Reconfiguration of primary distribution networks using bit shift operator based Particle Swarm Optimization

This paper proposes a bit shift based Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) technique to solve the problem of feeder reconfiguration for different load models in a power distribution system (PDS). The objective of feeder reconfiguration is to find the best possible radial network configuration in terms of minimum power loss. Feeder reconfiguration is the process of changing the topology of the network by changing the on/off status of both the tie as well as sectionalizing switches. PSO can be used as one of the approaches for finding the best optimal reconfigured system. But the basic PSO is designed for optimization of continuous function and reconfiguration is a problem of discrete and combinational optimization. Hence, the basic PSO is modified in this paper to fit into the problem statement. A shift operator has been incorporated in the velocity equation that changes the position of tie switches after each iteration such that the algorithm moves into the direction of finding the optimum result. The paper emphasizes the significance of voltage dependence of load on the reconfiguration studies. The developed method has been illustrated on a standard IEEE 33-bus test distribution system.