Integrated approach of network reconfiguration with distributed generation and shunt capacitors placement for power loss minimization in radial distribution networks

This article presents the significance of efficient hybrid heuristic search algorithm(HS-PABC) based on Harmony search algorithm (HSA) and particle artificial bee colony algorithm (PABC) in the context of performance enhancement of distribution network through simultaneous network reconfiguration along with optimal allocation and sizing of distributed generators and shunt capacitors. The premature and slow convergence over multi model fitness landscape is the main limitation in standard HSA. In the proposed hybrid algorithm the harmony memory vector of HSA is intelligently enhanced through PABC algorithm during the optimization process to reach the optimal solution within the search space. In hybrid approach, the exploration ability of HSA and the exploitation ability of PABC algorithm are integrated to blend the potency of both algorithms. The box plot and Wilcoxon rank sum tests are used to show the quality of the solution obtained by hybrid HS-PABC with respect to HSA.The computational results prove the integrated approach of the network reconfiguration problem along with optimal placement and sizing of DG units and shunt capacitors as an efficient approach with respect to power loss reduction and voltage profile enhancement. The results obtained on 69 and 118 node network by hybrid HS-PABC method and the standard HSA reveals the effeciency of the proposed approach which guarantees to achieve global optimal solution with less iteration.