Optimal location of FACTS devices using enhanced particle swarm optimization

In this paper a new, an enhanced PSO based optimization is proposed for optimizing the power system losses and voltage profiles. Recently, the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) technique has been applied to solve power engineering optimization problems giving better results than classical methods. This paper shows the application of Enhanced PSO for optimal sizing and allocation of a Static Compensator (STATCOM) in a power system. This algorithm finds optimal settings for present infrastructure as well as optimal locations, sizes and control Settings forsettings for STATCOM units. A 30 bus system is used as an example to illustrate the technique. The result shows that the EPSO is able to find the best solution with statistical significance and a high degree of convergence. The simulation results are presented to show a significant improvement of the power system reliability and feasibility and potential of this new approach.