996 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER SYSTEMS, VOL. 19, NO.

2, MAY 2004

Ant Colony System Algorithm for the Planning of

Primary Distribution Circuits
J. F. Gómez, H. M. Khodr, Member, IEEE, P. M. De Oliveira, L. Ocque, J. M. Yusta, Member, IEEE,
R. Villasana, Senior Member, IEEE, and A. J. Urdaneta, Senior Member, IEEE

Abstract—The planning problem of electrical power distribu- Set of frontier nodes of the growing grid.
tion networks, stated as a mixed nonlinear integer optimization Set of nodes left to be fed, with a proposed path di-
problem, is solved using the ant colony system algorithm (ACS). rectly connected to the frontier nodes of the growing
The behavior of real ants has inspired the development of the ACS
algorithm, an improved version of the ant system (AS) algorithm, grid.
which reproduces the technique used by ants to construct their Pheromone accumulation factor.
food recollection routes from their nest, and where a set of arti- Arc length (in kilometers).
ficial ants cooperate to find the best solution through the inter- Loss factor: average losses between maximum
change of the information contained in the pheromone deposits of losses.
the different trajectories. This metaheuristic approach has proven
to be very robust when applied to global optimization problems Objective function value of the best network that has
of a combinatorial nature, such as the traveling salesman and the been found at that point of the algorithm.
quadratic assignment problem, and is favorably compared to other Objective function value of grid constructed by ant
solution approaches such as genetic algorithms (GAs) and simu- colony .
lated annealing techniques. In this work, the ACS methodology Number of ant colonies.
is coupled with a conventional distribution system load-flow algo-
rithm and adapted to solve the primary distribution system plan- Total number of nodes associated to the distribution
ning problem. The application of the proposed methodology to two system.
real cases is presented: a 34.5-kV system with 23 nodes from the oil Set of nodes associated to existing substations.
industry and a more complex 10-kV electrical distribution system Set of nodes associated to proposed substations.
with 201 nodes that feeds an urban area. The performance of the Probability that an ant colony , located at a set of
proposed approach outstands positively when compared to GAs,
obtaining improved results with significant reductions in the solu- frontier nodes chooses to move to node .
tion time. The technique is shown as a flexible and powerful tool Random number with uniform probability distribu-
for the distribution system planning engineers. tion between zero and one (0-1).
Index Terms—Circuit optimization, optimization methods, Real variable that determines the relative importance
power distribution planning. of the exploitation over the exploration
.
Random variable defined by probability distribution
NOMENCLATURE .
Conductor type subindex. Apparent power (in kilovolt-amperes) transported
Substation size index. by route .
Set of conductor types. Apparent power (in kilovolt-amperes) provided by
Set of substation sizes. substation .
Fixed cost coefficient of a proposed line in route . Maximum capacity (in kilovolt-amperes) of circuit
Fixed cost coefficient of substation at node . in route .
Variable cost coefficient of a line in route . Maximum capacity (in kilovolt-amperes) of substa-
Variable-cost coefficient of substation at node . tion located at node .
Maximum apparent power demand at node . Calculated voltage at node (in kilovolt-amperes).
Subindex for “existent” circuit or substation. Nominal voltage.
Subindex for “proposed” circuit or substation. Binary decision variable associated to the installa-
Set of routes associated to existent lines. tion of a circuit of size in route .
Set of proposed routes for the construction of future Binary decision variable associated to the installa-
lines. tion of a substation of size in route .
Route subindex between nodes and . Decay rate of the pheromone level due to evapora-
tion.
Manuscript received July 7, 2003. Parameter that determines the relative importance
J. F. Gómez, H. M. Khodr, P. M. De Oliveira, L. Ocque, R. Villasana, and A. of the pheromone level and the heuristic search
J. Urdaneta are with the Universidad Simón Bolívar, Caracas 1062, Venezuela function .
(e-mail: alberto@usb.ve).
J. M. Yusta is with the Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza 50015, Spain. , Maximum and minimum allowed operation volt-
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TPWRS.2004.825867 ages.
0885-8950/04$20.00 © 2004 IEEE

