Comparative Studies of Particle Swarm Optimization Techniques for Reactive Power Allocation Planning in Power Systems

摘要

This paper compares particle swarm optimization (PSO) techniques for a reactive power allocation planning problem in power systems. The problem can be formulated as a mixed-integer nonlinear optimization problem (MINLP). The PSO based methods determine a reactive power allocation strategy with continuous and discrete state variables such as automatic voltage regulator (AVR) operating values of electric power generators, tap positions of on-load tap changer (OLTC) of transformers, and the number of reactive power compensation equipment. Namely, this paper investigates applicability of PSO techniques to one of the practical MINLPs in power systems. Four variations of PSO: PSO with inertia weight approach (IWA), PSO with constriction factor approach (CFA), hybrid particle swarm optimization (HPSO) with IWA, and HPSO with CFA are compared. The four methods are applied to the standard IEEE 14 bus system and a practical 112 bus system.