Two-stage heuristic methodology for optimal reconfiguration and Volt/VAr control in the operation of electrical distribution systems

摘要

The availability of smart grid technology makes it more feasible to use optimal reconfiguration and Volt/VAr control strategies for minimising electricity losses in distribution systems. This study presents a two-stage heuristic method to calculate the optimal impact of network reconfiguration and switching of already-installed capacitors over electrical distribution losses. The two-stage method searches first for a set of reduced feasible reconfigurations with less losses via a binary particle swarm optimisation and an optimal power flow algorithm, and then performs a Volt/VAr control for each feasible reconfiguration by switching capacitors, until reaching negligible changes in losses. Numerical examples and a test case considering a practical distribution network of the Taiwan Power Company demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.