Optimal Allocation of Distributed Generators in a Competitive Electricity Market

This paper presents a sensitivity based technique for assisting network planners to determine the optimal location and capacity of distributed generators (DG) in a capacity and location constrained distribution network with the objective of minimization of losses in a competitive electricity market. The liberalization of electricity markets has changed the way power generation technologies are valued. The issues that need to be considered in the choice of rating and positioning of DG include both technical and commercial factors. The proposed methodology takes this aspect into consideration and only from among the practicable sites specified by the Distribution system planner both optimal locations and capacity of DGs are determined. It has been applied to a test system of nine bus radial distribution network considered as capacity and location constrained for implementing DG. The technique is efficient and very much useful as it can be directly applied to any distribution network having practical constraints for implementing DG. To show the effectiveness of this technique it was applied to IEEE 6-bus system without any location or capacity constraint and the result was compared with test results of other methods. It is interesting to note that over a wide range of DG penetration the proposed methodology results in largest reduction in loss per unit DG penetration.