Considering safety issues in minimum losses reconfiguration for MV distribution networks

This paper offers a new perspective over the traditional problem of the multiobjective optimal reconfiguration of electrical distribution systems in regular working state. The issue is indeed here formulated including also safety issues. Indeed, dimensioning the earth electrodes of their own secondary substations, distribution companies take into account the probable future configurations of the network due to transformations of overhead lines into cable lines or realization of new lines. On the contrary, they do not consider that, during normal working conditions, the structure of the network can be modified for long periods as a consequence of reconfiguration manoeuvres, with differences between the design current of the earthing systems and the fault current in certain substations significant. As a consequence, often distribution companies limit the implementation of the optimal reconfiguration layouts because they are unable to suitably evaluate the safety issue. In the paper, the problem is formulated including a further objective in order to account for the safety. A suitable constrained multiobjective formulation of the reconfiguration problem is therefore used aiming at: the minimal power losses operation, the verification of safety at distribution substations, the load balancing among the HV/MV transformers while keeping the voltage profile regular. The application carried out uses an NSGA-II algorithm whose performance is compared to that of a fuzzy logic-based multiobjective evolutionary algorithm. In the considered automated network, the remote control of tie-switches is possible and their layout is the optimization variable. After a brief description of the optimal reconfiguration problem for automated distribution networks, the most recent papers on the topic are reported and commented. Then the problem formulation and the solution algorithm are described in detail. Finally, test results on a large MV distribution network are reported and discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.