Electric Power Components and Systems, 44(14):16311644, 2016

Copyright C Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

ISSN: 1532-5008 print / 1532-5016 online

DOI: 10.1080/15325008.2016.1183729

Simultaneous Distributed Generation Placement,

Capacitor Placement, and Reconfiguration using a
Modified Teaching-Learning-based Optimization
Algorithm
Abolfazl Rahiminejad,1 Seyed Hossein Hosseinian,1 Behrooz Vahidi,1
and Shohreh Shahrooyan2
1
Department of Electrical Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
2
Department of English Literature, Hakim Sabzevari University, Sabzevar, Iran

CONTENTS
AbstractIn this article, a modified version of the teaching
1. Introduction learning-based optimization algorithm is proposed for a combined
2. Problem Formulation optimization problem: simultaneous distributed generation (DG)
scheduling, capacitor sizing, and reconfiguration of distribution net-
3. Problem-Solving Procedure works to minimize active power loss and maximize reliability of the
4. Proposed Methodology network. The objective of loss reduction is modeled as the benefit
5. Simulation Results of not purchasing active power from the transmission grid. Customer
interruption cost reduction is also used as the reliability improvement
6. Conclusion
index. In this article, a new method for customer interruption cost
References calculation based on the bus injection to branch current (BIBC) ma-
trix and Dijkstras path-finding algorithm is proposed for different
network topologies. The proposed approach is applied on a 69-bus
test system that has been used in many previous studies. The results
of the modified teachinglearning-based optimization are compared
with those of some other optimization methods, including the conven-
tional teachinglearning-based optimization algorithm. The results
demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method and approach.

Keywords: DG scheduling, capacitor sizing, reconfiguration, loss reduction,
reliability improvement, modified teachinglearning-based optimization
algorithm, customer interruption cost, bus injection to branch current matrix,
Dijkstras path-finding algorithm
Received 17 November 2015; accepted 13 April 2016
Address correspondence to Prof. Behrooz Vahidi, Department of Electrical
Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, 424 Hafez Ave., Tehran,
1591634311, Iran. E-mail: vahidi@aut.ac.ir
Color versions of one or more of the figures in the article can be found online
at www.tandfonline.com/uemp.
1. INTRODUCTION
Distribution companies try to supply their customers with eco-
nomical and reliable electricity [1]. Approximately 15% of
generated active power is wasted during transmission to the
end users [2]. This wasted power can have an adverse impact
on societies from financial, environmental, and energy points
of view. Power interruptions to customers because of outages
can impose enormous costs on distribution companies as well
as customers [1]; therefore, increasing the reliability of the en-
ergy supply and reducing the active power loss of the network
are two main goals of the utilities.
Loss reduction can be achieved through three different
groups of methods.

