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 International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security (IJCSIS),
Vol. 14, No. 11, November 2016

Analysis and Optimization of Radial Distribution

Network Using GIS and GPS Techniques
Alishpa Khattak1 , Amjad Ullah Khattak2 , Zahid Ullah3 , Kinza Ali4 , and Usman Yousaf5
Department of Electrical Engineering, CECOS University, Peshawar, Pakistan1,3
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Engineering & Technology, Peshawar, Pakistan2
Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (FESCO), Pakistan4 , Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO), Pakistan5
Emails: {alishpakhattak921 ,amjad672 }@gmail.com, zahidullah@cecos.edu.pk3 , {kinza 294 ,usm usf5 }@hotmail.com

Abstract—The distribution system provides electric energy to

the consumer end. There is a high energy loss and voltage drop
while supplying energy which affects the overall efficiency and
reliability of the system. To deal with the problem of energy loss
and voltage drop, optimization techniques are used along with
the use of Geographic Information System (GIS) and (Global
Positioning System) GPS technologies. Objective of this research
work is to map the 11 kV feeders with the help of GIS and GPS
techniques and to carry out the load flow analysis in SynerGEE
Electric software. Two 11 kV distribution networks of Faisalabad
Electric Supply Company (FESCO), Pakistan are selected to
perform load flow analysis. A method of bifurcation and load
shifting is used to reduce the annual energy loss and voltage
drop. The results conclude that GIS and GPS techniques provide
high accuracy for mapping of the 11 kV feeders as compared
to the conventional method of handmade drawing of maps. The
results of load flow analysis show that annual energy loss and
voltage drop are significantly reduced with the use of optimization
techniques.
Index Terms—Bifurcation, GPS, GIS, losses, optimization, load
flow analysis.
I. I NTRODUCTION
Electricity is a key of all human activities. A tremendous in-
crease has been seen in the demand of electricity as a result of
increase in population and development of industry. Pakistan’s
energy framework is considered to be underdeveloped. This
causes great problems in the traditional distribution networks
by increasing power losses causing huge voltage drops and re-
ducing power quality and reliability [1]. Considerable amount
of energy is wasted as losses during supplying of electricity
to the consumer end because of inefficient and poor system.
Fig. 1 shows the percentage of transmission and distribution
losses, according to the PEPCO Power Market Survey Report
2012 − 13 [2].
Energy loss occurs during the supply of electricity to the
consumer end. Power failures are experienced by consumers
due to problems in distribution system [3]. As losses are a
major concern, utility companies and consumers have to pay
for it; hence, there is a need to provide optimized solution
to control losses [4] Global positioning pystem (GPS) in
addition with geographic information system (GIS) helps to
cope up with alerting situation. GIS techniques use digital
information with the help of some digitized data creation
methods. Digitization is the most common method of data
Fig. 1. Transmission and distribution losses.
creation in which through the use of a software a hard copy
map or survey plan is transferred into a digital medium [5].
GIS technology helps in fast accurate, and reliable data
management and distribution system planning [6], [7]. Chal-
lenges are faced by distribution utilities because of the rapid
development in technology [8]. Electric distribution system
rehabilitation is considered to be the most complex process
to improve the system reliability and minimize the losses in
the network [9]. As distribution system is the last stage in the
delivery of the power system, it provides a link between the
transmission system and the consumer end [10].
Distribution is considered to be the weakest link in the
power supply chain and in the power sector reforms it is
identified as the key focus area [11]. 80 percent of the
power outages are caused by poor efficiency and reliability of
distribution system. GIS technology can be used to reduce the
losses and for the improvement of energy efficiency through
its contribution in different areas of distribution network [12].
GIS is used to map the electrical distribution network. Previous
practice involves the scale measurement of pole to pole dis-
tance, which is not accurate and time consuming. With the use
of GIS, the exact location of the pole and other equipment can
be extracted and the length measured is accurate. The purpose
of load flow study is to avoid overloading of the network,
minimization of losses and overcome voltage drop issues [13]–
[15]. After the GIS mapping of the network, load profile can
be studied and analysis is done for the rehabilitation of the
distribution network, rectifying imbalances in the network,
load flow analysis in various network segments, and load
rearrangement [16], [17].
GIS is an effective tool for optimal design and choice

