New Reconfiguration Method for Improving Voltage Profile of Distribution Networks

Network reconfiguration aims to minimize network real power loss through rearranging the status of open switches. The consumers of the distribution networks need a better voltage profile for efficient operation of various gadgets. This paper thus attempts to develop a new reconfiguration algorithm with an objective of improving the voltage profile of the distribution network without incurring any additional cost for installation of capacitors and tap-changing transformers. The algorithm uses a nature-inspired biogeography based optimization (BBO) that searches for optimal solution through the migration and mutation operators. Test results on a 33 and 69-node distribution networks reveal the superiority of the developed method