Simultaneous Allocation of Distributed Generators and Shunt Capacitors in a Distribution System

Abstract

Performance of a distribution system is negatively affected with the usage of non linear loads and rapid growth in electricity demand. It is possible to improve the voltage profile and reduce the power loss in a distribution system, by integrating distributed generators (DGs) and shunt capacitors (SCs). Identifying the optimal location and capacity of DGs and SCsare the crucial factors affecting the DS performance. This paper aims to reduce the power losses in the DS and facilitates an improvement in voltage profile with optimal allocation of DGs and SCs. First, the vulnerable nodes for placement of DGs and SCs are identified by loss sensitivity factor (LSF) technique. Next, the sizes of SCs and DGs at these corresponding locations are determined using a recently developed swarm intelligent technique dragonfly algorithm (DFA). Various constraints of the DS are included to estimate the objective function. To analyze the performance of the proposed method it is investigated on IEEE 69 bus radial distribution systems (RDS) considering constant power load at different load levels. Several case studies are conducted to analyze the performance of the DS. Three different load levels at different power factors are considered in the study. Initially few case studies are performed by considering single DG and single SC. Further the analyses are extended with multiple DGs and SCs. Finally, the proposed method is compared with other prominent methods accessible in the literature. It can be inferred from the analyses that simultaneous allocation of DGs and SCs in DS improves the overall performance of the system.