Optimal Location of Unified Power Quality Conditioner in Distribution System for Power Quality Improvement

The increased use of nonlinear loads in distribution system is increasing the distortion in the voltage and current waveforms. Moreover, the distribution systems are inherently unbalanced. This paper presents Cuckoo Optimization Algorithm (COA) based Unified Power Quality Conditioner (UPQC) allocation in three phase unbalanced distribution network. The performance of UPQC is studied in terms of minimization of load disturbance during fault condition in the test systems, % reduction of total harmonic distortion and individual harmonics, minimization of real power loss, decrease in voltage unbalance and increase in cost savings during normal operating condition. The performance of COA is compared with other soft computing techniques to get the better results, i.e., better voltage profile, the optimal location and optimal number of UPQCs. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.