Optimal reactive power dispatch by particle swarm optimization with an aging leader and challengers

•ORPD is a non-linear constrained optimization problem.•ALC-PSO algorithm is applied for the solution ORPD problem of power systems.•ORPD problem is formulated for real power loss and voltage deviation minimization.•The study is implemented on IEEE 30-, 57- and 118-bus test power systems.•The results presented demonstrate the potential of the proposed approach.

This study presents a particle swarm optimization (PSO) with an aging leader and challengers (ALC-PSO) for the solution of optimal reactive power dispatch (ORPD) problem. The ORPD problem is formulated as a nonlinear constrained single-objective optimization problem where the real power loss and the total voltage deviations are to be minimized separately. In order to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm, it has been implemented on IEEE 30-, 57- and 118-bus test power systems and the optimal results obtained are compared with those of the other evolutionary optimization techniques surfaced in the recent state-of-the-art literature. The results presented in this paper demonstrate the potential of the proposed approach and show its effectiveness and robustness for solving the ORPD problem of power system.

Graphical abstractApplication of ALC-PSO algorithm for solution of ORPD problem.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide