Network reconfiguration and distributed generation sizing in radial distribution network using particle swarm optimization

Abstract

The increasing energy demands are stressing the generation and transmission capabilities of the power system. The performance of distribution system becomes degraded due to increase of distribution losses and reduction in voltage magnitude. With addition of Distributed Generation (DG) in effective manner in the distribution system, these problems can be solved to enhance the performance of the system. This project report presents an effective method based on Particle swarm Optimization (PSO) to solve the network reconfiguration problem in the presence of DG with an objective of minimizing real power loss as well as improving voltage profile in distribution network. PSO is used to simultaneously reconfigure and optimum value of DG size in a radial distribution network. A method based on PSO algorithm to determine the minimum configuration is presented and their impact on the network real power losses and voltage profiles are investigated. The method has been tested on IEEE 33-bus test systems to demonstrate the performance and effectiveness of the proposed method. The results show that the PSO algorithm for real power loss minimization and voltage profile improvement to be the most effective compare to other methods.