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GÓMEZ et al.: ANT COLONY SYSTEM ALGORITHM FOR THE PLANNING OF PRIMARY DISTRIBUTION CIRCUITS
Heuristic search function
Pheromone level.
I. INTRODUCTION
T HIS paper is organized in six sections: containing an in-
troduction, the statement of the planning problem of pri-
mary distribution circuits, the description of the proposed ant
colony system methodology with emphasis in the differences
with the ant system algorithm, the description of the results ob-
tained with the application of the methodology to a test case, and
its comparison with the results obtained by a genetic-algorithm
(GA) approach, and the conclusions derived from the developed
work.
Projecting a distribution network minimizing the installation
and operation costs is a complicated task, due to the high number
of technically feasible alternatives, leading to the use of mathe-
matical optimization tools, which could result in important sav-
ings for the electric utilities due to the magnitude of the required
investments.
The selected project must satisfy the electric demands with
acceptable reliability levels, at a minimum cost, taking into ac-
count the power transportation limits of distribution lines and
substations, the maximum and minimum allowed voltage levels
at the nodes of the grid, and the radial structure of the network
during operation [1]–[4].
In general, the planning problem of distribution networks
may be stated as an optimization problem, so that for a
given geographical area or region with a set of load demands
previously estimated, the characteristics of the network are de-
termined, including the location of the transformation centers,
required for the load supply, minimizing the total installation
and operation costs, subject to the technical requirements for a
satisfactory operation of the system, such as voltage levels and
transportation capacities of the elements of the system.
A complete survey of the proposed techniques for the solution
of the planning problem of primary distribution circuits can be
found in [5] and [6].
Initially, the proposed methods were mainly based upon the
generation and evaluation of possible solutions, oriented to
small size problems, and requiring important efforts for the
production of the alternatives to be evaluated. Among these
the heuristic zone valuation and the generation of service areas
methods may be mentioned. They rely completely upon the
experience of the planning engineer and have the disadvantage
that the best alternative may not be considered.
The planning problem of primary distribution networks has
been basically stated as a classical mixed integer linear pro-
gramming problem, where an objective function that includes
both the investment and the operation costs of the network, is
minimized subject to technical constraints related with the char-
acteristics of the electric service [7]. This formulation includes
binary variables linked to the fixed costs associated to some of
the decision variables as well as linear approximations to repre-
sent the variable costs.
Stated as such, the classical branch-and-bound techniques [7]
have a natural application. Although the continuous research
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997
and improvement of these techniques keeps them as an alter-
native always to be considered, the linear approximations as
well as the combinatorial complexity of the problem question
their application to electric systems of real dimensions due to
the requirements of excessive computing resources. This is the
main reason for the application of alternative approaches, such
as those classified as metaheuristic methods that are able to lo-
cate good solutions with reduced computational effort.
In order to reduce the computation requirements of the
branch-and-bound optimization technique, the identification of
the set of variables that affect most of the results was proposed
in order to reduce the complexity of the mathematical model
[6]; however, a linear approximation of the variable costs
is required and excessive solution times are reported as the
number of binary variables increases.
Heuristic search methods have been developed [7], [8],
showing faster performance than the conventional optimization
techniques but with some limitations in the goodness of the
solutions to the problem that are obtained.
In [10], an open-loop planning procedure is proposed where
an expert system based upon the use of geographical informa-
tion is applied to automate the selection of the primary and sec-
ondary circuit routes.
GAs have also been applied to the solution of this problem,
reducing the solution time and enhancing the obtained results
[5], [8], [11]–[13]. In [12], a solution methodology based upon
a GA is proposed for the design of primary distribution circuits
considering multiple system expansion stages, where a special
coding procedure is proposed to reduce the number of unfeasible
solutions evaluated by the algorithm. These methodologies have
been improved significantly. An evolutionary programming
