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Optimal Allocation and Sizing

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Particle Swarm Optimization
Algorithm for Loss Reduction
ARTICLE JANUARY 2015

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Revue des Sciences et de la Technologie - RST-

Volume 6 N1 / janvier 2015

Optimal Allocation and Sizing of Distributed Generation with Particle Swarm

Optimization Algorithm for Loss Reduction
K. Ras Guerriche * and T. Bouktir**
*Department of Electrical Engineering, Setif1 University, Email: kguerriche@gmail.com
** Department of Electrical Engineering, Setif1 University, Email:
tarek.bouktir@esrgroups.org
Abstract an optimal placement and sizing of distributed generation units in distribution
system is usually done for the purpose of loss reduction and voltage profile improvement.
Research work included by this paper focuses on using an optimization methodology for
identifying proper location and size of DG units. Solutions particle swarm optimization
algorithm for DG units placement and sizing has been developed in terms of parameter
selection, to obtain the maximum loss reduction and voltage profile improvement. The
performance of this proposed methodology is tested on IEEE 33-Bus distribution system.
Results show the efficiency and robustness of the proposed PSO algorithm to finding the very
near optimal location and sizing of the DG units for enhancing the loadability of radial
distribution system.
Keywords Particle swarm optimization (PSO), Optimal size, Optimal location, Distributed
generation (DG), Active power losses.

I.

INTRODUCTION

The need to provide acceptable power quality and reliability will create a very favorable
climate for the penetration of renewable and nonrenewable distributed generation resources
around the world. As a result of this penetration of DG resources at the distribution level,
distribution system are no longer passive supplying loads, but are active with power flows and
voltages determined by the generation and loads. A number of steps should be followed
concerning, one of this steps is the best use of existing distribution network through the
optimal allocation and sizing of the DG resources.
In order to achieve the desired performance in DG resources and minimizing power loss,
improve the voltage profile, increase reliability and improving the power quality parameters of
the electric grid, suitable placement and size need to provide for this DG units.
There are two methods for sitting and sizing of DG in the distribution network. The first
method is traditional based such as optimal power flow (OPF), sensitive factor and repetitive
load flows (reload flow). In the second method, the artificial intelligent (AI) is used to apply
with DG placement and sizing like Ant Colony Algorithm (ACO), Genetic Algorithm (GA),
Tabu Search (TS), Differential Evolution (DE) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). A lot
of papers and studies have been carried out in the recent years to present methodologies in the
general topic of DG units placement and sizing [1- 6]. A particle swarm optimization (PSO)
algorithm was introduced to determine the optimum size and location of a single DG unit to
minimize the real power losses of the system in [7]. In [8], a novel optimization approach that
employs an Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) algorithm to find the optimum DG size, power
factor, and location in order to minimize the total system real power loss. A genetic algorithm
(GA)-based technique along with optimal power ow (OPF) calculations were used to
determine the optimum size and location of DG units installed to the system in order to
minimize the cost of active and reactive power generation is used in [9]. In [10], an analytical
method to determine the optimum locationsize pair of a DG unit was proposed in order to
minimize only the line losses of the power system. In [11], a combined PSO and GA
algorithm was used to nd the optimal location of a xed number of DG units with speci c

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K. Ras Guerriche , T. Bouktir

