Reliability Improvement Based Reconfiguration of Distribution Networks via Social Network Search Algorithm

Power system's reliability is a decisive operational characteristic for distribution companies. Three key measures are considered for this intent. These measures are the system average interruption unavailability index, average interruption frequency index and total energy not supplied that are denoted SAIUI, SAIFI and TENS, respectively. In this research, a novel optimization approach based on social network search (SNS) is used for reconfiguration the distribution networks to enhance reliability. It is inspired by the social networking sites where people behave with different attitudes of emulation, dialogue, argumentation, and innovation. It is developed in a multi-objective framework using weighting attributes, considering the SAIFI, SAIUI, and TENS at the same time. The suggested approach is accomplished on an IEEE 69-node distribution system using the SNS optimizer. The computational findings show that the SAIFI, SAIUI, and TENS are enhanced by 23.9%, 27.63%, and 27.66%, respectively, as contrasted to the initial status. In addition to the SNS technique, the grey wolf optimizer (GWO) and tunicate swarm approach (TSA) are incorporated for comparative reasons. The simulated research findings show that the SNS algorithm outperforms the GWO and TSA algorithms in respect of achieved efficiencies and convergence features.