A Fast Restoration Strategy in Distribution Systems Using an Enhanced Differential Evolution Approach

Abstract

This paper proposes a fast restoration strategy of distribution systems using an enhanced differential evolution (EDE) approach. Service restoration of distribution systems is an emergent task that must be performed rapidly by the system operators. Basically, it is a complicated combinatorial optimization problem, often having many candidate solutions to be evaluated by the operators. To improve the efficiency of restoration and reduce the burden on the operators, this paper proposes an EDE method combining variable scaling differential evolution (VSDE) algorithm and ant system (AS) to solve the combinatorial optimization problem. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, a typical distribution system of the Taiwan Power Company (TPC) was tested and compared with the existing methods. The results show the proposed method was superior to the existing methods in terms of convergence time and the obtained restoration plan.