1631
1632 Electric Power Components and Systems, Vol. 44 (2016), No. 14
Group 1methods based on changing the active power
flow trajectory: Series flexible AC transmission system
(FACTS) devices, such as thyristor-controlled series
compensation (TCSC) [3] in the level of transmission,
reconfiguration of distribution networks [4], and place-
ment and scheduling of DGs with unity power factor
[5] in the level of distribution, are the most well-known
methods of this category.
Group 2methods that focus on reactive power flow reduc-
tion: The most well-known technique of this group is
parallel FACTS devices, such as static VAR compen-
sator (SVC) [6] and capacitor banks placement [7] in
the transmission level and distribution level, respec-
tively.
Group 3combinations of the two foregoing methods: DGs
with a non-unity power factor [8] and series-parallel
FACTS devices, such as unified power quality condi-
tioner (UPQC) [9], are examples in this category.
Among different methods for loss reduction, DG place-
ment has some other merits, such as reliability increase [10],
voltage profile improvement [11, 12], or active power sell-
ing [13]. However, DG placement is the most expensive
method for loss reduction in comparison to other methods.
Therefore, it is better to allocate and schedule DG units
in distribution networks considering other benefits. Capaci-
tor placement is a low-cost method for loss reduction and
has been allocated simultaneously with DG in many studies
[1419].
Since reliable electricity supply is one the most important
targets of distribution companies, reliability improvement is
usually considered as a main objective, besides loss reduc-
tion for optimal DG placement. Nevertheless, regarding DG
location, the distribution network configuration, which is the
best for loss reduction, is often different from that which is the
most optimal for improved reliability. This issue may be solved
by performing network reconfiguration and DG scheduling si-
multaneously. In other words, reconfiguration of the network
in parallel with DG scheduling may yield the optimal config-
uration where both loss reduction and improved reliability
are at their zenith. Therefore, in this article, DG schedul-
ing, capacitor sizing, and reconfiguration are performed
simultaneously.
Any reduction in wasted power means reduction in pur-
chased power from the main network. Thus, the objective
function of loss reduction can be modeled as the benefit of
reduction in purchased power. For reliability evaluation of dis-
tribution systems, there are various indices [20]. In this article,
the cost of power interruption to customers is used for eval-
uating the reliability of the network, the load of the system
is assumed to be a three-level load profile, and the period of
planning is considered 5 years.
The optimization procedure of DG scheduling, capacitor
sizing, and reconfiguration is performed using a new modified
version of the teachinglearning-based optimization (TLBO)
algorithm. First, the capacitor placement and DG placement of
a test system in peak condition is performed using the proposed
method and compared to results of some other methods. Then
simultaneous DG scheduling, capacitor sizing, and reconfig-
uration are performed using the proposed algorithm and the
results are discussed. The results reveal the good performance
of the proposed method in comparison to some other optimiza-
tion algorithms, including the conventional TLBO (CTLBO),
differential evolution algorithm (DEA), and particle swarm
optimization (PSO).
Summarizing, in this article, simultaneous DG scheduling,
capacitor sizing, and reconfiguration are performed. The load
of the network is taken to be a three-level load profile with
a planning period of 5 years. The influence of inflation and
interest rates is assumed to be of benefit during the 5-year
period. All optimizations are done using a new modified TLBO
(MTLBO) algorithm.
The rest of the article is organized as follows. In Section
2, problem formulation, objective functions, and costs are in-
troduced. In Section 3, the procedure of solving problem is
discussed. The MTLBO is introduced in Section 4. Simula-
tion results are in Section 5, and a conclusion is drawn in
Section 6.
2. PROBLEM FORMULATION
The problem of the current article is a combined optimiza-
tion problem consisting of continuous and discrete variables.
The number of capacitor banks that should be switched and
on/off switches in reconfiguration are discrete variables of the
problem. The quantity of DG unit generation is the only contin-
uous variable of the problem. The objective of DG scheduling,
capacitor sizing, and reconfiguration is to maximize loss re-
duction and reliability, which can be presented as follows:
OF = Benefit, (1)
where Benefit is the benefit of loss reduction and reliability
improvement, introduced in what follows.
2.1. Benefit of Loss Reduction
As mentioned before, the objective of loss reduction is mod-
eled as reduction in purchased power from the transmission
grid. In other words, the cost of wasted power (i.e., ac-
tive power loss) is calculated before and after the optimiza-
tion procedure. The difference between these two values is
 Rahiminejad et al.: Simultaneous Distributed Generation Placement, Capacitor Placement, and Reconfiguration 1633

considered as the benefit of loss reduction. The benefit of loss The benefit of reliability increase can be represented as
reduction is formulated as follow [18]: follows:

LRB($) = (Lossb Lossa ) T p , (2) RIB = CIC b CIC a , (5)

where LRB is the benefit of loss reduction (in $); Lossb and where RIB is reliability increase benefit, and CICb and CICa
Lossa are the active power loss before and after DG scheduling, are the interruption cost of a customer before and after DG
capacitor sizing, and reconfiguration, respectively (in kW); T scheduling, capacitor sizing, and reconfiguration, respectively.
is the duration of period of loss calculation (in hr); and p is Considering the 5-year plan, the price of ENS changes; there-
the active power price of the network (in $/kWh). Since the fore, inflation and interest rates influence the RIB. The present
period of study is a 5-year period, inflation rate and interest worth value of the reliability increase can be formulated ac-
rate must be considered in the benefit calculation. Thus, the cording to
present worth value of loss reduction can be expressed as Eq. T 
 
1 + InfR t
(3): BPVR = RIB , (6)
1 + IntR
T 
  t=1
1 + InfR t
BPVL = LRB , (3) where BPVR is the present worth value of the reliability in-
1 + IntR
t=1 crease benefit.
where BPVL is the present worth value of benefit of loss re-
duction, InfR is inflation rate, IntR is interest rate, and T is the 2.3. Cost of DG
period of planning. The DG placement cost consists of three different parts: invest-
ment cost (installation cost), maintenance cost, and operation
2.2. Benefit of Reliability Improvement cost.
Reliability analysis is performed using different reliability
indices, classified as customer-based and load-based indices 2.3.1. Investment Cost
[20]. Although these indices are important in system operation, The investment cost of DG includes purchasing the DG unit,
they do not present a complete description of system behavior site preparation, and installation cost. This cost is presented in
[1]. In this article, a well-known load-based indexcustomer the following formula:
interruption cost (CIC; i.e., the cost of energy not supplied 
N DG
[ENS])is used for reliability evaluation. This index gives Cinv ($) = i
Cinv , (7)
the total cost of customer interruption due to the faulty utility. i
It is obvious that the lower the CIC is, the higher the relia- where Cinv is the total investment cost of DG, NDG is the
bility achieved is. The CIC is calculated using the following i
number of DG units, and Cinv is the investment cost of the ith
equation [21]: DG.
N
branch 
Nl
CIC = i L i ti int
j Dj, (4) 2.3.2. Operation Cost
i=1 j=1 The operation cost of DG refers to the cost of fuel:
where 
N DG
Cop ($/KWh) = i
Cop , (8)
CIC is the CIC or cost of ENS in a year, i=1
Nbranch is the number of branches,
i
Nl is the number of buses interrupted after outage of line i, where Cop is the total operation cost, and Cop is the operation
i is the rate of outage of line i (km/year), cost of the ith DG unit.
Li is the length of line (km),
2.3.2. Maintenance Cost
ti is the duration of interruption until the fault is eliminated
from line i (hr), and Equation (9) indicates the maintenance cost of DG in which
int
j is the price of ENS ($/kWh) of load in bus j at line i (kW).
the mechanical and electrical inquiry and renovation costs are
considered:
It should be noted that the cost of ENS varies according to

