Radial Electrical Distribution Systems Automation Using Genetic Algorithm

Abstract

The majority of outage events experienced by customers are due to electrical distribution failures. Increasing network reliability is a necessity in order to reduce interruption events. Distribution network automation can trim down outage events and increase system reliability. Network automation has to be done using optimization approaches. Genetic Algorithm (GA) is a relatively new technique used in power systems optimization problems. Distribution network automation is one of the aspects tackled using GA. However, practical application to distribution network automation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has never been done. In Saudi Arabia, the practice in distribution network automation is based on experience but not on scientific approaches. This paper presents an effective application of the GA optimization technique to determine the optimum location of protective devices in practical radial distribution network in the Kingdom. The effect of different objective functions, constraints and GA parameters on the optimal location of such devices is examined.