Optimal placement of SVC for minimizing power loss and improving voltage profile using GA

Various problems occurring in the operation of emerging restructured power system networks can be solved up to some extent by using flexible AC transmission system (FACTS) devices. In the planning stage of installation of these devices, an exhaustive exploration is a must to acquire maximum benefit of these devices as these devices require huge capital investment. In this paper, Genetic Algorithm (GA) has been applied to find the optimal location of Static Var Compensator (SVC) so that, real power loss, voltage deviation and rating of SVC may be minimized considering the most critical contingencies. As a first step, contingency ranking has been performed to determine the most severe line outages by evaluating voltage performance index (VPI). Thereafter, GA has been applied to find the optimal location and size of SVC. The effectiveness of the proposed methodology is demonstrated on a standard IEEE 30-bus system.