Reconfiguration and optimal capacitor placement for losses reduction

This paper presents a deterministic approach for network reconfiguration and a heuristic technique for optimal capacitor placement for power-loss reduction and voltage profile improvement in distribution networks. Related to the reconfiguration, a Minimum Spanning Tree (MST) algorithm is utilized to determine the configuration of minimum losses. After that, a Genetic Algorithm (GA) is implemented to achieve the greatest savings through the optimal capacitor placement. The objective of this study is to analyze the benefits that the reconfiguration and optimal placement of capacitors have in the grid. The proposed algorithms have been implemented in two IEEE test systems. Results indicate that substantial annual savings may be obtained through the application of these two techniques and taking into account these two techniques complementarily can become quite efficient.