Distribution Network Reconfiguration Using SPEA2 for Power Loss Minimization and Reliability Improvement

This article presents an original method based on Strength Pareto Evolutionary Algorithm 2 (SPEA2) to solve the multi-objective reconfiguration problem of minimizing active power loss and improving power system reliability. The proposed evolutionary method is based on the Pareto optimality concept to equally optimize multiple objective functions providing a set of optimal solutions (Pareto front), where the network manager can select an option. An original combination of evolutionary computation and spanning trees theories is put forward to ensure an efficient convergence of solutions without violating technical and topological constraints. The simulations were carried out in a standard IEEE 33 bus test system. The obtained results prove the capability of the proposed method to converge to the best minimum values of objective functions using a very small population size. Furthermore, the comparisons with other methods in the literature show the robustness and promptness of the suggested method.