N DG
the load; for example, the ENS cost for an industrial load is Cmain ($/KWh) = i
Cmain , (9)
much higher than that for a domestic load [22]. i=1
1634 Electric Power Components and Systems, Vol. 44 (2016), No. 14

where Cmain is the total maintenance cost, and C imain is the and 1 means closing the tie-line. The next half of the matrix
maintenance cost of the ith DG unit. Regarding the 5-year includes the network line numbers. Corresponding to each tie-
period, the cost of maintenance and operation must be updated line that is closed, a feeder is opened so that the radiality of
according to the inflation and interest rates as follows: the distribution network remains. These variables are entered
T   in the line data matrix of the system and change the network
1 + InfR t
CPV (OP DG ) = Cop
DG
, (10) topology.
t=1
1 + IntR The discrete variables are changed as continuous variables
in the optimization procedure. Before sending the solutions
T 
  to an objective function for fitness calculation, the discrete
1 + InfR t
CPV (MC DG ) = Cmain
DG
. (11) variables are rounded. Therefore, the optimization algorithm
t=1
1 + IntR
changes the discrete variables in a way that their rounded
value makes the best operation point of the network. It should
2.4. Capacitor Cost be mentioned that many optimization algorithms cannot find
The only term of capacitor cost is the investment cost, which the best answers for discrete variables. However, the algorithm
includes installation, purchasing, and any associated protection proposed in this article has a good performance in finding the
equipment (arrester and fuse cutout) costs. The investment cost best answer for the combined optimization problem.
of a capacitor is as follows:
3.2. Loss Reduction Benefit Calculation

N bank

Cinv ($) = i
Cinvbank , (12) After making changes to the bus data matrix and line data
i matrix of the network, the distribution network power flow is
where Cinv-bank is the investment cost of the capacitor bank. run using bus injection to branch current (BIBC) matrix [25].
Next, the nodal voltage and lines current are calculated. If the
2.5. Constraints constraints are satisfied, the active power loss of the network
In solving the above problem, there are some constraints that can be calculated using the following equation:
must be satisfied, including the thermal limit of feeders, volt- N
branch

age magnitude of buses, DG power generation, maximum al- Loss = Ri I i2 , (13)

lowable number of capacitor banks to be switched [23], and i=1

distribution network topology [24].
2.6. Load Model
Demand varies during the day and should be modeled on a
24-hr profile. However, it is time and space consuming to
produce a 24-hr load profile, especially for a period of several
years. Thus, in this article, the load is modeled in three parts:
peak level, medium level, and off-peak level [1, 18].
3. PROBLEM-SOLVING PROCEDURE
3.1. How to Change the Variables
There are a total of two variables for DG and capacitor schedul-
ing: one variable for DG power output (a continuous variable)
and one variable for the number of capacitor banks that must
be switched (a discrete variable). These two variables are en-
tered into the bus data matrix and change the amount of active
and reactive power of buses.
For reconfiguration, a matrix sized with twice the number of
network tie-lines is defined; half of this matrix is composed of
binary variables. Corresponding to each tie-line of the network,
a binary code is defined, where 0 means opening the tie-line
where Ri is the resistance of the ith line, and Ii is the current
of the ith line. Loss reduction benefit can be calculated using
Eq. (2).
3.3. Reliability Improvement Benefit Calculation
Placing the DG unit in the distribution network changes the
condition of the network from passive to active mode. It means
a portion of the load is supplied by the DG even though an
outage has occurred. Therefore, DG installation in the network
reduces the cost of customer interruption and increases the
reliability of the system. However, the amount of DG should
be determined optimally. Conversely, variation of distribution
network configuration changes the path of power flow; in other
words, if the configuration of a network changes in a way that
the buses with higher loads are supplied through more reliable
feeders, the cost of interruption decreases.
For calculation of the CIC, the amount of the load that is
interrupted after a line outage must be calculated. This process
must be implemented for all feeders. This article introduces
a new method for CIC calculation using the BIBC matrix
technique. BIBC is a binary matrix. If the network has m lines
and n buses, the BIBC matrix is a matrix with the size of
 Rahiminejad et al.: Simultaneous Distributed Generation Placement, Capacitor Placement, and Reconfiguration 1635

FIGURE 1. Radial network sample [25].

m (n 1). If element (i, j) is 1, it means the power demand

of bus j passes through line i. The BIBC matrix formation
algorithm is illustrated as follows [25]:
Step 1: For a network with m branches and n buses, create a
zero matrix with the size of m (n 1).
Step 2: If line k is located between buses i and j, copy the col-
umn of the ith bus of the BIBC matrix to the column
of the jth bus and put 1 in element (k, j).
Step 3: Repeat Step 2 for all branches.
For instance, the BIBC matrix of the network shown in
Figure 1 is as follows:

1 1 0
BIBC = 0 1 0 . (14)
0 0 1 FIGURE 2. Flowchart of solving simultaneous DG schedul-
ing, capacitor sizing, and reconfiguration.
For this sample network, the CIC can be calculated
according to Eq. (15):
new topology, and the BIBC calculated using the algorithm
L1 1 t1 1 1 0 2 D2 introduced earlier.

