The recent development in digital technology, especially in digital switching systems using a microcontroller offers new and cheaper possibilities of improving the performance of electric power distribution networks. This research work involves the design of a microcontroller-based capacitor switching system that can automatically switch on and off capacitor banks in a power distribution network. The automated system switches on capacitor banks for voltage compensation when the distribution network voltage value drops below the ANSI C84.1 acceptable lower voltage limit. It also switches off the capacitor banks when the voltage values goes back within the standard limit, thus avoiding overcompensation of the line. The switching system consists of a 5VDC power supply unit, main controller unit (ATmega328P microcontroller), and voltage monitoring units that comprise main voltage sensor and phase voltage sensors. During the testing of this switching system, it was observed that the capacitor bank was automatically switched on for voltage compensation when the network phase voltage drops below the standard acceptable lower voltage limit, thus ensuring that the distributed phase voltage is always within the acceptable standard voltage limit. This system of improving the performance of power distribution network is highly recommended to electric power distribution providers since it is a cheaper and less complicated way of improving the power distribution network operation.

Keywords : Distribution Network, Microcontroller, Voltage Drop, Capacitor Bank, Distribution Line.