Optimal Voltage Restoration in Electric Power System Using Genetic Algorithms

The optimal voltage restoration and loss minimization in distribution system using Genetic Algorithms (GAs) is presented. The optimization is carried out by scheduling Load Tap Changer (LTC) and shunt capacitors to simultaneously improve the voltage and minimize the energy loss. Two GAs are developed to determine the load interval division and the optimal schedule of the controllable devices, respectively. Encoding ability of the proposed method enables checking the fulfillment of switching constraints of any possible schedule prior to performing calculations. This will significantly reduce the computation burden due to unnecessary calculations for infeasible schedules. The optimization is performed for the IEEE 123-bus distribution system. The generated results indicate that the developed methods are effective for the optimal scheduling problem by providing voltage improvement and energy loss minimization.