CIC = T L 2 2 t2 0 1 0 3 D 3 , The flowchart for solving DG scheduling, capacitor sizing,
L3 3 t3 0 0 1 4 D4 and reconfiguration is shown in Figure 2.
(15)

where T is the operator of transpose. 4. PROPOSED METHODOLOGY

It should be noted that BIBC calculation is highly dependent
upon the bus numbering. In other words, the buses of the
distribution network must be numbered in order, starting with
the first bus of the network and continuing to the end bus of
the sections. However, after reconfiguration, the topology of
the network has changed and the numbering of buses is not in
order from the first to the end bus; therefore, BIBC calculation
cannot be correct. To overcome this issue, Dijkstras algorithm
is used to find the path between the first bus of the network
and the end bus of each section (note that according to radial
network topology, there is only one path between any two
buses) [26]. Next, the buses are renumbered based upon the
4.1. CTLBO
The TLBO algorithm is a population-based algorithm
introduced by Rao et al. [27]. The method simulates
teacherstudents interaction, which enhances the grade of
the whole class. This algorithm is free of algorithm param-
eters; i.e., it does not require any parameter tuning for bet-
ter performance. Fast convergence, small population size, and
good global search capability characterize the performance
of the algorithm. Teacher and students are the vital compo-
nents of the algorithm. The level of the class is increased in
two main phases: the teacher phase and the student phase.
1636 Electric Power Components and Systems, Vol. 44 (2016), No. 14

In this section, the method and a modified version of it are Load level 1 2 3
explained.)
Network condition Off-peak Medium Peak
As mentioned, the TLBO algorithm is a population-based Percentage of peak load (%) 75 87.5 100
algorithm; the students of the class are the solutions. The most Time duration (h/year) 1000 6760 1000
knowledgeable student, i.e., the best solution, is nominated Active power market price 35 49 70
for teacher. The process of TLBO is divided into two phases, ($/MWh)
discussed in what follows. Price of unsupplied energy 2.68 3.76 4.92
($/KWh) [1]
4.1.1. Teacher Phase
The best solution is considered to be the teacher. The teacher TABLE 1. Technical and commercial information of load and elec-
tricity market
tries to increase the level of each classroom student (for in-
stance M 1 ) to his/her level (i.e., MT ). However, this is not
possible practically, so the teacher tries to raise the mean level If Xj is more knowledgeable than Xi , it means Xi must move
of the class (M 2 ). It is clear that a good teacher (a solution with toward Xj s direction. Thus, Xi is upgraded as follows:
better fitness) can have a better performance on the class [28].
To mathematically describe the teacher phase, the difference X inew = X iold + ri (X j X i ) if f (X j ) > f (X i ). (19)
is first calculated as follows:
In these equations, Xi is a solution and f (Xi ) refers to its
diff mean i = ri (MT T f Mmean ), (16) objective function value. In each phase, Xnew is replaced with
Xold if a better result is achieved. The process is continued until
where MT is the level of teacher; Mmean is the average of class; convergence occurs.
ri is a random variable in the range of [0, 1]; and Tf is the As one can see, there is no need for parameter tuning in this
teacher factor, which can be either 1 or 2, chosen randomly. algorithm. Tf and ri are the only parameters of the algorithm,
Based on diff mean, the existing solution is updated as the which are selected completely at random and do not need to be
following equation: tuned. This is an advantage of this method compared to other
optimization algorithms.
X inew = X iold + diff mean i . (17)

4.2. MTLBO
As it is seen, in CTLBO, the students share their knowledge
4.1.2. Student Phase in a group of two to enhance their level. It is obvious that if
In this phase, the students enhance their grade by interacting the students interact with each other in groups with more than
with each other. In other words, a student shares his/her knowl- two students, better performance for the entire class can be
edge with another student who has been selected at random achieved. In the proposed method, in the student phase, each
from the classroom. The selected student learns new things student takes part in a group consisting of several students and
if the other student is more knowledgeable; otherwise, the enhances his/her level by exchanging knowledge within the
initial student learns from the selected one. For the mathe- group. The process of solution updating is as follows:
matical formulation of this phase, assume Xi and Xj are two
classroom students and i = j. Student knowledge, i.e., f (X ),
is evaluated using the objective function. A better f (X ) (lower Parameter Unit Value
for minimization and higher for maximization) means a more DG installation cost $/MW 318,000
knowledgeable student. It is assumed that the problem is max- DG operation cost $/MWh 29
imization; therefore, if the fitness function of Xi is higher than DG maintenance cost $/MWh 7
Xj , it means Xi is a student with a higher level of knowledge Capacitor cost [23] $/kVAr 3
Capacitor bank capacity KVAR/each 150
compared to Xj . Therefore, Xi moves toward his/her direction.
bank
From a mathematical point of view, Xi is upgraded using fol- Interest rate % 12.5
lowing equation: Inflation rate % 9
Planning period Year 5
X inew = X iold + ri (X i X j ) if f (X i ) > f (X j ). (18)

