Reactive power optimization using evolutionary techniques: Differential Evolution and Particle Swarm

This paper presents the comparative application of two evolutionary algorithms: Differential Evolution (DE) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) to the solution of reduction of the system losses and improvement of the system voltage profile by obtaining an efficient distribution of reactive power in an electric network and by handling voltage control problem. It can be achieved by varying the excitation of generators or the on-load tap changer positions of transformers. The feasibility, effectiveness and generic nature of both DE and PSO approaches investigated are exemplarily demonstrated on the IEEE 30 bus system. Comparisons were made between the two approaches in terms of the solution quality and convergence characteristics.