pu, which is very close to
the upper limit of 1.1 pu, but all buses have voltages within
the specified limits.
Fig. 11 shows that the mismatch between PV generation
and load results in the negative active power flow at all buses
except Bus 5 and Bus 6, which are connected to commercial
loads and involve no households. At Bus 1, the peak of total
active power flow of the LV distribution grid reaches minus
0.6 MW. Such an active power flow is larger than 0.5 MW of
the summer base case, but it means the total apparent power is
still far lower than the load capacity of 1.6 MVA.
If the commercial loads at buses 5 and 6 are removed from
the LV grid, the active power flow results in Fig. 12. The total
power flow of the LV grid goes beyond 0.9 MW, the peak

power flow in the winter case (indicated by the black dash

lines), but still stays within the limits of the transformers.
However, if the commercial loads were equipped with PV
systems with a comparable installed capacity which goes
beyond being self-efficient, there would be a risk for the
distribution transformers and the load capacity of the LV grid.

Fig. 12. Active power flow after removing commercial loads

TABLE 1
SUMMARY OF VOLTAGE AT BUS 11

Case
Fig. 10. Voltage profile of the ZEH case

winter case
summer base
case
Peak-peak
case
ZEH case

Maximum
Voltage
[pu]
0.9919
0.9989
1.0159
1.0942

Time
[Hr.]
4am5am
12pm1am
9am10am
10am11am

Minimum
Voltage
[pu]
0.9298
0.9735
0.9735
0.9735

Time
[Hr.]
7pm8pm
8pm9pm
8pm9pm
8pm9pm

It means that 4 kWp is the peak capacity of PV systems not

to cause over-voltage in the grid.

Fig. 11. Active power flow of the ZEH case

According to simulation results of the four cases, the

largest voltage fluctuation happens at Bus 11. Table 1
summarizes its maximum and minimum voltage values and
corresponding time.

E. Risk of Active Power Flow above the System Limit

Another impact caused by PV generation is presented in
this subsection. Fig. 13 compares hourly active power flow at
Bus 11 of the four cases. In the winter case, the peak hourly
load at Bus 11 is 0.073 MW. However, in the ZEH case, the
negative active power flow at Bus 11 varies between minus
0.08 MW and minus 0.3 MW from 8 am to 4 pm. The active
power flow at Bus 11 might already go beyond the system
limit, i.e. the power cable ampacity. As a reference, the dashdot red line shows the value of the peak load with a negative
sign. This is an indication of the cable ampacity, or at least of
the intention of the grid designer. At the phase of designing an
LV distribution grid composed of residences, the system limit
usually depends on the hourly peak load per household. The
hourly peak load per household in the LV distribution grid is
0.8 kWh/h, but in the ZEH case the installed capacity of PV
systems is 4 kWp. This is the reason of such a huge negative
active power flow at Bus 11.
Table II identifies the risky scenarios for Bus 11. At Bus 4,
7-10 and 12, similar risky scenarios exist and have been
identified too [10].

Fig. 13. Hourly active power flow at Bus 11 in the four cases

Fig. 14. Active power flow at Transformer 1 in the four cases

TABLE II

Table III presents the total loading at T1 and T2 throughout

24 hours of the four cases, without considering the direction
of active power flow at transformers (whether load or
generation mode). It shows that compared to the summer base
case, the total loading at both T1 and T2 have been decreased
in both the Peak-peak case and the ZEH case.

RISKY SCENARIOS OF ACTIVE POWER FLOW AT BUS 11

Case
ZEH case

Active Power
Flow [MW]
-0.1217
-0.2336
-0.2735
-0.2892
-0.2915
-0.1428
-0.1912
-0.0800

Time
[Hr.]
8am-9am
9am-10am
10am-11am
11am-12am
12am-1pm
1pm-2pm
2pm-3pm
3pm-4pm

This impact can be even worse. If considering a moment of

zero-load but maximum PV generation, the negative power
flow could be even much bigger. Though such a case doesnt
exist in this paper, it could happen in reality.
F. Lower Loading at Both Transformers
In Peak-peak case, from 3 am to 8 pm, the hourly loading
on the two distribution transformers T1 and T2 in the LV
distribution grid are lower than the summer base case. It
means lower burdens on the transformers during these hours.
This is good for the transformers, since less loading leads to
less loss and less heating. In the ZEH case, the two
transformers need to handle negative active power flow in
certain hours, but the absolute values of peak negative power
flow at the two transformers are still lower than their peak
loads of the winter case. This is shown in Fig. 14 that presents
hourly active power flow at the distribution transformer T1 of
the four cases an example.

TABLE III
SUMMARY OF TRANSFORMER LOADING

Case
winter case
summer base case
Peak-peak case
ZEH case

Total Loading
at T1
[MWh]
6.2922
3.7424
3.1229
3.1353

Total Loading
at T2
[MWh]
8.7917
5.2948
4.2952
4.5550

VII.
CONCLUSION
This paper performs simulations of a real low and medium
voltage network in the city of Vsters in Sweden. The
simulations show different scenarios of PV penetration and
none of the cases show problems with over-voltages above the
limit of 10% above the system voltage. However, during
summer days with high PV production and low loads in the
system, the currents might reach levels above the capacity of
the installed cables. The power flow in several buses show
values above the highest flows of the winter case.
The system is partially saved by the mix of commercial
loads and domestic loads since the mismatch between the
domestic loads and PV production in the middle of the day is
compensated by the commercial loads. If the commercial
loads would be disconnected or equipped with PV systems,
the voltage levels and power flow through the distribution
transformers would be close to or beyond their limits.
Even with the highest penetration, the loading of the
distribution transformer decreases. This is thanks to the
commercial loads that consume power also during the day and
are considered not to produce any power. Hence the DSO or

electricity market companies make the right decision to

compensate the PV electricity producer economically for the
reduced system losses.
Though there are no visible problems in this paper, it needs
to be noticed that the grid is lightly loaded and also everything
is symmetric three-phase. If the characteristics of the grid are
changed, the voltage profiles can become more sensitive to
PV penetrations and the regulations may be violated.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of
Bengt Stridh for the PV production data, the DSO Mlarenergi
in Vsters for the grid data and the financial support of KIC
Innoenergy, SweGrids and ABB that made this project
possible.
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