Abstract
Under light loading conditions, reactors provide an
option for keeping voltages below steady state limits. In this
paper, the impact of the number of operations of a circuit
breaker on the choice of reactor technology (i.e. fixed versus
magnetically controlled) is studied. In particular, the impact of
circuit-breaker maintenance cost on the life-cycle cost of a
reactor installation is evaluated. The study shows that when the
expected number of circuit-breaker operations is high, it is
beneficial to consider the use of a magnetically controlled
reactor as this leads to very few operations. In addition, the
savings in circuit-breaker maintenance cost can justify the extra
cost of a magnetically controlled reactor over its life cycle. The
economic life-cycle cost assessment can help to identify the
lowest cost solution over the project life cycle.