A power conversion system, wherein the power conversion system is a multiphase multilevel regenerative power converter, the power conversion system comprising: a plurality of power stages, wherein each power stage comprises: a DC link circuit including at least one capacitor coupled between a first DC link node and a second DC link node; and a switching rectifier, including rectifier switching devices (S1-S6) individually coupled between a respective secondary circuit of a plurality of secondary circuits and the first DC link node and the second DC link node; and characterized in that the power conversion system further comprises: a controller (200, 210) configured to: generate a real average DC current reference for a power stage of the plurality of power stages based on a DC bus voltage of the DC link circuit of the power stage and a DC bus voltage setpoint, generate a reactive ripple current reference based on the DC bus voltage of the DC link circuit and a ripple angle of the DC link circuit, and generate rectifier switching control signals to operate the rectifier switching devices (S1-S6) of the switching rectifier of the power stage based on the real average DC current reference and the reactive ripple current reference. a plurality of power stages, wherein each power stage comprises: a DC link circuit including at least one capacitor coupled between a first DC link node and a second DC link node; and a switching rectifier, including rectifier switching devices (S1-S6) individually coupled between a respective secondary circuit of a plurality of secondary circuits and the first DC link node and the second DC link node; and a DC link circuit including at least one capacitor coupled between a first DC link node and a second DC link node; and a switching rectifier, including rectifier switching devices (S1-S6) individually coupled between a respective secondary circuit of a plurality of secondary circuits and the first DC link node and the second DC link node; and characterized in that the power conversion system further comprises: a controller (200, 210) configured to: generate a real average DC current reference for a power stage of the plurality of power stages based on a DC bus voltage of the DC link circuit of the power stage and a DC bus voltage setpoint, generate a reactive ripple current reference based on the DC bus voltage of the DC link circuit and a ripple angle of the DC link circuit, and generate rectifier switching control signals to operate the rectifier switching devices (S1-S6) of the switching rectifier of the power stage based on the real average DC current reference and the reactive ripple current reference. generate a real average DC current reference for a power stage of the plurality of power stages based on a DC bus voltage of the DC link circuit of the power stage and a DC bus voltage setpoint, generate a reactive ripple current reference based on the DC bus voltage of the DC link circuit and a ripple angle of the DC link circuit, and generate rectifier switching control signals to operate the rectifier switching devices (S1-S6) of the switching rectifier of the power stage based on the real average DC current reference and the reactive ripple current reference.