GIS BASED RECONFIGURATION OF DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

Abstract

Distribution systems consist of groups of interconnected radial circuits with tie and sectionalizing switches whose states determine the topological configuration of the network. Configuration of the network can be changed by changing the status of sectionalized switches and tie switches. This is mainly done for reducing losses, load balancing, voltage profile improvement and for service restoration. This dissertation focuses only on reconfiguration for restoration of distribution systems. The service restoration process which deals with restoring power to consumers in case of an outage, is considered. Reconfiguration is the process of changing the status (OFF/ON) of switches and reconfiguration for restoration is meant for changing the switch status to maximize the supply to loads that are left unsupplied after fault removal. Reconfiguration problem is a combinatorial non-linear optimization problem for the distribution system. Several methods exist for reconfiguration of distribution systems and they can be categorized into heuristics, knowledge based, meta heuristics and intelligent techniques. In this dissertation, the network reconfiguration for restoration problem is formulated as single objective optimization problem with equality and inequality constraints. The proposed solution to this problem is based on a general combinatorial optimization algorithm known as genetic algorithm. The genetic algorithm is described in a general context and then applied specifically to the network reconfiguration problem. This algorithm is developed in MATLAB. The output obtained from the above algorithm is in terms of ideal topology for the above mentioned objective function. Then this output has been interfaced with a GIS platform for easier display, analysis and assimilation. This program is tested on a local-1 feeder of Tanuku distribution network, having 57 buses with 23 switches which is in Eluru district of Andhra Pradesh.