Simultaneous Network Reconfiguration and Capacitor Placement for Loss Reduction of Distribution Systems by Ant

The objective of this study is to solve the simultaneous network reconfiguration and capacitor placement for loss reduction in distribution systems. The work employs a meta-heuristic method called Ant Colony Optimization (ACO). The ACO algorithm tries to emulate the behaviour of real ants by which they are able to identify the shortest path between a food source and their nest. The proposed approach is demonstrated using a benchmark system from the literature. Computational results obtained show that the loss reduction obtained using simultaneous application of capacitor placement and network reconfiguration is higher compared to a case when they are applied separately. It is also seen that along with loss reduction, voltage profile of the system is improved.