Power distribution network reconfiguration based on min-cost flow problem

In this paper a network reconfiguration model aimed to be used in an industrial context is presented. It is based on a min-cost flow problem (MCFP) and a simplified power flow calculation. Mixed Integer Quadratic Constrained Programming (MIQCP) and Mixed Integer Non linear Programming (MINLP) are used and compared to compute the network reconfiguration with off-the-shelf optimization solvers. Two test cases are presented, a small academic network and a real case study. The paper shows experimentally that simplification on model level can be more efficient than simplification on the solving level for real world problems.