A hybrid method for the optimal reactive power dispatch and the control of voltages in an electrical energy network

This paper presents the resolution of the optimal reactive power dispatch (ORPD) problem and the control of voltages in an electrical energy system by using a hybrid algorithm based on the particle swarm optimization (PSO) method and interior point method (IPM). The IPM is based on the logarithmic barrier (LB-IPM) technique while respecting the non-linear equality and inequality constraints. The particle swarm optimization-logarithmic barrier-interior point method (PSO-LB-IPM) is used to adjust the control variables, namely the reactive powers, the generator voltages and the load controllers of the transformers, in order to ensure convergence towards a better solution with the probability of reaching the global optimum. The proposed method was first tested and validated on a two-variable mathematical function using MATLAB as a calculation and execution tool, and then it is applied to the ORPD problem to minimize the total active losses in an electrical energy network. To validate the method a test was carried out on the IEEE electrical energy network of 57 buses.