total capacity such that the real power loss of the system is minimized and the operational
constraints of the system are satis ed. [12] Present a genetic algorithm (GA) approach for the
location and sizing of DG in three different loading conditions which were peak load, medium
load and low load. In [13], A novel optimization approach that employs an Artificial Bee
Colony (ABC) algorithm to find the optimum DG size, power factor, and location in order to
minimize the total system real power loss. In [14], a sensitivity analysis of power losses in
terms of DG size, location and operating point has been performed to nd the optimal size and
location of DG units. [15], a PSO algorithm was used to place multiple DG units with nonunity power factor but the objective was to minimize only the real power loss of the system.
Pavlos, S in [16]. Present a review serves as a guide to aid researchers and power system
engineers on the available DG placement models and methodologies.
In this paper a particle swarm optimization algorithm is presented, to solve DG units optimal
placement and sizing problem in the radial distribution system. Firstly a brief review about
distributed generation technology. Section II explains the proposed approach. A problem
formulation in Section III. The results and discussion are presented in Section IV. And finally
the conclusion is given in Section V.
Definition of Distributed Generation (DG):
As known, distributed generation signify the electric power generation within distributed
network to meet the rapid energy demand of consumers. However, There is many terms and
definitions used for explain DG and thats create a various perspectives:
The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) de nes distributed generation as
generation from a few kilo-watts up to 50 MW [17].
International Energy Agency (IEA) de nes distributed generation as generating
plant serving a customer on-sit or providing support to a distribution network,
connected to the grid at distributed level voltages [18].
The International Conference on large High Voltage Electric Systems (CIGRE)
de nes DG as smaller than 50-100 MW [17].
Although there are variations in de nitions, however, the concept is almost same. DG can be
treated as small scale power generation to mitigate the consumer energy demand. Distributed
Generation can come from a variety of sources and technology. Here, we will consider the
Distributed Generation as an Electric power source connected directly to the distribution
system.

II.

PARTICLE SWARM OPTIMIZATION:

One of the most recent metaheuristic algorithms is the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is a
population based stochastic optimization technology [19,20] by Dr. Eberhart and Dr. Kennedy
in 1995, inspired by social behavior of bird flocking and fish schooling. It is used for
optimization of continuous nonlinear functions [21, 22].
PSO is a swarm intelligence algorithm, inspired by the social dynamics and an emergent
behavior that arises in socially organized colonies. PSO algorithm exploits a population of
individuals to probe promising regions of the search space. In this context, the population is
called swarm and the individuals are called particles or agents.
In conventional PSO, particles change their positions (states) with time. Let 'u' and 'v' denote a
particle coordinates (position) and its corresponding flight speed (velocity) in a search space
respectively. The position vector ui and the velocity vector vi of the i th particle in the ndimensional search space can be represented as

Optimal Allocation and Sizing of Distributed Generation with Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm for Loss Reduction

60

K. Ras Guerriche, T. Bouktir

ui

(ui1 , ui 2 ,.....,uin )

And

vi

(vi1 , vi 2 ,......,vin )

respectively.
The best previous position of the i the particle is recorded and represented as

Pbest

(ui1pbest , uipbest
,....., uinpbest ) .
2

The index of the best particle among all the particles in the group is represented by :

(u1Gbest , u2Gbest ,.....,unGbest ) .

Gbest

The modified velocity and position of each particle can be calculated as per following
formulas [23]:

vi( k

1)

vi( k )

c1r1 ( Pbesti( k ) ui( k ) )

Pr evious Velocity

Cognitive Component

c2 r2 (Gbest

(k )

ui(k ) )

(01)

Social Component

ui( k

1)

ui( k ) vi( k

1)

(02)

Where , c1, c2 0, k is the iteration number.

: is the inertia weight factor.
c1 and c2 : are the acceleration coefficients.
rl and r2:are two random numbers within the range [0,1].

vi(k ) , ui(k ) : are the velocity and the current position of particle i in the search space at
iteration k, respectively.
In general, the inertia weight provides a balance between global and local explorations
(control the influence of the previous history of the velocities on the current one). It is set
according to the following equation:

max

max

min,

max

min

kmax

(03)

: initial and final inertia factor weights.

kmax : maximum iteration number.

k: current iteration number.

