IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER SYSTEMS, VOL. 28, NO.
1, FEBRUARY 2013
Switch and Tap-Changer Reconfiguration
of Distribution Networks Using
Evolutionary Algorithms
Alexandre Mendes, Natashia Boland, Patrick Guiney, and Carlos Riveros
Abstract—The reconfiguration of distribution networks is an
important combinatorial problem. This work addresses the par-
ticular case of reconfiguration after an outage caused by the loss
of a single branch of the network. The reconfiguration is carried
out over two domains simultaneously: re-switching strategies and
transformer tap-changer adjustments. The approach was tested
using a real large-scale network within the concession area of En-
ergy Australia. The model considers four operational elements: an
AC power flow model, the network’s radial topology when oper-
ating, voltage limits and load limits. Two evolutionary algorithms
were implemented and tested. The first was a genetic algorithm,
applied over the space of possible re-switching strategies, and for
both re-switching and tap-changer adjustments, simultaneously.
The second was a memetic algorithm, applied over the same two
variations of the reconfiguration problem. Computational tests
consider the evaluation of the loss of every branch, reporting the
number of buses affected, and the number of overloaded branches
after the reconfiguration.
Index Terms—Electricity distribution, genetic algorithms, meta-
heuristics, network reconfiguration, optimization.
I. INTRODUCTION
T HIS paper describes the application of evolutionary
algorithms to the problem of distribution network
reconfiguration. There are many variants of the network recon-
figuration problem. Two of the most common applications are
power loss minimization coupled with load balancing [1]–[4],
and power outage restoration [5]–[7], but there are several
others, as pointed to in reference [8]. In this study, we will
address the problem of power supply restoration after the loss
of a single branch—i.e., contingency analysis.
A literature review on the contingency problem
shows several mono-objective studies. Aoki et al. (1987, 1988,
and 1999) [9]–[11] are three studies dealing with the electricity
distribution restoration problem and the maximization of total
load restored with different heuristics approaches. In Dyalinas
Manuscript received April 01, 2011; revised August 03, 2011, November 02,
2011, and February 02, 2012; accepted April 02, 2012. Date of publication May
22, 2012; date of current version January 17, 2013. This work was supported by
the Energy Australia Pilot Grant G0900080. Paper no. TPWRS-00286-2011.
A. Mendes and C. Riveros are with the School of Electrical Engineering and
Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, The Univer-
sity of Newcastle, Callaghan 2308, NSW, Australia.
N. Boland is with the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences,
Faculty of Science and Information Technology, The University of Newcastle,
Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia.
P. Guiney is with Energy Australia, Wallsend 2287, NSW, Australia.
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available online
at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TPWRS.2012.2194516
0885-8950/$31.00 © 2012 IEEE
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85
et al. (1989) [12], a heuristic was implemented to minimize the
number of switch operations. Two other works (Kim et al. [13],
Fujii et al. [14]) addressed the reconfiguration problem also
minimizing the number of switch operations. In 2001, Ferreira
et al. [15] worked on the minimization of out-of-service load
using a genetic algorithm. Finally, in 2010, Mendes et al. [16]
studied the problem of power supply restoration minimizing
number of disconnected buses, cable overloads and number of
switch operations, combined into a mono-objective function.
In terms of multi-objective approaches, Tourne et al. (1998)
[17] worked on the optimization of load balance and voltage
levels. Miu et al. (1998) [18] addressed the maximization
of load restored, with and without priorities, and number of
switch operations, using a local search heuristic. Augugliaro et
al. (2001) [19] addressed load supply and power losses with
a fuzzy genetic algorithm. More recently, Garcia and Franca
(2008) [6] developed a local search heuristic to minimize
the number of affected consumers and the number of switch
operations. The two review papers of Perrier et al. (2010) [20],
[21] present a broad picture of the area.
The distribution network considered in this study is com-
posed of generators, buses, loads, switches, transformers and
branches. In addition, we consider radial distribution networks.
