Hybrid Big Bang - Big Crunch Algorithm for Optimal Reactive Power Dispatch by Loss and Voltage Deviation Minimization

Power system voltage security is improved by optimizing reactive power dispatch (ORPD). ORPD problem is a multi-constrained, multi-objective problem involving both continuous and discrete control variables. An efficient optimization technique is needed for handling such a challenging objective function. Generator bus voltages, transformer tap positions and shunt Var compensator settings are the design variables in optimizing reactive power. ORPD problem is attacked by intelligent algorithms in recent years. In this work, the newly proposed, Big Bang–Big Crunch algorithm is suggested for reactive power optimization problem due to its simplicity and better convergence behavior. This algorithm is efficient in local search but sometimes global searching behavior is not sufficient. The global searching ability of particle swarm optimization (PSO) is adopted to enhance the BB-BC algorithm. The resultant is a hybrid BB-BC algorithm, the HBB-BC algorithm. The efficiency of the HBB-BC algorithm is tested on the standard IEEE-30 bus system for ORPD. The results are compared with that of basic BB-BC algorithm. The improved results encourage implementing this hybrid algorithm for different power system optimizations.