Optimal Capacitor Switching in a Distribution System Using Functional Link Network

Abstract

One of the most important control decision functions in a modern distribution automation system is the volt-var control. The objective of the volt-var control is to supply reactive power by optimally switching the capacitors installed in the distribution system so that the voltage drop and real power loss are minimum. Traditionally, this problem of optimal capacitor switching has been solved through various optimization techniques. However, as the time taken by these traditional optimization methods is quite significant, these methods may not be much suitable for on-line application. To reduce the time required to solve the optimal capacitor-switching problem, a Functional Link Network (FLN) based approach has been developed in this article. For a practical number of capacitors in the system it has been found that the FLN based technique is at least 100 times faster than the traditional optimization methods. Moreover, as the number of capacitors in the system increases, the effectiveness of the FLN over the traditional approach (in terms of the solution time) increases.