In fact, real distribution networks have excess connectivity, or
redundancy, meaning that power can flow through different
paths to reach the same customer, if needed. This excess con-
nectivity requires switches to be positioned in specific points
of the network and be set either as open or closed, leading
to a switched state inducing a network with radial topology.
Redundancy in the distribution network is particularly critical
for contingency, in which a cable becomes faulty,
for instance, affecting the supply for all customers located
downstream in the power flow route. In this case, an alternative
path to supply power to the affected area should be activated
by a series of switch state changes.
The problem of finding alternative routes for the power
supply, given an outage scenario, is very complex and has been
studied for several decades. Typically, alternative routes are
determined by searching the solution space of switched states.
If there are switches (one-way) present in the network, the
search space has a size , corresponding to each switch being
either open or closed. However, of those configurations,
only a small fraction will be feasible, i.e., provide power supply
to all buses and produce a radial topology. The exponential
nature of the search space and the complexity of the resulting
mathematical model justify the use of heuristics. Furthermore,
the need to solve a power flow problem to determine if a
switched state is feasible, as well as its quality, motivates the
86
use of metaheuristics such as genetic algorithms [22], [23],
which can optimize over a “black box” power flow solver.
This convenience is not available in traditional mathematical
programming-based optimization methods.
In this study we implemented two evolutionary algorithms:
a genetic and a memetic algorithm. Also, two variations of
the network reconfiguration problem were tested. The first
considers only switched state reconfiguration; the second adds
transformer tap-changer adjustments. The second variant can
be considered more realistic from the operational standpoint.
Typically, switched state reconfigurations will produce changes
in the voltage at which power is being delivered, thus re-
quiring additional tap-changer adjustments to bring voltage
back within operational limits. Tests were carried out in a real
network within the concession area of Energy Australia with 4
generators, 1645 branches, 158 switches and 6 tap-changers.
This paper is organized as follows. In Section II we describe
the two reconfiguration problems and the operational con-
straints. The approaches via genetic and memetic algorithms
are described in Section III. Section IV shows the computational
tests, which describe the performance of the two algorithms
for the two reconfiguration problems. In Section V, results are
discussed and we present some noteworthy insights about the
problem. Finally, in Section VI we present the conclusions and
future research paths.
II. TWO VARIATIONS OF THE NETWORK
RECONFIGURATION PROBLEM
The first reconfiguration problem (refereed to as Problem A,
hereafter) can be stated as, given an input distribution network
in some initial state, consider the loss of a single branch. If there
are buses downstream of the faulty branch, “find a new switched
state” with the lowest number of switch change operations that
will bring power back to those affected buses, taking into ac-
count operational limits for voltage and load in all sections of the
network. The goal is to minimize the number of buses without
power, or with voltage outside operational limits; as well as the
number of branches with load above the operational limits.
The second reconfiguration problem (refereed to as Problem
B, hereafter) can be stated just as Problem A, but with the
change to “find a new switched state and a set of transformer
tap-changer adjustments” that will bring power back to the
affected buses (as per Problem A). The minimization of buses
without power and other operational constraints remain the
same.
In our implementation, both genetic and memetic algorithms
receive as input the physical network, including the current state
of the switches and tap-changers. Then, a given branch is re-
moved from the network, i.e., all references to it in the network
model are removed. Note that only the faulty branch is removed,
not the buses affected by the fault; buses affected by the fault
continue to exist in the network while the faulty branch does
not. This step simulates an outage in which the branch con-
taining the fault has been identified and isolated from the rest
of the network. The algorithm performs the search and commu-
nicates the best solution found at the end. It is noteworthy to
mention that the majority of the possible switched states will
be infeasible, either because they leave sections of the network
still disconnected or they introduce loops; or because the load
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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER SYSTEMS, VOL. 28, NO. 1, FEBRUARY 2013
on some cables and the voltage at some buses are not within the
operational limits. There are no guarantees that the methods will
always find a feasible solution, but the degree of infeasibility is
minimized. The criteria we use to define high quality reconfig-
urations are:
• Topology: The network has radial topology.
