An improved cuckoo search algorithm for the problem of electric distribution network reconfiguration

Abstract

Power loss reduction has an important role in operating electric distribution network system. There are a lot of methods for reduction power loss such as capacitor placement, distributed generation placement and electric distribution network reconfiguration (EDNR). Among these methods, the EDNR is an efficient technique to reduce power loss due to without taking any costs. However, the EDNR problem is a nonlinear, discrete problem and lots of extreme points. Therefore, it is necessary to have efficient methods for solving the EDNR problem. In this paper, an improved cuckoo search algorithm (ICSA) is proposed for solving the EDNR problem. In which, based on disadvantages of exploration and exploitation process of cuckoo search algorithm (CSA) for solving the EDNR problem, a local search mechanism is added to exploit candidate solutions existing around the current best solution. The calculated results on the simple distribution networks to complex distribution networks show that ICSA has ability for finding the global optimal solution with much smaller iterations and better quality of obtained solution compared with CSA and some other improved versions of CSA. The performance comparisons with other existing methods available in previous studies and the software of Power System Simulator/Advanced Distribution Engineering Productivity Tool (PSS/ADEPT) also lead to the better electric distribution network configuration with smaller total power losses. As a result, ICSA is a potential and reliable method for solving the EDNR problems.