Optimal Coordinated Allocation of Distributed Generation Units/ Capacitor Banks/ Voltage Regulators by EGWA

Enhancing the distribution systems performance is an important target for system operators. This article proposes an enhanced grey wolf algorithm (EGWA) for allocating the distributed generation units (DGUs) which is coordinated with the capacitor banks (CBs) and the voltage regulators (VRs) to achieve the target. Diversified tasks aim at minimizing the investment expenses of the coordinated equipment, and maximizing the benefits resulted from power losses reduction and the purchased power from the grid. In the technical direction, it is investigated through ameliorating the voltage profile and the loading capacity. Also, the loading variations are incorporated via light, shoulder, and peak levels of demand. A dynamic adaptation mechanism is used for updating the control parameters of the GWA. The proposed EGWA is employed for solving the optimal allocation problem (OAP) for two Egyptian distribution systems. Simulation results declare the proposed EGWA capability for solving the coordinated allocation of CBs, DGUs, and VRs. Great reduction of power losses is achieved with high improvement of the minimum voltage and loading capacity. Also, a comparative and statistical analysis is executed for the application of the proposed EGWA with different optimization techniques, which derives superior capabilities of the proposed EGWA over the others in the literature.