• Load: The load on any cable (branch) does not exceed a
specific limit. In contingency situations, cables can operate
at 120% of their transmission capacity for short periods.1
• Voltage: The voltage at any bus of the network lies between
0.9 and 1.1 (measured as per-unit).2
Solutions that violate those criteria have a penalty added to
the objective function value [see (1)]. This is defined below in
the penalty function [see (2)]. In addition to penalizations,
the objective function also tries to minimize voltage deviation,
i.e., voltage should be as close as possible to 1.0 p.u. at all buses.
The penalizations and voltage deviation are incorporated in the
objective function as
(1)
(2)
where
• solution (i.e., a switched state in Problem A; or
a switched state plus tap-changer adjustments in Problem
B);
• the objective function to be minimized;
• the penalty for solution ;
• the number of buses in the network;
• the voltage deviation from 1.0 p.u. at bus in
solution ;
• the number of loops in the network induced
by solution ;
• the number of buses with voltage outside
the operational limits in ; it includes the buses without
power;
• the number of branches with load above the
operational limit in ;
• the number of switch changes in ;
• large constants .
For a given failure in the network, the search algorithm will
test different switched states (and tap-changer adjustments, if
Problem B) during its search for the optimum solution. Some of
these configurations will have buses or branches not fulfilling
the operational criteria described above, or will induce loops in
the network. The purpose of the three large constants , ,
and is to allow the differentiation between distinct degrees
of unfeasibility or quality. Operational limits violations are pe-
nalized less ( and ) than topological violations , as
the presence of loops is considerably more serious.
The power flow model calculation is critical to any power
distribution-related problem, and this work is no exception. For
1Those limits are described in Energy Australia’s guidelines for network op-
eration and refer to the time required to perform the repairs. Their nature is
operational and out of the scope of this work.
2Disconnected buses have voltage zero.
MENDES et al.: SWITCH AND TAP-CHANGER RECONFIGURATION OF DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS
this application in particular, we use the Matlab package MAT-
POWER [24]. Tests with the network used in this study indi-
cate no difference between the results from MATPOWER’s AC
power flow model and the well-known ASPEN Power Flow3
(the licensed software currently used by Energy Australia in its
operations), apart from rounding errors.
For a detailed description of the MATPOWER’s AC power
flow model we refer the reader to its technical manual.4
III. GENETIC AND MEMETIC ALGORITHMS APPROACHES
This work proposes two search algorithms for the two varia-
tions of the reconfiguration problem—a genetic algorithm and a
memetic algorithm [22], [23]. Both have similar structures, with
the difference that the memetic algorithm includes a local search
procedure to increase the intensification character of the genetic
search. Genetic and memetic algorithms are population-based
search methods that use analogies to the Theory of Evolution to
find high quality solutions for complex computational problems.
Typically, the method starts with a population of low quality
solutions, usually randomly generated, and then “evolves” this
population via genetic operators, i.e., crossover, mutation, selec-
tion, etc., towards better quality individuals, corresponding to
solutions with better objective function values. The algorithms
are described next and a pseudocode is provided in Appendix A.
The first part of the methods creates an initial random pop-
ulation of solutions. Then, in the main loop section, new solu-
tions are created via crossover and mutation, and inserted (or
not, according to an acceptance criteria) back into the popula-
tion, replacing the worst of their “parent” solutions. This process
continues until a convergence checking procedure detects that
the population has lost its diversity and no new individuals are
being accepted for insertion. When that happens, the population
is reset by replacing all individuals by random individuals, ex-
cept for the incumbent one. In the memetic algorithm, an addi-
tional step applies a local search operator on the best individual
in the population. The main loop continues until a user-specified
time limit is reached. Next we will describe the main elements
of the algorithms, for problems A and B.
A. Fitness Function
The fitness function will determine the quality of a reconfig-
uration solution according to (1). Because the two algorithms
aim at maximizing the fitness, but the objective function is to
minimize (1), the fitness of an individual becomes simply the
inverse of the objective function.
