Optimal Reactive Power Dispatch by Particle Swarm Optimization

Due to nonlinear and discontinuous functions, discrete and continuous variables and discontinuous constraints, optimal dispatch of reactive power is a complex problem. Moreover, because of multiple local minima, solving this problem by various types of optimization techniques such as analytic methods and stochastic search methods is difficult. PSO algorithm is one of the newest search algorithms that in this paper is used for solving optimal dispatch of reactive power problem. Comparing results from applying PSO algorithm and genetic algorithm on modified IEEE 14 bus system shows the effectiveness and superiority of PSO in rate of convergence and quality of response.