TABLE 2. Commercial information of DG and capacitor bank

 Rahiminejad et al.: Simultaneous Distributed Generation Placement, Capacitor Placement, and Reconfiguration 1637

FIGURE 3. Initial configuration of 69-bus test system [24].

Imagine Xi is a selected student who participates in a group
of several students that are selected randomly among the class.
If selected student Xi has a higher level of knowledge in com-
parison to the other members of the group, it means the se-
lected student is a high-level student. The others must move
toward his/her direction with higher speed to attain the higher
level. In other words, the learning manner of this student is so
good that the other students must move toward him/her. The
mathematical description of this procedure is represented as
follows:
 
X new,i = X old,i + ri X i X gwor st , (20)
where X gwor st is the student with the worst level of knowledge
in the group. If the selected student is not the best student in
the group, he/she must enhance his/her level according to the
best member of group as follows:
 
X new,i = X old,i + ri X gbest X i , (21)
where X gbest is the best member of the group. Since the learning
process of a student is based upon the best or the worst student
in a group of several participants, the convergence speed is
improved. In this article, five students are considered for each
group.
4.3. Application of MTLBO in Solving the Problem
The number of students in the class is considered to be 50.
Each student consists of 12 values. The first value refers to the
amount of DG, the second is the number of capacitor banks
that must be switched, and the remaining 10 values are for
network reconfiguration. The discrete variables are changed
as the process continues. At the end of changing the solutions
by means of optimization algorithms, the discrete variables
are rounded. After that, each student is sent to the objective
function for fitness calculation. The best student is selected as
the teacher. Students are changed twice: in the student phase
and in the teacher phase. The process is performed 100 times,
and the best solution is achieved.
5. SIMULATION RESULTS
The proposed approach is applied on a 69-bus test system
that has been previously used in many studies for capacitor

Different
methods GA [31] PSO [32] DSA [33] CTLBO [23] Proposed method
Capacitor Location Size Location Size location Size Location Size Location Size
placement (kVAR) (kVAR) (kVAR) (kVAR) (kVAR)
48 700 34 241 15 450 12 600 11 300
50 800 27e 365 49 450 50 1050 18 300
53 100 50 1015 50 900 53 150 50 1200
P loss (kW) 156.62 152.48 147 146.35 145.28
Loss reduction 30.24 32.08 34.52 34.81 35.29
(%)

TABLE 3. Comparison of different methods in capacitor placement

1638 Electric Power Components and Systems, Vol. 44 (2016), No. 14

MTLBO [34] GA PSO Proposed method

Location Size (kW) Location Size (kW) Location Size (kW) Location Size (kW)
One DG unit 50 1819.7 50 1871.66 50 1872.58 50 1872.6
P loss (kW) 83.32 83.22 83.22 83.21
Loss reduction 62.89 62.93 62.93 62.94
(%)
Two DG units 17 519.7 17 50.79 17 531.4 17 513.5
50 1732 50 1820.4 50 1781.4 50 1781.4
P loss (kW) 71.77 71.74 71.68 71.67
Loss reduction 68.03 68.04 68.07 68.08
(%)
Five DG units 11 492.98 50 858.45 50 1430 18 380.41
18 378.39 52 933.78 59 210.8 50 1430.8
50 717.94 38 505.13 11 524.18 53 287.03
61 1383.1 12 233.09 18 381.73 39 716.5
64 289.27 20 434.69 53 284.57 11 525.97
P loss (kW) 67.48 69.49 68.88 67.37
Loss reduction 69.94 69.05 69.32 70
(%)

TABLE 4. Comparison of different methods in DG placement

Bold indicates.

placement [23], reconfiguration [24], and DG placement [29].
The test system with its tie-lines is shown in Figure 3. The line
data, tie-line data, and load data of the system were completely
illustrated in [30].
In the system, there is a DG unit with the capacity of 2 MW
and 0.9 power factor (absorbing reactive power), 24 switchable
capacitor banks with the size of 150 KVAR for each capacitor
bank in 3 buses, and 5 tie-lines for reconfiguration. The techni-
cal and commercial information of the load, DG, and capacitor
banks is illustrated in Tables 1 and 2 based on [1, 14].
To demonstrate the good performance of the proposed
method, capacitor placement and DG placement are performed
and compared with previous articles. This problem (i.e., capac-
itor placement and DG placement) is also a combined problem.
DG and capacitor locations and also the number of capacitor
banks in each location are discrete variables, and the size of
DG is a continuous variable. Optimal allocation of DG and
capacitor is performed based on peak condition of the net-
work with the aim of loss reduction. For DG placement, the
optimal accommodation of DG units is performed in three
cases: one DG placement, two DG placements, and five DG
placements. The results are presented in Table 3. As it can
be seen, the proposed method has the best results among the
different methods. To ensure the performance of the proposed
method, capacitor placement is also performed, and the re-
sults are compared to those of some other methods. For the

