Reactive power compensator placement using flower pollination algorithm

Reactive power compensator placement is challenging in distribution systems due to several complex factors and considerations, specifically the complex topology of the distribution network and it involves non-convex optimization problems. Therefore, in this study, the allocation of reactive power compensation devices is proposed by using a flower pollination algorithm (FPA) for decreasing active power losses in a distribution network. The objective of this work is to minimalize the total network power losses by optimally defining the position and capacity of the reactive power compensators, in addition to improving the voltage profile. The proposed approach was applied at the IEEE 33 bus radial distribution network (RDN) for single and multi-units compensation. The results attained are compared with several recent optimization approaches. The results show that FPA is an effectual optimization method for finding solutions for reactive compensator placement issues.