This paper shows two applications for using vacuum circuit breakers (VCBs) in flexible ac transmission systems in the high-voltage (HV) power grid. This is first a mechanically switched reactor, which is series connected to a thyristor-controlled series compensator in order to enhance the inductive working range. Nevertheless, the switching frequency of VCBs is limited by their mechanical properties. In order to achieve a higher switching frequency, more VCBs are switched in parallel to each other. Second, a device is investigated, which consists of mechanically switched capacitors and a mechanically switched reactor. It is connected to a node in the HV system in order to enhance the voltage quality and to avoid a voltage collapse. Since VCBs are mainly available in the medium-voltage range, a transformer is used to connect the mechanically switched device to the HV system. In this paper, it could be shown that the mechanically switched series reactor is able to enhance the damping progress of power oscillations and that the mechanically switched device using VCBs can stabilize the voltage of the node in case of disturbances, such as faults in the power system. Furthermore, the electrical stress on the VCBs has been assessed for different simulation cases with PSCAD. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]