algorithm is presented in [15], considering the uncertainties
of the possible scenarios. In [6] and [14], the potential of
the GAs is shown in comparison with classical optimization
techniques, to solve the planning problem in a very complete
and detailed formulation, considering the nonlinearity of the
cost function, the limits on the voltage magnitudes, and a term
in the objective function to take into account the reliability of
the system, reporting significant improvements in the solution
times. An integer variable coding scheme was used to facilitate
the consideration of different conductor sizes and substation
sizes; also, new genetic operators were proposed to improve the
performance of the algorithm. In [6], the approach is expanded
to consider multiple development stages as well as multiple
objectives. In [21], an evolutionary approach is applied to the
design of a medium voltage network of a real city, using a
very detailed model of the network.
Ant system (AS) algorithms have been applied successfully to
different optimization problems such as the traveling salesman
and the quadratic assignment problems [16]. Ants are members
of a family of social insects, which live in organized colonies.
Some are capable of finding the way in very complex mazes
and use this ability to establish food recollection roots from the
nest. Even though their individual learning capabilities are very
limited, the complexity of the organization of the colony allows
a very efficient communication, based upon tactile and chemical
media. During their expeditions in search of food sources, they
998
liberate chemical secretions or pheromones to mark the paths
that have been used, guiding in this way, the new explorers to
the food sources. The shortest paths will tend to have a higher
magnitude of the pheromone deposits and, therefore, will be
preferred by the explorers.
The ant colony system (ACS) algorithm is an improvement of
the AS algorithm–more robust, faster, and with a better proba-
bility of achieving the global solution; its performance for the
solution of classical optimization problems is favorably com-
pared with GAs and simulated annealing techniques [17].
In this work, the ACS algorithm is adapted to the solution of
the optimal planning problem of primary distribution circuits
for a given maximum load condition, using a distribution system
ac load-flow solution module. The technique is applied to two
test cases taken from the literature [6], [14], [18]. The article is
devoted to the solution of the single-stage planning problem,
where an existent network is expanded in a planning period,
although the long-term dynamics of the loads due to changes
in the land use, to the effect of population fluctuations, as
well as the changes in the available technology, among other
factors may also be considered by the proposed methodology.
The results reflect an interesting potential of this metaheuristic
approach and encourage further research on the topic.
II. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The problem may be stated as an optimization problem as
follows:
Minimize an objective function representing the fixed costs
correspondent to the investment in lines and substations and
the variable costs associated to the operation of the system, ex-
pressed by the following equation:
(1)
Subject to the following constraints:
A) Energy balance constraint at all the system nodes
(2)
B) Capacities of the distribution circuits
i) Proposed circuits
(3)
ii) Existing circuits
(4)
C) Capacities of the substations
i) Proposed substations
(5)
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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER SYSTEMS, VOL. 19, NO. 2, MAY 2004
ii) Existent substations:
(6)
D) Limits on the node voltage magnitudes
The distribution system load-flow algorithm pro-
posed in [19] as presented in [1] was used for the
evaluation of the behavior of the network; however, it
is clear that other techniques could be used instead.
Once the node voltages have been calculated, the
following expression is used for the evaluation of the
correspondent constraint:
(7)
E) Radial network restriction
The radial characteristic of the network is enforced
by the proposed branch selection approach described
in Section III-E-III.
III. PROPOSED METHODOLOGY
The three layer mini-max solution scheme extended for the
consideration of multiple perturbations illustrated by Fig. 1 was
applied [20], where system experts select a number of relevant
scenarios or perturbations at the top layer. These selected sce-
narios are used at the intermediate layer or optimization level,
for the statement of the optimization problem, which is solved
using the output information of the lower layer or simulation
level, consisting of a distribution system load-flow program.
The ACS algorithm was adapted for the specific problem and
used at the optimization layer.
A. ACS Algorithm
The ACS algorithm represents an improvement with re-
spect to the AS or ant colony algorithms, which are a type of