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 International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security (IJCSIS),
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of substation location, demand-side management, future load

assessment and planning [12]. GIS provide handy information
with physical locational perception [18]. Due to the growth of
population and residents, the demand of electricity increases
day by day. With the use of GIS technique, the demand growth
pattern can be observed to predict and facilitate the future
needs of electricity [19]. Maintenance and monitoring In the
power sector, GIS plays an important role in maintenance and
monitoring of the distribution system. With the use of GIS,
the entire distribution network can be viewed on a satellite
image with the capability of zooming, re-sizing, and scrolling
the network [20]. To develop and maintain a sustainable
distribution system these technologies are expected to develop
Fig. 2. Existing Aminpur Feeder Emanating from Narwala Grid Station on
a promising platform by digitizing the information regarding Google Earth.
the distribution network [21].
In this paper, we manage distribution transformers with the
help of GIS, which is used used for the complete analysis
of electrical distribution system including low voltage system
and consumer load points. Our analysis concludes that there is
a requirement for suitable power facility controlling methods
and proves that GIS can be effective for taking vital decisions
about the distribution network. In this research work, a sample
substation is selected for the rerouting of the feeders using GIS
based software on the basis of shortest and feasible track. We
use ARCVIEW3.2a to suggest different probable layouts of
shortest and feasible routes.
Rest of the paper is organized as follows: Section II list
the major phases used for the overall mapping of feeders.
Section III discusses modeling and load flow analysis of Fig. 3. Existing Aminpur Feeder Emanating from Narwala Grid Station in
feeders. Section IV provides criteria used for the bifurcation SynerGEE.
of a feeder. Section V discusses optimization of distributed
network by taking three cases. Section VI compares load
profiles, voltage drops, and annual energy loss of the existing • Data processing: After the data entry, the GPS waypoints
and proposed feeders. Section VII concludes the paper and and feeder data is then merged and validated in the GIS
highlights the directions for the future work. application for further processing.
• Data conversion: The merged and validated data is then
II. R ESEARCH M ETHODOLOGY converted into the format which is compatible with the
ArcGIS Software and SynerGEE electric software.
The overall mapping of 11 kV feeders is composed of listed • ArcGIS software: A final map of the feeder is created in
major phases. the ArcGIS software with the feeder details which can be
• Field survey: Garmin GPS 78s device is used to perform further opened in google earth for a better geographical
survey. The projection system used for the survey is view. In google earth a clear view of the feeder and the
Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM), which is not a exact location of the poles and other equipments can be
single map projection. It divides the earth into sixty seen for the purpose of optimization.
zones, each with a six degree band of longitude, and • SynerGEE electric software: SynerGEE Electric soft-
uses a secant transverse Mercator projection in each ware provides very simple interface for users to formulate
zone. The coordinate system on the GPS device must be and analyze reliability of system. Although calculated
selected prior to beginning the survey. Surveyors walk results are complex but it shows in such a way that is
along the feeder and capture the spatial position of the easily manipulated and understandable by users. It is a
pole, transformer, feeder and sub-stations. Along with the software used for the modeling, simulating, and analyzing
GPS device, a survey form is also filled out to note the the power distribution systems. The map of feeder is then
information of the feeder regarding type of pole used, opened in SynerGEE for load flow analysis.
conductor type, equipment type, and its capacity.
III. M ODELING AND L OAD F LOW A NALYSIS
• Data entry: The data collected from the field is then
fed in the GIS application. Step by step data is entered For analysis, two 11 kV feeders−Aminpur and Sandhu both
regarding the poles, conductor, transformer type etc. emanating from 132 kV Narwala grid station, are selected.

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 International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security (IJCSIS),
Vol. 14, No. 11, November 2016

TABLE I
L OAD F LOW A NALYSIS OF A MINPUR F EEDER

Parameters Values
Load 410 A
Apparent power 10220 KVA
Annual energy loss 48.34%
Voltage drop 20.04%
Feeder length 47.6 km

TABLE II
L OAD F LOW A NALYSIS OF S ANDHU F EEDER

Parameters Values
Load 231 A
Apparent power 6665 KVA
Annual energy loss 9.04% Fig. 4. Existing Sandhu feeder emanating from Narwala grid station on
Voltage drop 23% google earth.
Feeder length 53.25 km

Load flow analysis of feeders is carried out in SynerGEE

Electric.

