Transmission Network Planning Using Genetic Algorithm

This paper presents an application of genetic algorithm (GA) to solve transmission network planning (TNP) to obtain the minimum cost solution while meeting the other constraints such as thermal, reliability criteria. The non-convexity that has been observed in the TNP cannot be solved effectively by conventional mathematical methods. GA has the ability to find the global optimal point in such a non-convex function. As there are no fractional transmission lines, TNP becomes a very complex mixed integer non-linear programming problem. GA can be used to select the optimal new transmission lines network with the least investment cost, while meeting the total load demands without any load curtailment