black-box optimization approaches that aim to maximize an
objective function, subject to a set of nonlinear constraints [16].
Ant colony algorithms or AS are based in the behavior of
these insects with exceptional abilities to find the shortest paths
to their food sources without visual help, using a chemical sub-
stance called pheromone that is deposited as they walk, to mark
their trailways as they walk.
Initially, a group of individuals explores the surface without
a predetermined direction. After food is found, the individuals
go back to the colony. As all of the individuals travel approx-
imately at the same speed, the shortest paths have a tendency
to contain a higher level of pheromone because more individ-
uals have used them. After a short time period, the differences
among the pheromone deposits in the routes are big enough to
influence the decision of the new individuals, which will decide
toward the shortest paths, producing a feedback to the system
that contributes and promotes the use of the best paths.
B. Mathematical Formulation of the ACS Algorithm
AS basically use two functions to guide the search toward the
optimal solution of the problem.
1) a function which is proportional to the amount of
pheromone deposited;
GÓMEZ et al.: ANT COLONY SYSTEM ALGORITHM FOR THE PLANNING OF PRIMARY DISTRIBUTION CIRCUITS
Fig. 1. Proposed methodology.
2) a heuristic guide function , also referred to as the incre-
mental cost function and generally defined as the inverse
of the distance, which constitutes an auxiliary function
that helps to generate better grids.
The proposed algorithm works as follows: initially, a random
level of pheromone is deposited in each branch of the initial
grid. Then, a number of ants accomplishes independent explo-
rations through the different branches of the grid, guided by
the heuristic guide function and by the amount of pheromone
deposited in the branches, according to probabilistic transition
rules, until all of the load nodes are fed, completing an expedi-
tion of that ant colony.
The probabilistic transition rule used in the ant systems [16],
[17], is called proportional random rule, given by (11), defines
the probability that ants of colony located at a set of frontier
nodes choose to move toward node
if
in any other case.
(9)
After a predetermined number of sets of independent
expeditions or ant colonies are performed, the pheromone levels
are updated.
A local pheromone revision rule is implemented to vary the
pheromone deposits. A fraction of the pheromone evaporates,
and it is assumed that each ant colony contributes to increase
the level of pheromone of the transited paths in proportion to
the total cost of the resultant grid.
AS use also a global pheromone revision rule to simulate the
effect of the addition of new deposits by the ant colonies that
transit through the net, as well as the evaporation phenomena;
the pheromone of each of the paths is updated considering the
grids that were constructed by all of the ant colonies, as follows
[16]: (see (10) and (11) at the bottom of the page) where is
the total cost of the grid constructed by ant colony .
if
in any other case.
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999
The pheromone plays the role of the long-term memory, of the
ant colonies, being distributed in the different paths of the net-
work, allowing indirect communication between the different
ant colonies.
C. Advances of the ACS With Respect to the AS
The ACS incorporates three main differences with respect to
the AS algorithm:
i) A new proportional pseudo-random transition rule, that
weights the priorities of the exploration of new paths with
the use of the accumulated knowledge of the problem, in
order to improve the selection of the “best route.”
In the ACS algorithm, an ant positioned at node ,
selects the branch to transit to node according to the
following rule: (see (12) at the bottom of the page).
When a particular ant is positioned in node , a random
number is generated . If , then
the best branch is selected, this means that exploitation
was the decisive factor, while in the opposite case, the se-
lection of the route is performed according to the proba-
bilistic transition rule given by (11).
ii) The global pheromone level revision rule is applied only
to those branches that belong to the best networks found
so far.
Pheromone is deposited only in those branches that
belong to the best network. This change aims to make
a more direct search, orienting the explorations toward
the best one found so far. This modification is somehow
similar to the elite strategies of the genetic algorithms or
evolutionary programming approaches.
The pheromone level is updated as follows:
(13)
if best network found
otherwise.
(14)
iii) A local pheromone level revision rule in which these
levels are updated during the route generation process
(15)
where is the minimum pheromone level.
(10)
grid found by ant colony (11)
if (12)
otherwise.
1000 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER SYSTEMS, VOL. 19, NO. 2, MAY 2004

