Power Losses Minimization and Voltage Profile Enhancement for Distribution Feeders using PSO

Extensive utilization of sensitive electronic devices as well as reports of electric equipment failure lead utilities to give power quality a high priority level. Due to radial distribution configurations in remote areas, it is not easy to fulfill power quality requirements for flicker and voltage drop. Therefore, the problem of voltage drop is necessary to be solved. This paper presents a solution by using series capacitors connected to the nodes of distribution feeders. A proposed technique is introduced in to calculate the desired size of series capacitors keeping the voltage at proper nominal operating limits and reducing the power losses. This technique is the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). A real case study is presented as an illustrative example showing the advantages of the proposed technique over other methods.