A. Results of Load Flow Analysis of Aminpur Feeder

Load flow analysis of Aminpur feeder is carried out in
SynerGEE Electric. Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 show 11 kV Aminpur
feeder emanating from 132 kV Narwala Road grid station in
google earth and SynerGEE electric software respectively with
a load of 410 A.
The results of load flow analysis are shown in Table I. A
feeder is considered to be of high load feeder when its load
exceeds 350 A. Table I depicts that Aminpur feeder is a high
load feeder along with greater annual energy loss (AEL) and
voltage drop (VD). The total length of this feeder is 47.6 km
with apparent power of 10220 KVA. As this feeder is a high
load and a high loss feeder, so rehabilitation measures are
required for it.
B. Results of Load Flow Analysis of Sandhu Feeder
Load flow analysis of Sandhu feeder is carried out in
SynerGEE electric software. Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 shows 11
kV Sandhu feeder emanating from 132 kV Narwala road
grid station in google earth and SynerGEE electric software
respectively with a load of 231 A. The results of load flow
analysis performed in SynerGEE electric are shown in Table II,
which depicts that it is not a high load feeder but it is a high
loss feeder with appreciable voltage drop with a feeder length
of 53.25 km and apparent power 6665 KVA.
IV. C RITERIA FOR B IFURCATION OF A F EEDER
There are some important points, which need to be consid-
ered for bifurcation of a feeder. The points are given below.
1) High loss feeder: The main criteria for the bifurcation
of a feeder are load and the loss. But in some cases a
lengthy and a lightly loaded feeder can also be a high
loss feeder which needs bifurcation to reduce the voltage
drop, line losses and for reliable power supply to the
consumers.
Fig. 5. Existing Sandhu feeder emanating from Narwala grid station in
SynerGEE.
2) High load feeder: In this regard, the technical parameter
i.e. Annual Energy Loss (AEL) and Voltage Drop (VD)
are within the limits but the feeder is overloaded, so to
avoid unnecessary tripping due to overloading bifurca-
tion is necessary.
3) Load shifting: Bifurcation is also required when a
portion of a feeder is to be shifted on another grid. It
should be shifted in such a way that AEL and VD are
minimized as much as possible.
V. O PTIMIZATION OF D ISTRIBUTION N ETWORK
We consider three cases for the optimization of 11 kV
distribution network after the load flow analysis.
A. Case 1
In this case, Aminpur feeder emanating from 132 kV
Narwala grid is bifurcated at a suitable point so that the
bifurcated and the remaining both feeders are not overloaded.
Fig. 6 shows the bifurcation point of Aminpur feeder, which
is taken from the google map.
1) The proposed Aminpur feeder (283 A): SynerGEE Elec-
tric is used for the bifurcation of Aminpur feeder. The feeder
is loaded in SynerGEE and bifurcated using the “BUILD”
command. The portion with a load of 283 A is shifted on

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 International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security (IJCSIS),
Vol. 14, No. 11, November 2016

Fig. 6. Bifurcation point of Aminpur feeder. Fig. 7. Bifurcation and Load Shifting of Aminpur Feeder.

TABLE III TABLE VI

L OAD F LOW A NALYSIS OF THE PROPOSED A MINPUR F EEDER C OMPARISON OF THE EXISTING , PROPOSED , AND REMAINING A MINPUR
FEEDER IN C ASE 2
Parameters Values
Maximum load 283 A Aminpur Feeder Existing The proposed Remaining
Apparent power 6995 KVA Maximum load (Amps) 410 182 228
Annual energy loss 4.55% Apparent power (KVA) 10220 4545 5675
Voltage drop 9.51% Annual energy Loss (%) 8.34 3.85 3.06
Feeder length 31.865 km Voltage drop (%) 20.04 7.38 4.88
Feeder length (km) 47.6 18.75 30.29
TABLE IV
L OAD F LOW A NALYSIS OF THE REMAINING A MINPUR F EEDER TABLE VII
C OMPARISON OF THE PROPOSED AND EXISTING S ANDHU FEEDER IN
Parameters Values C ASE 3
Maximum load 127 A
Aminpur Feeder Existing The proposed
Apparent power 3225 KVA
Annual energy loss 43.32% Maximum load (Amps) 231 231
Voltage drop 5.07% Apparent power (KVA) 665 665
Feeder length 16.27 km Annual energy Loss (%) 9.04 5.80
Voltage drop (%) 23 15
Feeder length (km) 53.25 53.6
TABLE V
C OMPARISON OF THE EXISTING , PROPOSED , AND REMAINING A MINPUR
FEEDER IN C ASE 1
the proposed nor the remaining feeder. The voltage drop is
Aminpur Feeder Existing The proposed Remaining
also improved.
Maximum load (Amps) 410 283 127
Apparent power (KVA) 10220 6995 3225
B. Case 2
Annual energy Loss (%) 8.34 4.55 3.32
Voltage drop (%) 20.04 9.51 5.07 In this case, the Aminpur feeder is bifurcated in such a
Feeder length (km) 47.6 31.865 16.27 way that the load on the proposed feeder is 182 A and on the
remaining feeder is 228 A. Fig. 7 shows the bifurcation point
of the feeder and some of the portion is disconnected from
the new proposed Aminpur grid with a new line of osprey of one end and reconnected to another T-off with the addition of
0.6132 km and a 500 MCM cable of 0.144 km. new line of rabbit of 1.02 km on the remaining feeder having
2) Load flow analysis of the proposed Aminpur feeder: load 228 A.
Load flow analysis of the proposed Aminpur feeder is carried 1) Comparison of load flow results of the existing, pro-
out after the bifurcation and shifting the load on a new grid. posed, and remaining Aminpur feeder: Table VI shows a
The results of load flow analysis are shown in Table III, which comparison of the existing, proposed, and remaining Aminpur
shows that %AEL and %VD are significantly reduced. feeder. After bifurcation, none of the feeder is overloaded or
3) Remaining Aminpur feeder (127 A): Load flow analysis high loss neither the proposed nor the remaining feeder. The
of the remaining Aminpur feeder emanating from Narwala voltage drop is also improved.
Grid station is carried out and is given in Table IV, which
indicates that %AEL and %VD are considerably reduced. C. Case 3
4) Comparison of the existing, proposed, and remaining In this case, the Sandhu feeder is not an overloaded feeder,
Aminpur feeder: Table V gives a clear comparison of the so bifurcation is not required. Complete feeder with a load of
existing, proposed, and remaining Aminpur feeder. After bifur- 231 A is shifted from the Narwala grid station to the proposed
cation, none of the feeder is overloaded or high loss neither grid station with a 500 MCM cable of length 0.0059 km and

