Reclosers Optimal Allocation for Improving the Distribution Network Reliability

This paper discusses issues related to distribution network automation. Electrical network automation improves operational efficiency, reliability, and quality of customer service and is one of the key innovative technologies for the practical implementation of Smart Grid. Improving the reliability of electrical networks is associated with the decentralization of emergency management, implemented on the principles of automatic sectioning of lines using reclosers. As an intelligent device, the recloser is capable of analyzing the operating modes of the electrical network and automatically reconfigures it in emergency situations, i.e. localizes damaged areas and restores power supply to consumers of undamaged network sections. The main economic effect of using reclosers is to reduce the undersupply of electricity and the cost of maintaining electrical equipment. Effective use of reclosers requires solving the problem of optimal placement. The paper presents a mathematical model and an algorithm for selecting locations for installing reclosers in a distribution network. The search for the optimal solution is based on minimizing the integral indicator of reliability SAIFI using a genetic algorithm.