HSA-based optimal placement of shunt FACTS devices in the smart grid considering voltage stability

Power systems -especially in smart grid operation will become more heavily loaded in the future decade as the demand for electric power rises. Because heavily loaded power systems are closer to their stability margins and voltage collapse is instability that usually occurs in heavily loaded electric power systems and cause voltages to decline. Voltage collapse may lead to the blackout if suitable monitoring is not used and application of the preventive control is not taken. In this paper, Harmony search algorithm has been applied to optimal allocation of shunt FACTS devices in a power system to improve power system voltage stability. The simulations are performed on the 14 bus IEEE test system. The simulation results show the efficiency in improvement of voltage profile and increases the voltage collapse margin.