an approach for distribution network expansion planning considering reliability issues

this paper develops a model for distribution network expansion planning (dnep) considering reliability issues. with simultaneous switch placement and dnep, the proposed model tries to adequately consider the reliability issues in the planning stage in a way that the designed network has suitable performance from the reliability viewpoint. the reinforcement or installation of mv feeders and hv/mv substations has been regarded as the planning options. moreover, the distributed generation (dg) is taken into account as another alternative in the dnep. by considering the equipment’s installation and operation costs, the model seeks for an optimal combination of feeders, substations, dgs, and sectionalizing switches in order to reliably supply the loads of network in the horizon year with the minimum cost subject to the technical and operational constraints. in the developed model, the dg units are allowed to be operated in the islanding mode in order to enhance the network reliability. the presented approach has been modeled as an optimization problem where a ga-opf method is employed to solve it. several experiments have been set up to examine and justify capabilities of the proposed approach.