Network Reconfiguration of Distribution System Using Harmony Search Algorithm

Network reconfiguration is a process of changing the status of the sectional and tie switches. The aim of network reconfiguration of the distribution network is to minimize the losses for a load arrangement at a particular time. Thus the objective function is to minimize the losses of the network by satisfying the distribution network constraints. The constraints considered in this paper are radiality and voltage limits. In this paper the status of the switches is obtained by using Harmony Search Algorithm (HSA). A HSA is a conceptualized using the musical process of searching for a perfect state of harmony. HSA, a relatively recent meta-heuristic optimization algorithm based on the music improvisation process of musicians, is applied to the reconfiguration problem. The proposed methodology has three stages. In stage one HSA is used to find the tie switches, in stage two the identified tie switches is checked for radiality constraint and if the radilaity constraint is satisfied then the procedure is proceeded to stage three otherwise the process is repeated. In stage three then load flow analysis is done. The process is repeated unless the losses are minimized. The HSA is to be implemented to find the power flow path and the Forward Sweeper algorithm is to be used to calculate the power flow parameters. The proposed methodology is to be applied to a 33-bus single feeder and 16-bus three feeder distribution network using MATLAB.