In [16], three different approaches were tested for this rule:

Q-learning, Ant-Q, and this one, reporting better results for the
latter two approaches, recommending the application of the rule
described by (17), due to its simplicity.

D. Simplified Flowchart of the ACS Algorithm

A simplified flowchart of the algorithm is presented in Fig. 2
to illustrate the proposed methodology.

E. Application of the ACS Algorithm to the Planning of

Distribution Systems
The application of the ACS algorithm to the planning of distri-
bution systems requires the definition of the objective function
to be maximized, as well as a heuristic guide function.
1) Objective Function: The objective function of the
problem was defined as the inverse of the total costs, as defined
in Section II, considering the equipment costs and the operation
losses required for each alternative, which are calculated with
the available information from the load flow.
2) Heuristic Guide Function: The heuristic guide function
plays a preponderant role during the first stages of the opti-
mization process due to the fact that it allows the generation of
low-cost networks with a good voltage behavior. However, as
the algorithm evolves, the level of pheromone accumulated in
the branches rises, and the decision of which branch to take is
less dependent on the heuristic function.
In the AS algorithm, the heuristic guide function is defined
as the inverse of the length, giving in this way preference to the
selection of the shortest paths.
In this particular application of the ACS algorithm to the dis-
tribution system planning problem, the following variables were
included in the heuristic guide function: the length, the incre-
mental cost of the network, and the magnitude of the load at the
end of the path. It was defined as the weighted sum of two terms.
The first term is related with the kilovolt-amperes (kVA)
times the length, given in (kVA.m) and the second term with
the incremental cost of adding the new branch to the grid, given
in monetary units per kVA fed ($/kVA).
A comparative study was conducted to evaluate the use of this
function. Four cases were analyzed:
1) without the heuristic guide function;
2) only with the first term (kVA.m);
3) only with the second term (incremental cost);
4) using both terms.
After 1000 runs of each alternative, the results of this compar-
ison show the benefits of the use of the complete function, with a
higher probability of reaching better solutions in a reduced com-
puter time. The probability of reaching the global optimum in 30
sets of expeditions was 0.07, 0.83, 1.00, and 1.00 for the four al-
ternatives, respectively; the number of different simulated cases
was 574, 223, 211, and 192, the number of solutions within 1%
of tolerance of the objective function was 36, 82, 120, and 99,
and the expected number of required expeditions to reach the
optimum was 30, 15, 6.7, and 6.3, respectively.
3) Branch Selection: The branch selection process of the
ACS methodology was adapted to the distribution system
planning problem. In particular, for the selection of every new
Fig. 2. Simplified flowchart of the algorithm.
branch to be added to the network, an evaluation is performed
of all the branches that are connected from the set frontier
nodes of the growing grid to nodes that are left to be fed.
F. Tuning of the Parameters of the Algorithm
A statistical study was performed on the basis of 1000 runs
of the algorithm, in order to identify the best range of values for
the parameters of the heuristic function and for the parameters
that control the functioning of the algorithm. It must be said,
however, that the algorithm is very robust, and that the varia-
tions of the parameters mostly affect the characteristics of the
convergence:
i) Number of ant colonies (number of expeditions
per set) This number was varied between 4 and 50. The
amount of different simulated cases increases from 62 to
347, the expected number of required sets of expeditions
to reach the optimum decreases gradually from 12 (for
ten ant colonies) to 4.3 and the number of solutions close
to the optimum increases to 13. It was found that for the
23-node system, the impact over the performance in-
dexes is reduced gradually as the number of ant colonies
increases to more than 20. This number is related to the
complexity of the search to be performed and, therefore,
to the number of nodes of the distribution system.
ii) The pheromone accumulation factor for each
expedition, was varied in the range (10–100). It was
shown that the performance of the algorithm does not
vary substantially. However, for a value of 1000, the
expected number of required expeditions increases
drastically to 12.

