Technical and economic performance evaluation for efficient capacitors sizing and placement in a real distribution network

Distribution system optimal planning has been an issue of great priority for utilities, mainly because it is the most vulnerable component in the power system cycle, accounting for a greater percentage of loss in the system. With investment in new electrical facilities continuing to be very expensive, techniques and methods of reduction of active and reactive power losses have been adopted over the years. Apparently, loss reduction and voltage control in distribution networks can be achieved by proper placement and sizing of capacitors. This paper presents a technical and economic solution approach, considering the practical placement of fixed and switched capacitors that is easy to implement using real data and optimization procedure. The procedure is tested on the IEEE 33 bus system and applied to a real distribution network of Freetown (Sierra Leone) with the objective of reducing the total active loss and the annual cost of the system, using particle swarm optimization technique in MATLAB.