Hybrid PSO-tabu search for the optimal reactive power dispatch problem

This paper presents a new approach to solve the optimal reactive power dispatch (ORPD) problem based on hybridizing Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Tabu-Search (TS) meta-heuristics (PSO-TS). The ORPD problem is formulated as a nonlinear constrained single-objective optimization problem where the real power loss is to be minimized. The proposed approach is used to find the settings of the control variables such as generator voltages, tap positions of tap changing transformers and the amount of reactive compensation devices, to optimize power transmission loss. The study was implemented on IEEE 30-bus systems, and the results were compared with non-hybridized PSO and TS and other evolutionary algorithms reported in the literature.