A Multicriteria Approach to the Switch Allocation Problem in Power Distribution Networks

• Grant number: 12/18695-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: February 01, 2013
• End date: June 30, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Production Engineering - Operational Research
• Principal Investigator: Christiano Lyra Filho
• Grantee: Fábio Luiz Usberti
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia Elétrica e de Computação (FEEC). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The switch allocation problem in primary power distribution networks has the objective to attain adequate reliability levels for the distribution system, minimizing the allocation costs for the utility. This problem involves complex decisions of multiple factors, such as, the quantity, types, capacities and locations of where to install switches in large scale networks, containing thousands of clients, that are more and more demanding of a reliable service of energy supply. The service continuity is the main parameter of quality in energy supply, and it regards both frequency and duration of the failures in the network. A generalization to the switch allocation problem, proposed in this research project, consists in including reliability as a second objective, in a way that the optimization process obtains a set of efficient solutions that consider the costs and the system reliability, simultaneously. One advantage of this approach consists in its potential to provide a wide range of alternatives, that cover different system reliability policies to be decided by the planning staff of the power distribution utility.