Optimal selection of conductors for distribution feeders

Designing a distribution system requires many stages of planning and rigorous calculations. Selection of conductors for design and upgrade of distribution systems is an important part of the planning process. An ideal conductor set should have the most economic cost characteristics, sufficient thermal capacity in the largest conductor to take care of situations with very high load and it should provide proper voltage at the farthest end under peak load conditions. In this paper, a method for selection of optimal set of conductors is presented. Several financial and engineering factors are considered in the solution. The intent is to arrive at a solution, which will be the most economical when both capital and operating costs are considered. Simulations have been performed to obtain results based on different criteria and the results are compared.