Remodelling of an Electric Distribution Network Through Optimal Placement of Auto-Reclosers to Enhance System Reliability and Efficiency

The demand for an efficient and reliable electric distribution network (EDN) has drawn the attention of the utilities to invest more in protective switchgears like auto-reclosers (ARC). These devices can drastically enhance system performance and reduce the impact of faults on the electric distribution system and guarantee reliable power delivery for the end consumers. The installed ARCs in a system work in a particular coordination with all other protective devices to minimize the effect of failures on the system customers. Remodelling such ARC-incorporated systems to achieve certain desired objectives (such as nodal voltage level enhancement and line loss minimization) may disrupt their coordination and result in malfunctioning of the ARCs. To mitigate this concern, the article proposes a novel methodology where prior to ARC allocation in an existing EDN, a network configuration is detected which operates at minimum line losses (or high efficiency). The efficient topology so obtained is then considered for the optimal placement of ARCs. Application of this composite methodology in an existing EDN looking for ARC allocation can ameliorate system reliability and efficiency at the same time. The impact of power outages due to failures on different types of loads is also considered in this study. This approach is assisted by a new metaheuristic hybrid of Krill Herd algorithm, sine cosine algorithm and the binomial crossover operator of differential evolution. The proposed methodology is examined on the IEEE 69-bus test system. The credibility of the proposed framework is manifested in the obtained simulation results.