Contents I. Introduction
Planning of distribution systems can be described as the selection of a system configuration, or a sequence of system configurations for successive years, which allows meeting the requirements of the load, while taking into account its future growth. The solution can be made optimal with respect to a set of objectives by using different optimization techniques. The system can be optimized for the load expected in the last year of the planning horizon. This approach, normally referred to as “static planning,” requires a huge concentrated investment. Today, such big investments are prohibitive for distribution companies, subjected to more and more stringent economical constraints. Smaller, and less costly, improvements on a yearly basis, or every few years, can instead be planned by using a dynamic approach, in which static optimizations are performed for selected years in the planning horizon, and then the lowest-cost strategy for the transition from one optimal solution to another is found.