K. Ras Guerriche , T. Bouktir

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K. Ras Guerriche , T. Bouktir

The constants c1 and c2 pull each particle toward Pbest positions (cognitive component of
velocity) and Gbest positions (social component of velocity).
The position is updated with respect to (02).
Time Varying Acceleration Coefficients
The time-varying inertia weight (TVIW) can locate a good solution at a significantly faster
rate but its ability to fine tune the optimum solution is weak, due to the lack of diversity at the
end of the search. It has been observed by most researchers that in PSO, problem-based tuning
of parameters is a key factor to find the optimal solution accurately and efficiently [24, 25]. In
TVAC, this is achieved by changing the acceleration coefficients and with time in such a
manner that the cognitive component is reduced while the social component is increased as the
search proceeds. TVAC-PSO is successfully implemented for economic load dispatch (ELD)
problem in [26].

vi( k

1)

(k ) (k )
i

c1( k ) r1 ( Pbesti( k ) ui( k ) )

c2( k ) r2 ( Pgbesti( k ) ui( k ) )

c1( k )
(k )
2

(c1i c1 f )
(c2 f

c2i )

k
kmax
k
kmax

(04)

c1i
(05)

c2i

Where:

ci(k ) is the ith acceleration coefficient at iteration k.

c ii and c if are initial and final values of the ith acceleration coefficient respectively.
(k )

is the same value of inertia weight in (03).

III.

PROBLEM FORMULATION

The objective of this work is to minimize the active power loss in the radial distribution
system as well as to improve the voltage profile of the system by solving the distributed
generator placement and sizing problem. The complexity of this problem lead the researchers
to introduce simple assumptions such as [27]:
The section load is balanced and uniformly distributed, and the load current is constant.
The power factor of the section load is 1.0.
The candidates of DG installation position for every feeder section are given.
The capacity of distributed generator must be selected from given capacity
candidates (discrete values).
One DG can be allocated for one candidate position.
The maximum number of installable DGs is given.
The total installation capacity of DGs is given.

Optimal Allocation and Sizing of Distributed Generation with Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm for Loss Reduction

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K. Ras Guerriche, T. Bouktir

Two main constraints are:

The upper and lower limits of node voltages.
The capacities of conductors.
The objective function of our problem is to minimize the total active power loss and according
to the previous assumptions the formulation of problem can be listed as fellow [28]:

Ri Ii2

fitness function Minimize

(06)

Subject to:

0.95 p.u. V j 1.05 p.u.

(07)

Ii

(08)

Ii max

In which:

Ri : is the ith branch resistance.

Ii : is the current of the ith branch.
I i max : is the maximum current of the ith branch.
IV.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

To check the validity of the proposed PSO algorithm, the IEEE 33-Bus (Fig.1) radial
distribution feeder system was considered in different cases. This network has a voltage of
12.66kV, load size of 3.715MW and 2.300 MVar and consists of 32 line and 33 buses. The
size of the distributed generation used will vary automatically between the ranges of 0% to
30% of the total load until it reaches the optimal values; the DG voltage is 12.66 kV. That will
be able to show the effects of the optimal placement and sizing of DGs units on the network
parameters (voltage profile, active power losses). Therefore, with the application of the
proposed approach (PSO) we calculate and compare the result with those obtained via other
methods.
Furthermore, we analyzed two scenarios, Scenario I and scenario II. For the first scenario we
have three cases to studying. Case I (the reference case) is when the system without distributed
generation unit, Case II is to determine the optimal size and location for a single DG unit and
the Case III for two DG units simultaneously. Scenario II on the other hand, represents the
situation where two load levels are applied the light load (50% from the full load) and heavy
load (150% from the full load). The results of the feeder system due to above mentioned
scenarios are shown below:
The voltage profile before and after DG installation is shown in Fig.2. The lowest voltage
occurred in the Bus 18 in the case I and II with the amount of 0.91 p.u and 0.97 p.u, for the
case III the lowest voltage is in Bus 25 with the value of 0.98 p.u. Noticed an important
improvement of voltage profile in case II and III compared to the reference case.

K. Ras Guerriche , T. Bouktir

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K. Ras Guerriche , T. Bouktir

Fig. 1. 33 Bus Under study Radial Distributed System

Table.1. shows the most appropriate location and size and corresponding real power for the
scenario I, The results show that a significant real power loss reduction and voltage profile
improvement after the installation of DG units in the system. Noticed that the installation of
DG units can improve the system loadability.

