Application of a hybrid evolutionary algorithm on reactive power compensation problem of distribution network

Development of evolutionary optimization algorithms has provided more capability for enhancement of power system performance. To improve the performance of these algorithms, the combination of them can be a suitable option. This paper has proposed a hybrid algorithm based on combination of particle swarm optimization (PSO) and electromagnetic-like (EM) algorithms. The proposed algorithm covers the problems of trapping in local optimum problem of PSO and low convergence rate of EM. The optimal capacitor siting and sizing in distribution networks as the one of important problems of power system operators have been studied for validation of proposed algorithm performance. A comprehensive comparison has been carried out between proposed and other popular evolutionary algorithms. The results show that proposed algorithm has better performance for increasing the net saving value as the optimization objective function. Two well-known test systems of IEEE 34-bus and IEEE 85-bus power distribution networks have selected for these investigations.