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GÓMEZ et al.: ANT COLONY SYSTEM ALGORITHM FOR THE PLANNING OF PRIMARY DISTRIBUTION CIRCUITS
TABLE I
COORDINATES OF THE LOADS
iii) Maximum pheromone level of the first set of expeditions.
Was varied between 1 and 100, obtaining an almost null
influence on the algorithm performance.
iv) Exploitation versus exploration weighting factor . Was
varied between 0.1 and 1.0. The convergence of the al-
gorithm is accelerated, but over 0.6 the probability of
the reaching the global optimum is drastically decreased.
The number of simulated cases is also reduced (21 cases
for 0.1).
v) The pheromone evaporation factor was varied from
0.2 to 1. It was found that the number of different sim-
ulated cases and the number of solutions close to the
optimum decreased (from 183 to 121 and from 11 to
9, respectively), deteriorating the probability of reaching
the global optimum, while the reduction in the expected
number of required sets of expeditions (from 6.5 to 5.1)
accelerating the convergence of the method.
vi) Heuristic function weighting factor : varied from 1 to
4, the number of different simulated cases was reduced
from 183 to 53, as well as the number of solutions close
to the optimum (from 11 to 9), suggesting the use of the
value of 1.
vii) Maximum number of sets of expeditions. A value of
higher than 30 sets was required to obtain a probability
of 1.0 of reaching the global optimum for sets consisting
of 20 ACs.
G. Calculation of the Cost of the Energy Losses
The power flow through each circuit for the maximum
load condition is calculated using a well-known distribution
load-flow algorithm [19] as presented in [1]. The power losses
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1001
Fig. 3. Proposed feasible routes.
TABLE II
ECONOMIC DATA
in the grid are calculated using the load-flow results for the
maximum load condition. Then, the energy losses for the
period of one year are calculated multiplying the power losses
for the maximum load condition by the loss factor and by
the number of hours in one year (8760). The associated cost
of the energy losses is calculated according to the costs of the
energy in ($/kW/year). The present value of these yearly costs
is calculated according to the discount rate and to the time
period under study.
IV. RESULTS
A. Test Case 1
A 34.5-kV distribution system with a 10-MVA substation
to feed an oil production area was chosen as test case 1. The
maximum allowed voltage deviation is 3%. The average power
factor is equal to 0.9. The capacity factor is equal to one and the
proposed conductor sizes for the distribution lines are 1/0 and
4/0 in simple or double circuit.
Table I presents the plane coordinates of the substation, and
of the load nodes, corresponding to the real physical locations
of the wells and other oil production facilities.
The proposed feasible routes, defined according to the geog-
raphy and the topology, are shown in Fig. 3. The economic data
required for the analysis is presented in Table II.
B. ACS Results
After six (6) sets of expeditions, the proposed algorithm
arrived at the network presented in Fig. 4. The results are
summarized in Table III.
The resultant grid is similar, although slightly better, than the
network presented in [18] using a GA. The differences in the
1002 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER SYSTEMS, VOL. 19, NO. 2, MAY 2004

Fig. 5. Cost of the network versus number of expeditions.

