Network reconfiguration for loss reduction using Plant Growth Simulation Algorithm

Abstract

This paper presents Plant Growth Simulation Algorithm (PGSA) for minimum loss configuration of radial distribution network. The algorithm has emerged as a useful optimization tool for handling nonlinear programming problems. The algorithm implements a guiding search direction that changes dynamically as the change of the objective function and does not require any external parameters. The objective in this network reconfiguration problem is to minimize the total real power loss in the distribution system in order to reduce the cost of supplying the electrical power demanded by the loads. The proposed method handles objective function and constraints separately, which averts the trouble to determine the barrier factors. The effectiveness of the proposed method is illustrated through an examples consisting of 16-node radial distribution network for loss minimization.