Capacitor banks sizing (kVAR) Network configuration

DG generation (kW) Bus 11 Bus 18 Bus 50 Opening switches Closing tie-lines

Case 1
Case 2 2000
Case 3 300 300 1200
Case 4 17, 44 2, 4
Case 5 2000 750 300 1200
Case 6 2000 17, 24, 44 2, 4, 5
Case 7 300 300 1200 17, 46 2, 4
Case 8 2000 450 1050 1200 48 5

TABLE 5. Optimal solutions of different combinations

 Rahiminejad et al.: Simultaneous Distributed Generation Placement, Capacitor Placement, and Reconfiguration
capacitor placement, 24 capacitor banks with the size of 150
kVAR for each capacitor bank are candidates to be placed in
the system. The maximum number of capacitor banks allowed
to be installed in each bus is 8. The results of capacitor place-
ment are shown in Table 4, where the good performance of
the proposed method can be seen. These tables also show the
good performance of the proposed method in comparison to a
number of optimization algorithms, including PSO, genetic al-
gorithm (GA), conventional TLBO (CTLBO), modified TLBO
(MLTBO), and direct search algorithm (DSA). Based on the
results of Tables 3 and 4, the optimal scheduling of DG, capac-
itor switching, and reconfiguration of the distribution network
are performed simultaneously.
Simultaneous DG scheduling, capacitor sizing, and recon-
figuration are performed using the proposed method. Three
switchable capacitor banks with the size of 1200 kVAR at
each location are placed in buses 11, 18, and 50 based on the
results of Table 4. A DG unit with the capacity of 2000 kW
and 0.9 power factor (absorbing reactive power) is placed in
bus 50 according to Table 3. The simulation for increasing the
efficiency of the distribution test system is performed in eight
combinations: Case 1: no optimization; Case 2: DG only; Case
3:capacitor only; Case 4: reconfiguration only; Case 5: DG and
capacitor; Case 6: DG and reconfiguration; Case 7: capacitor
and reconfiguration; and Case 8: DG, capacitor, and reconfig-
uration. The results of the eight cases are listed in Tables 5 and
6; Table 5 presents the optimal solutions and Table 6 reveals
different cost and benefits of the various combinations.
Table 6 exhibits the system cost and benefit for various
cases. It shows the performance of the distribution system in
different situations, i.e., in the presence of DG, in the presence
of a capacitor, or both. System operators can chose one of
these techniques for enhancing the distribution network per-
formance according to their goals. From the table, it can be
seen that the benefit of the system is increased dramatically in
FIGURE 4. Voltage profile of the test system for various com-
binations.
1639
the case when simultaneous DG scheduling, capacitor sizing,
and reconfiguration are performed. However, the cost of the
system is higher than some other cases.
Minimum cost of the system is achieved in Case 7 followed
by Case 4. In other words, the cases when reconfiguration is
performed without the presence of any DG have the lowest
cost. It should be mentioned that the installation, operation,
and maintenance cost of DG increase the total system cost
dramatically. By placing some switchable capacitor banks in
the distribution network and performing simultaneous capac-
itor sizing and reconfiguration, not only is the minimum cost
is achieved, but also the benefit-to-cost ratio hits its maximum
point (i.e., Case 7). This means that with a lower cost, a higher
benefit can be obtained. Here, it can be concluded that the ca-
pacitor placement is a very low-cost manner for network per-
formance enhancement. The reconfiguration of the network
in the presence of the capacitor banks is a highly beneficial
method in the distribution network. However, in the cases that
there is no DG unit in the network, the cost of reliability is
high. In other words, in the absence of DG in a distribution
system, the network suffers from a low level of reliability. This
is because of the absence of an active power generation that
can supply a part of load demand during the interruptions in
the system. As one can see, the lowest value of CIC refers to
Cases 2, 5, 6, and 8 where a DG unit is placed in the network. In
other words, when a DG unit is placed in the system, it covers
a part of the load when an outage occurs in the system. Thus,
the numbers of loads that are interrupted during the outage
reduces, which results in CIC reduction. Nevertheless, in the
presence of a DG unit in a distribution network, the cost of the
system increases remarkably. In other words, in Cases 2, 5, 6,
and 8, where a DG unit is placed in the system, the total cost
of the network is much higher than in the other cases.
Placing DG units in the distribution network enhances the
reliability of the system since they supply a portion of load
demand. Furthermore, utilities are inclined to use DG in dis-
tribution networks due to several advantages of these kinds
of resources, such as low emission generation, postponing the
cost of large power plants construction, and transmission line
construction. Therefore, in this article, combinations that in-
clude DG (i.e., Cases 2, 5, 6, and 8) are more momentous than
the other cases. However, placing capacitor banks beside DG
units and performing reconfiguration simultaneously to ca-
pacitor sizing and DG scheduling can enhance the distribution
system performance markedly, while the total cost of system
increases insignificantly. For instance, by installation of 1800-
kVAR capacitor banks with the cost of $5400 in Case 5, the
total cost of the system decreases 5% in regard to Case 2 and the
total benefit increases by 17%; in other words, by a low expen-
1640 Electric Power Components and Systems, Vol. 44 (2016), No. 14