Fig. 4. Optimal network found by the ACS algorithm. C. Test Case 2

A more complex 10-kV large distribution system with a
10-MVA substation to feed an urban area was chosen as test
case 2 [6], [14].
TABLE III The characteristics of the system are given in [6] and are not
ACS ALGORITHM RESULTS
presented here due to space limitations.
The solution presented in [6] and [14] was obtained by means
of an elaborated, high-performance GA, after 1200 generations
of 150 individuals (around 200 000 cases evaluated).
The average performance on test case 2 for 20 runs of the
ACS algorithm with a set of 150 ACs is illustrated by Fig. 6.
It can be observed that the algorithm required 156 sets of ex-
peditions (23 400 evaluations) to reach the 0.5% threshold, 392
sets of expeditions (58 800 evaluations) for the 0.2%, and 562
expeditions (84 300 evaluations) to reach the 0.1% threshold, re-
quiring 26 min, 1 h, 5 min, and 1 h, 33 min, respectively, to reach
the solution in a personal computer (PC) with an 800-MHz pro-
cessor with 128-MB random-access memory (RAM) in a Mi-
crosoft Windows 98 environment. One of the resultant grids is
presented in Fig. 7.
As many metaheuristic approaches, the algorithm showed to
be very efficient at the beginning of the search, obtaining impor-
tant decreases in the cost of the grid in very few iterations; how-
ever, the more precise search required after a number of trials
has a slower performance.

D. Improvements to the ACS Algorithm

Three modifications to the ACS algorithm were proposed and
tested on test case one. Although they arrived at the same solu-
tion, their statistical performance was independently evaluated,
performing 30 sets of expeditions for the test case:
i) The magnitude of the pheromone accumulated in each
total cost of the circuits are in the order of 0.03%. This fact expedition was set as proportional to the stage of the
represents an improvement of the ACS algorithm with respect process. This change decreased the convergence time
to the GA, especially considering that the computational effort and the expected number of sets of expeditions required
is considerably reduced. to reach the global optimum from 6.3 to 5.7, but reduced
The algorithm was run 1000 times in order to evaluate its per- the probability of achieving the global optimum as well
formance. Results are presented in Fig. 5, where the minimum, (from 1.0 to 0.985), reducing the expected number of
average, and maximum costs are presented versus the number simulated cases from 192 to 154, narrowing the search
of expeditions. space. The expected number of solutions within 1% of

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GÓMEZ et al.: ANT COLONY SYSTEM ALGORITHM FOR THE PLANNING OF PRIMARY DISTRIBUTION CIRCUITS 1003

iii) The replacement of already evaluated solutions was eval-

uated. If after an expedition, the obtained solution has al-
ready been evaluated, then a new attempt is performed.
The replacement is performed in a finite number of trials.
After a sensitivity study, it was determined that the best
number of maximum replacement attempts was ten (10),
improving slightly both the convergence of the algorithm
and the number of solutions close to the optimum (from
12 to 14). It also increased in 100% the number of dif-
ferent cases that were simulated (from 192 to 598), and
slightly decreasing the expected number of required sets
of expeditions to 6.1.

V. CONCLUSION
A new methodology, based upon the ACS algorithm, is
proposed for the planning of electric energy distribution systems.
The methodology is very flexible and calculates the location and
the characteristics of the circuits minimizing the investment and
Fig. 6. ACS average performance in test case 2.
operation costs while enforcing the technical constraints such
as the transmission capabilities and the limits on the voltage
magnitudes, allowing the consideration of a very complete and
detailed model for the electric system. In particular, a single
objective mixed nonlinear-integer programming model was used
for the application of the methodology. The application of the
methodology on two test cases: a 23-node and a 201-node
distribution system, showed the feasibility of the application of
the proposed methodology, presenting a significant reduction
of the computational effort required when compared to those
obtained by a high-performance GA. The technique is shown
as a flexible and powerful tool for the distribution system
planning engineers. The results encourage the use and further
development of the methodology.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors are grateful to J. L. Bernal-Agustín from Centro
Politécnico Superior of Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain, for the
assistance provided with the second test case.

