Improved interior point method for OPF problems

Since conventional optimal power flow (OPF) algorithms are limited and too slow for operational planning, power system operation and planning engineers have been seeking efficient OPF algorithms for three decades. The interior point method is one of the most efficient algorithms. In this paper, an improved quadratic interior point (IQIP) method is used to solve comprehensive OPF problems with a variety of objective functions, including economic dispatch, VAr planning and loss minimization. The IQIP method features a general starting point (rather than selected good point as in the general interior point method) and fast convergence. Consequently, the OPF package described in this paper offers huge improvements in speed, accuracy and convergence in solving multi-objective and multi-constraint optimization problems. It will be a very useful tool for the power industry.