Multi-stage Reconfiguration of Distribution Network for Loss Reduction and Reliability Improvement

Electrical distribution network reconfiguration is a complex combinatorial optimization process aimed at finding a radial operating structure that minimizes the system power loss or maximizes the system reliability while satisfying operating constraints. It has been traditionally performed assuming that loads of buses are constant values, but in real systems the values always change with time. To ensure the system operate safely and economically, decision makers have to reconfigure the distribution feeder dynamically with time according to the changing loads. In this paper, a multi-stage reconfiguration method is presented for both the indices of power loss reduction and reliability improvement with a load curve model. An enhanced genetic optimization algorithm is used to handle the reconfiguration problem so as to determine the number of stages and switch operation schemes in each stage. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated on 33-bus radial distribution system and a practical system.