Network reconfiguration in unbalanced distribution systems for service restoration and loss reduction

Network reconfiguration is a multi-objective problem in a real-time operation environment. An effective method is developed based on the concept of hybrid flow pattern, where both secure and economic objectives are under full considerations at the same time. The proposed method can also be applied to unbalanced systems. By unifying the objective function approach and parametric approach, which are efficient techniques in solving the problem of multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM), more practical solutions are searched for. A computer program has been developed according to this methodology, and numerical studies on a Chinese real-world distribution system are verified in details.