Robust allocation of DGs integrated with distribution network reconfiguration

Abstract

Passive distribution networks are now becoming active with the integration of distributed generations (DGs) on account of socio-economic and environmental concerns. The optimal DG allocation is therefore one of the crucial task for distribution system planners and system operators to increase the margin of annual profits of distribution utilities. In this work attempts have been made to determine optimal sites and sizing of DG units to minimize the cost of annual energy losses and also to enhance node voltage profiles of the system. The optimal DG allocation problem is solved by proposing modified particle swarm optimization (MPSO) where control parameters of the algorithm varied with iteration in order to improve its performance. The proposed method is investigated on the benchmark IEEE 33-bus system and the application results obtained are very promising when the distribution network is optimally reconfigured after optimally placing DGs. This integrated solution provides a realistic approach to distribution network operators. The proposed MPSO algorithm is compared with standard PSO and also with well-established PSO_TVAC technique showing promising results with regards to the convergence, accuracy, efficiency, robustness and computational effort.