Voltage Profile Improvement in Distribution Networks Using the Whale Optimization Algorithm

An important requirement of a distribution network is that the voltage variations at the end user terminals should be as low as possible. This paper investigates a particular approach that highlights the influences which the connection of shunt capacitors may have over the solutions for voltage control in distribution networks. The problem of optimal capacitor allocation for the minimization of bus voltage deviation was solved using an intelligent computation approach, the so-called Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA), in order to find the near-optimal solutions for the capacitor allocation problem in electric distribution systems. For validating the feasibility of the algorithm, a real distribution network was used and the results were compared with those obtained using the well-known Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm.