A New Novel Approach for Optimal Capacitor Placement in Radial Distribution Networks using Data Envelopment Analysis

Load flow analysis seeks the initial conditions for power system networks and is crucial for planning, operation, and control. The classical methods of load flow analysis mostly fail to analyze radial distribution networks because of the wide range of network parameters and many more. The present article evaluates and compares the computational efficiency of three load flow models that best suits the radial distribution network. In the second stage, a novel approach is proposed for the optimum placement of capacitors, based on the Data Envelopment Analysis. A common solution methodology is currently unavailable to find the optimum location for capacitor placement. For example, the loss sensitivity index only locates the node for power loss reduction, or the voltage sensitivity index only discerns the node for voltage profile improvement. The novel approach identifies the potential node for capacitors placement, whether for power loss reduction, voltage profile improvement, or other objectives. The capacitors sizes are evaluated using the curve fitting technique. The proposed approach is easy to implement and time-efficient. The technical and economic analysis is carried out on the IEEE-33 bus to show the efficacy of the proposed approach.