Optimal Capacitor Placement in Distribution Systems using Improved Bacterial Foraging Algorithm

One of the major issues affecting the quality of electric power being delivered on the distribution system is power losses. To reduce the losses on distribution systems, one of the approaches considered is optimal siting and sizing capacitors on these systems. This paper presents Improved Bacterial Foraging Algorithm (IBFA) as an effective method to optimally site and size capacitors on radial distribution system (RDS) with the aim of minimizing power loss and improving the voltage profile. A simple load flow based on the Bus Injected to the Branch Current matrix (BIBC) technique is used and coded in a MATLAB environment. The approach effectiveness is demonstrated on a standard IEEE 33-bus RDS and a practical 50-bus Canteen feeder of Zaria system located in Nigeria. The proposed approach proved to be effective with improvement in the voltage profile to 38.67% and power loss reduction of 14.81% on the 33-bus system.