A novel heuristic method for distribution system planning

Abstract

Numerous mathematical optimization methods have been used to obtain the optimal solution to the problem of distribution system planning, which often are time consuming and only restricted to small size distribution systems. In this paper, a novel heuristic method is developed to solve the problem of distribution system planning. The method is composed of three steps. First of all, an initial redundant network is formed by combining the existing network and the probable new additions. A new efficient two-stage load flow method is presented and integrated into a recursive process to determine the optimal combination of substations and derive their service areas. Secondly, a heuristic approach is used to obtain the radial network configuration of each substation. Finally, an algorithm based on branch exchange technique is implemented between elements of adjacent distribution zones to obtain the final planning scheme. A distribution system with 6 substations and 98 feeders is studied, which demonstrates the feasibility and efficiency of the proposed method.