FIGURE 5. Convergence behavior of four different optimization methods: (a) Case 2, (b) Case 3, (c) Case 4, (d) Case 5, (e) Case 6, (f)
Case 7, and (g) Case 8.
 Rahiminejad et al.: Simultaneous Distributed Generation Placement, Capacitor Placement, and Reconfiguration 1641

Benefit of
Benefit of loss reliability Total cost of
Cost of loss CIC reduction increase Total benefit system Benefit-to-
(million $) (million $) (million $) (million $) (million $) (million $) cost ratio
Case 1 0.345 2.27 0 0 0 2.61 0
Case 2 0.304 0.892 0.041 1.38 1.420 4.703 0.302
Case 3 0.224 2.27 0.121 0 0.121 2.498 0.048
Case 4 0.202 1.57 0.143 0.699 0.841 1.772 0.475
Case 5 0.065 0.892 0.280 1.377 1.657 4.47 0. 371
Case 6 0.196 0.858 0.149 1.41 1.560 3.925 0.342
Case 7 0.132 1.57 0.213 0.699 0.912 1.707 0.5346
Case 8 0.056 0.725 0.289 1.544 1.833 4.296 0.427

TABLE 6. Results of optimization for increasing the efficiency of the test system for different combinations

Cost of supplying power (million $)

Total cost of supplying Benefit of power selling Total cost of system

Off-peak Medium Peak power (million $) (million $) (million $)
Case 1 0.47 5.3 1.3 7.03 0 9.64
Case 2 0.26 2.87 0.7 3.82 3.2 8.523
Case 3 0.47 5.2 1.26 6.91 0.121 9.408
Case 4 0.47 5.2 1.25 6.88 0.143 8.65
Case 5 0.24 2.69 0.65 3.58 3.44 8.05
Case 6 0.25 2.79 0.68 3.71 3.31 8.271
Case 7 0.46 5.11 1.24 6.81 0.213 8.517
Case 8 0.24 2.69 0.65 3.58 3.45 7.876

TABLE 7. Cost and benefit of supplying active power and total cost of the network in different cases

