Congestion management using thyristor controlled series compensator employing Improved Grey Wolf Optimization technique

Abstract

For reliable and secure operation of deregulated power systems, congestion management is a big task for system operators to control the line flows in the specified limits. Congestion may occur due to an increase in load demand or as a consequence of unexpected contingencies. Generator rescheduling and use of Flexible AC Transmission System devices are some of the approaches to lessen the flows in heavily loaded lines. This paper proposes to use an Improved Grey Wolf Optimization (IGWO) technique to solve congestion management problems. The improvement in Grey Wolf Optimization technique is made by a scheme which keeps an appropriate balance among the exploitation and exploration phases of the technique and a modified formula to determine the Grey Wolves’ positions throughout the course of iterations. The suggested IGWO technique is initially estimated by means of some typical test functions and comparative results are presented with original Grey Wolf Optimization, sine cosine algorithm, gravitational search algorithm, differential evolution and particle swarm optimization techniques to validate its advantage. The suggested IGWO algorithm is employed to control line power flows within limit in an overloaded modified IEEE 14 bus power system installed with a FACTS device by optimizing the generator real power settings, voltage settings, transformer tap settings, reactive power compensation setting and FACTS reactance settings.