Need for Network Reconfiguration in Nigerian Distribution Systems: A Review

The Nigerian distribution network is confronted with serious challenges of high technical power losses and frequent voltage instability issues, due to the poor radial nature of the network and long radial feeders. This leads to poor system performance and component degradation. Optimal network reconfiguration can be used to reduce the power losses to a minimum effectively and also to improve the voltage profile. It is cost-effective and efficient. A comprehensive review of the need for optimal network reconfiguration as a means of loss reduction and voltage improvement was carried out in this work. It discusses the Nigerian electric power sector, its challenges, and issues, and explores the potential gains on network reconfiguration. The work also reviewed related work and its practical applications on network reconfiguration using different optimization techniques. Finally, the authors recommended effective strategies for carrying out the optimal configuration of distribution systems for higher efficiency, reliability, and sustainability.