diture, a high benefit is achieved. The best situation is occurred
in Case 8,;which showed the best solution among the four men-
tioned combinations (i.e., Cases 2, 5, 6, and 8) from all benefit
and cost points of view. Thus, placing DG units and switch-
able capacitor banks in distribution systems, and simultaneous
DG scheduling, capacitor sizing, and reconfiguration of the
system, increases the performance of the system considerably.
The three methods (i.e., DG placement, capacitor place-
ment, and reconfiguration) used in this article for loss
reduction and reliability increase can also improve the voltage
profile of the network. The voltage profile of the system for
different combinations of peak level of load is depicted in
Figure 4; this figure reveals that the smoothest voltage profile
is achieved in Case 8.
To demonstrate the good performance of the proposed op-
timization method, the convergence behavior of four different
optimization methods in all seven optimization combinations
is depicted in Figure 5. The figures show the good performance
and fast convergence of the proposed method in comparison
to three other methods, i.e., the DE, PSO, and CTLBO
algorithms.
5.1. Cost Analysis
As results reveal, the cost of the system is increases dramat-
ically when a DG unit is added to the distribution system.
As one can see in Table 6, the cost of the system in cases
where a DG unit is placed in the network is higher than the
other cases, while the benefit of the system in these cases is
much higher than the other cases. Reconfiguration of the dis-
tribution system does not have any costs. The cost of capacitor
placement can be completely neglected, but the costs related to
DG placement (i.e., installation, operation, and maintenance)
are remarkable. This is the reason that the cases in which a
DG unit is placed have a much higher cost compared to other
cases. However, a main factor known as active power reduction
benefit is neglected in the Table 6 results [14].
In the absence of a DG unit in a distribution system, all loads
and losses are supplied by the main network. In other words,
in this situation, all of the power demand is purchased from
the main network. When a DG unit is added to the network, a
portion of the load is supplied by the DG unit, which means that
this amount of the load is not purchased from the main network.
This is considered to be the benefit of active power selling of
1642 Electric Power Components and Systems, Vol. 44 (2016), No. 14
DG or not purchasing the active power from the main network.
Considering the market price of power in Table 1, the cost of
purchasing power from the network in different load levels (i.e.,
off-peak, medium, and peak), total cost of purchasing power,
benefit of not purchasing power from the main network, and the
entire cost of system (i.e., the cost of losses, reliability, power
purchasing, and any additional apparatuses) for all cases are
listed in Table 7.
From the results it can be concluded that in cases in which a
DG unit is placed in the network, the cost of supplying power
and also the total cost of system are much lower than other
cases. In other words, although installation of a DG unit in
the network increases the cost of the network (operation and
maintenance cost), the costs of power supply, reliability, and
losses are reduced remarkably. It also can be comprehended
that Case 8 has the lowest cost of power supply, lowest total
system cost, and highest value of the benefit of reducing the
active power supplying cost among all cases.
6. CONCLUSION
In this article, simultaneous DG scheduling, capacitor sizing,
and reconfiguration are performed to decrease the active power
loss and increase the reliability of the system. It is obvious that
DG placement is the most expensive method for loss reduction
and reliability increase. However, considering the numerous
additional benefits of these resources, distribution companies
are inclined to use these kinds of generators. Moreover, the
benefit of active power selling of DG units reduces the cost of
power supply and total system cost. From the results, one can
see that placing a DG unit and some switchable capacitor banks
in a distribution network and simultaneous DG scheduling, ca-
pacitor sizing, and reconfiguration enhance the performance
of the network dramatically. Moreover, this combination has
the lowest total system cost compared to other combinations
of three mentioned methods (i.e., DG, capacitor, and recon-
figuration) for loss reduction and reliability improvement. The
problem in this article is a combined optimization problem,
which is solved using a new modified version of the TLBO
algorithm. In the proposed method, the students of the class
participate in groups of several students and enhance their
knowledge by interaction in these groups. The comparison of
the results of DG placement and capacitor placement of the
proposed method with those of previous studies demonstrates
the good performance of the proposed method. In addition,
the comparison of the convergence behavior of the proposed
method with that of three other methods (i.e., PSO, DE, and
CTLBO) reveals the fast convergence of the proposed algo-
rithm. Meanwhile, a new algorithm for CIC calculation is
proposed in this article. The algorithm is based on the BIBC
matrix and Dijkstras path-finding algorithm. The novelties of
this article are summarized in what follows.
1. Optimal distribution system management is performed
to reduce power losses and increase the reliability of the
system using simultaneous DG scheduling, capacitor
sizing, and reconfiguration.
2. A new algorithm based on the BIBC matrix and Dijk-
stras path-finding algorithm is introduced for CIC cal-
culation.
A new modified version of TLBO algorithm is introduced
for solving the combined optimization problems.
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BIOGRAPHIES
Abolfazl Rahiminejad was born in Sabzevar, Iran, in 1986.
He received his B.S. and M.S. in power electrical engineer-
ing from the Department of Engineering, Ferdowsi University
of Mashahd, Mashhad, Iran, in 2008 and the Department of
Electrical Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology,
Tehran, Iran, in 2010, respectively. He is currently persuing his
Ph.D. in the Department of Electrical Engineering, Amirkabir
University of Technology, Tehran, Iran. His research inter-
ests include distribution network performance enhancement,
renewable DG, high-voltage studies, and lightning.
1644 Electric Power Components and Systems, Vol. 44 (2016), No. 14
Seyed Hossein Hosseinian was born in 1961 in Iran. He
received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. from the Electrical Engineer-
ing Department of Amirkabir University of Technology, Iran,
in 1985 and 1988, respectively, and his Ph.D. from the in
Electrical Engineering Department, University of Newcas-
tle, England, in 1995. He is presently a professor of Elec-
trical Engineering at Amirkabir University of Technology. His
fields of interest include power system modeling and power
quality.
Behrooz Vahidi was born in Abadan. He received his B.S.
in electrical engineering from Sharif University of Technol-
ogy, Tehran, Iran, in 1980; his M.S. in electrical engineering
from Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran, in
1989; and his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from University
of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST),
Manchester, UK, in 1997. From 1980 to 1986, he worked
in the field of high voltage in industry as a chief engineer.
Since 1989, he has been with the Department of Electrical
Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, where he
is now a professor. He has been selected by the Ministry of
Higher Education of Iran and by the Iranian Association of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IAEEE) as the distin-
guished researcher of Iran. He heads the Power System Group
at Amirkabir University of Technology and is a senior member
of the IEEE. He has authored and co-authored over 390 papers
and 6 books on high-voltage engineering and power systems.
His main fields of research are high voltage, electrical insu-
lation, power system transient, lightning protection, and pulse
power technology.
Shohreh Shahrooyan was born in Sabzevar, Iran, in 1990. She
received her B.S. in physics from the Department of Science,
Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, in 2012. She is currently
persuing her B.A. in English language and literature at the De-
partment of English Language and Literature, Hakim Sabze-
vari University, Sabzevar, Iran. She is interested in English,
American, and German novelist studies and also specialized
languages of different majors.