SUMMARYIn this paper, we investigate the stability of voltage oscillation modes in longitudinal power systems equipped with static var compensators (SVC). These modes are usually stable, so they do not appear without external force. The conventional harmonic resonance is a phenomenon in which an oscillation mode is excited with a harmonic source. Hence, it is solved by removing the source with a harmonic filter. For this reason, an SVC is equipped with several filters. However, there is a possibility that an oscillation mode itself may become unstable. If a mode is unstable, it can have a large amplitude without any harmonic source. Since it needs no harmonic source, its frequency is not limited to a harmonic frequency, but can have any value. The harmonic instability in direct-current transmission systems is an example of such phenomena. The PLL (phase-locked loop) is considered to be effective to suppress harmonic instability with an SVC. However, no theoretical reason has been shown as yet. This paper clarifies the effectiveness of PLL based on a stability condition for the voltage oscillation modes. Frequency responses of a thyristor-controlled reactor (TCR), a component of the SVC, are largely influenced by the presence of the PLL. If a PLL exists, the stability condition is always satisfied, and all modes are stable. Lastly, we perform numerical simulations to show the validity of our investigation. © 2001 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 137(2): 817, 2001