Optimal Shunt Capacitors Placement and Sizing in Radial Distribution Systems Using Multiverse Optimizer

This article presents a new approach for solving the radial distribution systems optimal shunt capacitorsx2019; placement and sizing problem. The approach modifies and partially uses the conventional loss sensitivity factors (LSFs) and MATLABx2019;s <italic>ismember</italic> and <italic>any</italic> commands to reduce the search space of optimal buses that require shunt capacitor placement. Afterward, the multiverse optimizer (MVO) is used to do a concurrent search of the most optimal buses and the corresponding capacitor sizes. To evaluate the effectiveness of the developed approach, simulations have been carried out on the 10-, 33-, and 69-bus radial distribution systems. For all the test systems, the simulation results show that the developed approach gives results as good as those obtained when a search for the most optimal buses is carried out in unreduced search spaces, hence making the approach effective in reducing the computation time and maintaining the much-needed accuracy. Finally, the performance of the MVO has been compared against the other 11 different optimization algorithms, and in all instances, its performance has been outstanding.