Overload alleviation and performance enhancement of power system using firefly optimization algorithm involving distributed generators [articol]

Abstract

The advent of restructuring in electricity markets and increasing load demands have considerable impact on the loading pattern of the transmission system. This would cause congestion in transmission line which would further lead to instability of the system, resulting in a poor voltage profile. This paper proposes an efficient method for transmission line overload alleviation and enhancement of system performance with the integration of Distributed Generators (DGs). For secure operation of power system, it is essential to maintain the network loading within specified limits to avoid the system from collapsing due to cascading outages. An analytical approach to recognize the ideal location and size of DGs using Firefly Algorithm (FA) is presented in this paper. The optimization process is executed by changing the load randomly from the base case. Maximum Power Stability Index (MPSI) is employed as the objective function to identify the optimal DG location. Then, a Firefly based model with randomized load is evolved to optimize the DG sizing in view of minimizing systems’ real power losses. The improvement is measured in terms of voltage profile, congestion relief and available transfer capability using IEEE 30 - bus and IEEE 118 - bus test system. The results of the proposed method are compared with similar methods from the literature.