Optimal Location and Sizing of Capacitors on Radial Distribution Systems

Distribution system forms a major part in the power system as it is the link between bulk power transmission system and the consumer load. Distribution systems are growing in large and are stretched too far leading higher system losses, poor voltage regulation and poor power factor. These factors can be improved to a greater extent using reactive power compensation. As major part of the load in distribution system is of inductive type, reactive power compensation can be done by placing capacitor banks at optimal locations in the system. In this work, it is proposed to find optimal location and size of the capacitors to minimize the losses and improve the voltage profile in a given distribution system