A Simple and Fast Heuristic Approach for the Reconfiguration of Radial Distribution Networks

This letter proposes a two-stage heuristic approach to reconfigure a radial distribution network in the least possible computational time. All the network switches are closed in the initial stage of the operation, and a sequential switch opening strategy is suggested to obtain a near-optimal radial configuration. In the subsequent stage, a pair of switches is selected from the radial network to exchange its ON/OFF status. A mathematical model, using bus injection to branch current matrix, is developed to choose a pair of switches with an objective to reduce the power loss in the network after each exchange operation. The proposed approach is tested on 33-bus, 69-bus, 84-bus, 136-bus, and 417-bus distribution networks, and the results confirm that the suggested methodology helps in achieving the best configuration of the radial distribution networks in a significantly low run-time.