Loss Minimization in Radial Distribution System: A Two Stage Method

This paper presents a two stage method for loss minimization of distribution system by cascading reconductoring and reconfiguration. This method gives maximum reduction in power loss with enhanced voltage profile. The efficiency of this method comes from the use of optimal conductor sizes in the first stage and using a heuristic method for network reconfiguration to refine the solution in thesecond stage. A GI algorithm is used to find the optimal conductor sizes and a heuristic method is used to optimize the network configuration. Cost related information is taken from a utility company to represent a realistic scenario. An IEEE 33 bus is considered to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposedmethod. The results of the proposed method are impressive.