Abstract
Distribution network reconfiguration (DNR) can significantly reduce power losses, improve the voltage profile, and increase the power quality. DNR studies require implementation of power flow analysis and complex optimization procedures capable of handling large combinatorial problems. The size of distribution network influences the type of the optimization method to be applied. Straightforward approaches can be computationally expensive or even prohibitive whereas heuristic or meta-heuristic approaches can yield acceptable results with less computation cost. In this paper, a customized evolutionary algorithm has been introduced and applied to power distribution network reconfiguration. The recombination operators of the algorithm are designed to preserve feasibility of solutions (radial structure of the network) thus considerably reducing the size of the search space. Consequently, improved repeatability of results as well as lower overall computational complexity of the optimization process have been achieved. The optimization process considers power losses and the system voltage profile, both aggregated into a scalar cost function. Power flow analysis is performed with the Open Distribution System Simulator, a simple and efficient simulation tool for electric distribution systems. Our approach is demonstrated using several networks of various sizes. Comprehensive benchmarking indicates superiority of the proposed technique over state-of-the-art methods from the literature.
Highlights
Power losses in distribution systems may be significant and may negatively affect the economics of electric power distribution networks [1]
It should be noted that these values are different from typical ones utilized in evolutionary algorithms (e.g., 0.5 to 0.9 for crossover, and 0.01 to 0.05 for mutation)
The cost function averaged over 20 independent runs may increase up to a few percent as compared to the algorithm using the control parameter values
Summary
Power losses in distribution systems may be significant and may negatively affect the economics of electric power distribution networks [1]. It is of interest to study the reduction of losses through techniques such as distribution network reconfiguration (DNR). The topology of power distribution systems is typically radial, whereas transmission systems can operate in loop or radial configurations [2]. Radial distribution systems often feature sectionalizing switches and tie switches, mainly used for fault isolation, power supply recovery and system reconfiguration. These switches allow for reconfiguring the topology of the network, with the objectives being reduction of power losses, load balancing, and improvement of voltage profile and system reliability [3]. Due to the power flow calculations involved [4], the incurred computational cost can be considerable
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