Active and Reactive Power loss Minimization Along with Voltage profile Improvement for Distribution Reconfiguration

Optimal distribution network reconfiguration (DNR), distributed generations location and sizing (DGs-LS), tap changer adjustment (TCA), and capacitors bank location and sizing (CAs-SL) are different methodologies used to reduce loss and enhance the voltage profile of distribution systems. DNR is the process of changing the network topography by changing both sectionalized and tie switch states. The optimal location looks to find the optimal setting of the DG and CA within the distribution network. Optimal size seeks to find the optimal output generation of both DG and CA. The TCA looks to find the optimal position for TC. These methods are challenging optimization problems and resort to meta-heuristic techniques to find a globally optimal solution. This paper presents a new methodology with which to simultaneously solve the problem of DNR, DGs-LS, TCA, and CAs-SL in distribution networks. This work aims to minimize active and reactive power losses, including voltage profile improvement using a multi-objective decision approach. The firefly algorithm (FA) and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) are used to optimize the fitness function and determine the function weight factors through the use of MATLAB software. Several scenarios were considered on the IEEE 69-bus network. In terms of active power and reactive losses, reductions in the test system of 96.16% and 92.7%, respectively, were achieved, evidencing the positive impact of the proposed methodology on distribution networks.