Modified differential evolution approach for practical optimal reactive power dispatch of hybrid AC–DC power systems

Abstract

Optimal reactive power dispatch (ORPD) is one of the most important functions of modern energy management systems, used to ensure stable and secure operating conditions of power networks. Currently, High voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission systems are widely used in modern electrical power systems due to their economic and technical advantages. The incorporation of DC link introduces more complexity in ORPD computation. In this paper, an efficient enhanced differential evolution algorithm with new mutation strategy is proposed to solve the ORPD problem incorporating a two terminal HVDC transmission link. To the best of the author’s knowledge, no one has investigated the performance of DE on ORPD task.The performance of the proposed strategy has been investigated on two hybrid AC–DC systems, which are the modified New England 39-bus test system, and the practical and large-scale Algerian 114-bus electric network. To illustrate the effectiveness and potential of the proposed approach, the achieved results were evaluated and compared to those reported recently in literature.