TABLE I. SUMMARY OF RESULTS FOR THE SCENARIO I

Initial Power losses (kW)
Optimal DG Location
Optimal DG size (MW)

Case I
202.66

Loss Reduction (%)

Minimum Voltage (p.u)

0.91
(Bus 18)

Case II
202.66
06
2.43

Case III
202.66
13 , 30
0.82 , 1.16

69.52%

85.77%

0.97
(Bus 18)

0.98
(Bus 25)

Optimal Allocation and Sizing of Distributed Generation with Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm for Loss Reduction

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K. Ras Guerriche, T. Bouktir

Fig. 2

Voltage profile of the scenario I at the different cases

To evaluate and prove the effectiveness of the proposed PSO Algorithm we compare the
results obtained by this technique using the IEEE 33-BUS system with those obtained in
[29],[30]. The table.2 shows the DG units optimal location, sizing and the total power losses
of the system.
TABLE II.RESULTS AND COMPARISON
Case II

Case III

Approach

Proposed PSO

[29]

Proposed PSO

[30]

Optimal DG location

13 , 30

6,8

Optimal DG Size (MW)

2.43

2.28

0.82 , 1.16

1.72, 0.84

Total power loss (kW)

61.77

63.26

28.83

55.67

The table.2 reveals that the proposed PSO algorithm could gain better results compared to
[29],[30] approaches in real power loss reduction so the voltage profile improvement too, by
reducing the real power losses from 202.6 kW to 61.77 kW and 28.83kW.
TABLE III SUMMARY OF SCENARIO II RESULTS FOR SINGLE DG UNIT
Light Load

Normal Load

Heavy Load

Initial power Losses (kW)

46.8

202.66

497.12

Optimal DG location

Optimal DG size (MW)

1.22

2.43

3.69

Total power losses (kW)

14.96

61.77

142.78

Further study to the proposed PSO when the system is under different loads levels. The light
load (50% from the full load) and heavy load (150% from the full load) in order to see how the
DGs Units can react with the load variation. Moreover the optimum size and location of DGs
units for the voltage profile improvement and active power reduction using the proposed
approach in the different load levels are illustrated below:

K. Ras Guerriche , T. Bouktir

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K. Ras Guerriche , T. Bouktir

TABLE IV SUMMARY OF SCENARIO II

RESULTS FOR TWO DGS UNITS

Light Load

Normal Load

Heavy Load

Initial power Losses (kW)

46.8

202.66

497.12

Optimal DG location

13 , 30

13 , 30

13 , 30

Optimal DG size (MW)

0.41 , 0.56

0.82 , 1.16

1.25 , 1.69

Total power losses (kW)

7.03

28.83

65.36

From Tables.3 and 4, for the different levels loads the DGs size is change simultaneously
with the load levels (preserve the same place of the DG units).
Moreover the voltage profile of feeder system due to different load levels are varying in
matching to the load levels as illustrated in Figure.3 and 4.

Fig. 3 Voltage profile of the scenario II for a single DG unit

Fig. 4 Voltage profile of the scenario II for tow DG units

Optimal Allocation and Sizing of Distributed Generation with Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm for Loss Reduction

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K. Ras Guerriche, T. Bouktir

V.

CONCLUSION

A particle swarm optimization approach is proposed in this paper to solve the DGs units
allocation and sizing problem. Comparing the proposed approach to other optimization
algorithms, showed an improved performance and better results. The proposed PSO was
applied to the IEEE 33-Bus system radial distribution system. Based on the results the
proposed algorithm has the capability to provide the optimal placements and sizes for the DGs
units. Moreover, the results illustrate the efficiency of this approach for the voltage profile
improvement and power losses reduction.
In order to better evaluate the robustness of this approach we should be tested in larger
distribution systems.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The author thanks Prof. Tarek Bouktir and all members of his SMART GRID team.
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