A heuristic nonlinear constructive method for distribution system reconfiguration

This reconfiguration algorithm starts with all operable switches open, and at each step, closes the switch that results in the least increase in the objective function. The objective function is defined as incremental losses divided by incremental load served. A simplified loss formula is used to screen candidate switches, but a full load flow after each actual switch closing maintains accurate loss and constraint information. A backtracking option mitigates the algorithm's greedy search. This algorithm takes more computer time than other methods, but it models constraints and control action more accurately. A network load flow is used to provide a lower bound on the losses. The paper includes results on several test systems used by other authors.