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Increasing the unplanned penetration of Distributed Generators (DGs) has spurred active and reactive power losses in the distribution system. This article suggests using a novel Strawberry Plant Propagation Algorithm (SPPA) for planning the placement of the DGs with the aim of reducing the network (active) power losses and improving the overall voltage profile. The proposed method (SPPA) has been tested on 33 and 69 node radial systems in MATLAB. A cost analysis was also performed and compared with other contemporary methods. The results for the considered variables show the significance of the proposed method in comparison to various other counterparts, including the Mine Blast Algorithm and Particle Swarm Optimization.

The passive power distribution networks are prone to imperfect voltage profile and higher power losses, especially at the far end of long feeders. The capacitor placement is studied in this article using a novel Mine Blast Algorithm (MBA). The voltage profile improvement and reduction in the net annual cost are also considered along with minimizing the power loss. The optimization problem is formulated and solved in two steps. Firstly, the Voltage Stability Index (VSI) is used to rank the nodes for placement of the capacitors. Secondly, from the priority list of nodes in the previous step, the MBA is utilized to provide the optimal location and sizes of the capacitors ensuring loss minimization, voltage profile improvement, and reduced net annual cost. Finally, the results are tested on 33 and 69 radial node systems in MATLAB. The results for the considered variables are presented which show a significant improvement in active and reactive power loss reduction and voltage profile with lesser reactive power injection.

Increasing power demand from passive distribution networks has led to deteriorated voltage profiles and increased line flows. This has increased the annual operations and installation costs due to unavoidable reinforcement equipment. This work proposes the reduction in annual costs by optimal placement of capacitors used to alleviate power loss in radial distribution networks (RDNs). The optimization objective function is formulated for the reduction in operation costs by (i) reducing the active and reactive power losses, and (ii) the cost and installation of capacitors, necessary to provide the reactive power support and maintain the voltage profile. Initially, the network buses are ranked according to two loss sensitivity indices (LSIs), i.e., active loss sensitivity with respect to node voltage (LSI1) and reactive power injection (LSI2). The sorted bus list is then fed to the particle swarm optimization (PSO) for solving the objective function. The efficacy of the proposed work is tested on different IEEE standard networks (34 and 85 nodes) for different use cases and load conditions. In use case 1, the values finalized by the algorithm are selected without considering their market availability, whereas in use case 2, market-available capacitor sizes close to the optimal solution are selected. Furthermore, the static and seasonal load profiles are considered. The results are compared with recent methods and have shown significant improvement in terms of annual cost, losses and line flows reduction, and voltage profile.

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