This paper presents a method of the voltage-reactive power control in the long and short range operations and introduces a conception, "optimum control pattern." The optimum control pattern, aiming at the over-all system control, is defined as the optimum voltage distribution which minimizes the system operating cost under the conditions that the specified power be supplied and the system voltage be kept within the specified bounds. The following procedure was adopted to obtain this optimum pattern. In the first place, a power system was divided into three blocks, namely, load, substation and generator. Lagrange's, multiplier method is applied to each block in turn, paying attention only at the operating voltage distribution. Phase angles at each bus are then modified so that the continuity of active power is maintained. This procedure may be called "block relaxation method with Lagrange's multipliers." In a long range operation, this control pattern determines the optimum installation capacity of reactive power sources. In a short range operation, it also gives the reference state of real time control and the optimum switching capacity of reactive power souces. The real time control problem is also studied from the standpoint of cooperation of control devices such as generators, shunt capacitors, shunt reactors and ratio load controllers. A proposal for the real time control will contribute to the automation of power system operation in the near future. in the near future.