A survey on different techniques for distribution network reconfiguration

The main objective of electric utilities nowadays is reliability in distribution and customer service quality at a low operating cost. In this regard, automation in distribution systems has become more important in recent days. The process of feeder reconfiguration (FRC), is automated by utilizing real-time operation and control methods. The topology of the distribution network (DN) changes by opening or closing positions of the tie & sectionalizing switches. Transformation of the switch states makes the power flow in the DN for better system performance. An optimum installation of distribution generators (DGs) with properly reconfigured network may minimize system power loss with a better voltage profile. Different types of methods and algorithms are considered for network reconfiguration and several multi-objective functions are deemed to get optimum performance of the distribution system (DS) in past research. In this paper, a comprehensive study on the reconfiguration of the network is done to obtain a clear and better idea for further investigation.