Equilibrium Optimizer Algorithm for Optimal Reactive Power Dispatch

Abstract

Optimal Reactive Power Dispatch (ORPD) is a significant research area in terms of maintaining the reliability and safety of the power system and operating it more economically. ORPD problem can be formed from a variety of perspectives including the minimization of the active power losses and voltage deviation, and improving the voltage stability performance. The majority of methods so as to deal with ORPD problem is meta-heuristic techniques because of the complex, non-linear and non-convex nature of the problem. In this paper, a new physic-based meta-heuristic algorithm, Equilibrium Optimizer (EO), is proposed for ORPD problem to reach the optimal settings of control variables such as voltage magnitudes in PV buses, tap positions of transformers and reactive power support of shunt devices. The introduced algorithm is evaluated on IEEE 30-bus test system by using various objectives, and a comparison of the implemented method to other optimization techniques described in the literature is utilized to assess its efficacy. Simulation results and statistical indicators demonstrate that the EO algorithm validates its computational efficacy and robustness in handling the ORPD problem.