Feeder level power loss reduction through reactive power control with presence of distributed generation

Distributed generation is one of the biggest changes that the power industry is facing with the mitigation of greenhouse gases and the smart grid initiative. With the presence of a communication infrastructure, it is expected that distributed generators could be more efficiently operated. This work focuses on developing a power loss minimization technique while allowing distributed resources to supply reactive power. The proposed technique is tested using IEEE 13- and 34-node test feeders, and results show that the proposed technique will minimize real power loss in radial distribution feeders.