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 International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security (IJCSIS),
Vol. 14, No. 11, November 2016

Fig. 9. Load profile comparison.

Fig. 8. Load Shifting of Sandhu feeder on google earth.

a new line of osprey with a length of 0.4671 km. Fig. 8 shows

the shifting of Sandhu feeder on google earth after the load
flow analysis.
1) Comparison of the proposed and existing Sandhu feeder:
Table VII shows comparison of the existing and proposed Fig. 10. Voltage drop comparison.
Sandhu feeder. After the load shifting of the Sandhu feeder
from Narwala grid station to the proposed grid station, it shows
that the %AEL and %VD are reduced.

VI. C OMPARISON OF THE LOAD PROFILE , VOLTAGE DROP,

AND ANNUAL ENERGY LOSS

A. Load profile comparison

With the increase of load, loss is also increased correspond-
ingly in a distribution network. In order to decrease the loss,
current should be decreased. As explained earlier, if a feeder
is a high load feeder, it can be bifurcated to optimize the
load. Fig. 9 clearly proves that after bifurcation of the existing
feeder, the load is divided and thus reduced. Case 1 and Case
2 are the case studies of the bifurcation of Aminpur feeder.
B. Voltage drop comparison
There are two main reasons of voltage drop in a distribution
network; the current flowing through the network and the
impedance of the electrical distribution network. Increase in
voltage drop occurs with the increase in either current or
impedance of the network [22]. The voltage drop comparison
in Fig. 10 shows that the %VD is reduced after the optimiza-
tion of the distribution network. It is clear from Fig. 10 that
instead of having a single feeder with high %VD, it can be
bifurcated into two feeders to get reduced %VD as bifurcation
of the feeder results in the reduction of current on individual
feeder.
C. Annual energy loss comparison
The bar graph in Fig. 11 depicts that the %AEL is signif-
icantly reduced after the bifurcation and load shifting of the
feeders. Case 1 and Case 2 show the comparison of %AEL
of Aminpur feeder in which the %AEL is less than 5% while
Case 3 shows the %AEL comparison of the load shifting of
Sandhu feeder on the proposed grid which is 5.80%. It can
Fig. 11. Annual energy loss comparison.
further be reduced by applying other optimization techniques
for example recondoctoring of the under sized conductors.
VII. C ONCLUSIONS AND F UTURE WORK
In this research work, radial distribution network is mapped
using GIS and GPS techniques that provides high accuracy as
compared to the previous practice, which includes handmade
drawing and mostly manual work. Bifurcation and load shift-
ing techniques are used for the optimization of the network and
its impact on the voltage drop, load profile, and annual energy
loss is observed. Two 11 kV feeders are selected for analysis,
out of which one is a high load and high loss feeder and the
other is high loss feeder only. The results clearly show that the
voltage drop and annual energy loss are reduced. Furthermore,
a single feeder can be optimized in different ways to select
the best optimal method, which can be beneficial for the
distribution network.
This research work can be further extended to analyze the
feeder using other optimization techniques like reconductoring
and area planning. In this research GIS and GPS techniques
are only applied to the High Tension) side of the network;
it can be used for the Low Tension side as well to improve

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 International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security (IJCSIS),
Vol. 14, No. 11, November 2016
the efficiency of overall distribution network. This technique
can also be used for analysis like power quality management
(harmonic analysis), fault analysis, contingency analysis, and
load forecasting to benefit the utilities.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers
for their valuable suggestions.
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