Multi-objective Optimization of Reactive Power Dispatch Using a Bacterial Swarming Algorithm

This paper presents a novel optimization algorithm for solving reactive power dispatch problem. The problem is formulated as a nonlinear constrained multi-objective optimization problem with real power losses and voltage stabilities to be optimized simultaneously. This problem is handled by a Bacteria Swarming Algorithm (BSA) proposed in this paper. The BSA has been evaluated on an IEEE 30-bus test system and the results demonstrate its capabilities of generating superior solutions to the conventional weighted sum-based methods.