Fig. 7. Resultant grid for test case 2.
the optimum objective function value also decreased
from 12 to 11.
ii) Introduction of two different types of ants. The second
type of ants decides which route to take, considering only
the original pheromone level, without weighting it with
the heuristic function. This change pursued the increase
of the number of different cases to be evaluated (it in-
creased from 192 to 320). A large increase in the con-
vergence time was introduced, escalating the expected
number of required sets expeditions from 6.3 to 12.2,
but decreasing the expected number of good solutions
(within 1% of objective function tolerance) 12 to 11, and
the probability of achieving the global optimum to 0.98.
This change was discarded.
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J. F. Gómez received the electrical engineering and M.Sc. degrees from Univer-
sidad Simón Bolívar (USB), Caracas, Venezuela, in 1997 and 2000, respectively.
Currently, he is an Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering in the De-
partment of Energy Conversion and Delivery at USB. He has participated in
many projects for the local industry. His research interests include the planning
and optimization of electrical power systems.
H. M. Khodr (M’99) received the B.Sc.-M.Sc. and the Ph.D. degrees in elec-
trical engineering from the José Antonio Echeverría Higher Polytechnic Insti-
tute in 1993 and 1997, respectively.
Currently, he is an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering in the De-
partment of Energy Conversion and Delivery at Universidad Simón Bolívar,
Caracas, Venezuela. He has been responsible for a number of projects performed
for local industries. His current research activities include planning, operation,
and economics of electrical distribution and industrial power systems.
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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER SYSTEMS, VOL. 19, NO. 2, MAY 2004
P. M. De Oliveira received the electrical engineering and M.Sc. degrees from
Universidad Simón Bolívar (USB), Caracas, Venezuela, in 1995 and 2002,
respectively.
Currently, he is an Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering at USB. He
has participated in different projects in the area of inspection, basic, and de-
tailed engineering for the oil industry, electric utilities, and telecommunication
companies.
L. Ocque received the electrical engineering degree from Instituto Universi-
tario de las Fuerzas Armadas Nacionales (IUPFAN) in 1997 and the M.Sc. de-
gree in electrical engineering from Universidad Simón Bolívar (USB), Caracas,
Venezuela, in 2003.
Currently, he is a Project Engineer with the Instituto de Energía (INDENE-
USB). He was with the Engineering Department at C.V.G. Electrificación del
Caroní (EDELCA), Caracas, Venezuela.
J. M. Yusta (M’01) received the industrial engineer degree in 1994 from the
Engineering Higher Polytechnical Center of the Universidad de Zaragoza,
Zaragoza, Spain, in 1994, and the Ph.D. degree from the Universidad de
Zaragoza in 2000.
Currently, he is an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at the Uni-
versidad de Zaragoza. His research interests include technical and economical
problems of electrical distribution systems.
R. Villasana (SM’97) received the electrical engineer degree from the Uni-
versidad de Oriente, Barcelona, in 1971, the M.Sc. degree in electrical engi-
neering from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology,
Manchester, U.K., in 1973, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from
Renseelaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, in 1984.
Currently, he is a Professor of Electrical Engineering in the Department
of Energy Conversion and Delivery at Universidad Simón Bolívar, Caracas,
Venezuela. His research interests include power system planning and operation.
Dr. Villasana is Former Dean of Professional Studies and Former Vice
Chairman of the IEEE Venezuelan Section.
A. J. Urdaneta (SM’90) received the electrical engineer degree (Hons.) from
Universidad Simón Bolívar (USB), Caracas, Venezuela, in 1979. He received
the M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering and applied physics and the Ph.D.
degree in systems engineering from Case Western Reserve University, Cleve-
land, OH, in 1983 and 1986, respectively. He has been responsible for a number
of projects and studies performed for local industries. His research interests in-
clude power system analysis and optimization.
Currently, he is Professor of Electrical Engineering in the Department of En-
ergy Conversion and Delivery at USB.
Dr. Urdaneta is Former Dean of Professional Studies and Former Chairman
of the IEEE Venezuelan Section.