B. Representation and Initialization
1) Problem A: Solutions for Problem A (switches only) have
a binary representation. An array of bits of size will represent
the states of the switches, with 0 and 1 indicating open and
closed, respectively (all switches are “one-way”). The popula-
tion initialization procedure creates a number of random solu-
tions by assigning values 0 or 1 to each switch. The probability is
20% for any given switch to be open, and 80% for it to be closed,
which very closely matches the proportions of open and closed
switches in the original switched state for the test network.
2) Problem B: Solutions for Problem B (switches and tap-
changers) have the same binary representation for the switch
3http://www.aspeninc.com/aspen/index.php
4http://www.pserc.cornell.edu/matpower/manual.pdf
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87
Fig. 1. Diagram of the chromosome used by the memetic and genetic algo-
rithms. The chromosome has two parts: one for the switches, with binary values,
and another for the tap-changers, with integer values.
states, and an integer representation for the tap-changer adjust-
ments. An array of integers represents the states of the
tap-changers. In our implementation, tap-changer ratios varies
within the range [ 20%, 20%], in 1% steps. Fig. 1 shows an
example of the chromosome with the two sections related to
switches and tap-changers.
C. Population Structure
In the implementation, population has a ternary tree structure
which organizes individuals according to their fitness. The root
node will store the best solution of the population, and the worst
solutions will tend to be placed at the lower layers. The ternary
tree also constrains how parent solutions are chosen to produce
new solutions; i.e., crossover only occurs between solutions in
adjacent nodes in the tree. The three branches emanating from
the tree’s root node will evolve almost independently, as three
separate sub-populations; and receiving influence only from the
individual located at the root node. This separation reduces pre-
mature convergence and improves the exploration of the search
space. A detailed description of the ternary tree structure and
comparisons against traditional non-structured populations and
to other types of structured populations are available in [25].
D. Recombination—Selection, Crossover, and Mutation
Selection of parents is dictated by the population structure.
Whenever a new solution is to be created, an internal node of
the population tree is chosen uniformly at random, and one of
its three child nodes is selected as the second parent.
1) Problem A Crossover and Mutation: This study uses the
Uniform Crossover (UX) [22] for the switch states. The value
of each switch state in the child solution is chosen with the same
probability from one of its parents. If both parents have the same
state for a specific switch, the child will inherit that state. If
each parent has a different value, then the value inherited can
be either 0 or 1, with equal probability.
As the representation used for the switches is an array of bits,
the logical choice for mutation is the bit-swap [22]. If a solution
is selected to go through mutation (according to a probability
), a switch is chosen uniformly at random, and its state
is swapped, either or .
2) Problem B Crossover and Mutation: In problem B, the
algorithms use the same crossover and mutation for the switch
states. For the tap-changer ratios, though, the recombination
uses integer values, not binary ones. In this case, the child will
inherit the average value of the two parents, rounded down if
the result is not an integer.
Mutation creates a small perturbation on a randomly chosen
tap-changer. The perturbation is decided uniformly at random,
between 0% and 50% of the current value of the ratio, either up
or down. Similar to the recombination, the new value is rounded
88
down if not an integer. The new value for a tap-changer ratio,
, can be described as
(3)
E. Acceptance Policy, Convergence Checking, and Population
Restart
When new solutions are created, they might be inserted into
the population or not, depending on their quality relative to
the parents. In our implementation, the acceptance policy de-
termines a new solution is accepted if its fitness value is better
than at least one of its parents. In this case, the new solution will
replace the worst parent. This policy guarantees that the average
fitness of the population increases over time. Typically, after a
sufficient number of generations, all individuals will have very
good fitness values and will be very similar in terms of switched
state and tap-changer adjustments.
To avoid wasting CPU time when the population converges
to individuals that are too similar; and new incumbent solutions
become less likely to be found, a convergence checking criteria
is used. The criteria checks whether in the last generation, any
of the new individuals created replaced
any of their parents ( represents the number of individ-
uals in the population; is the crossover rate of the
population). If no individuals created were accepted, then it is
fair to assume that the population has evolved for a reasonable
number of generations, and is composed of highly similar solu-
tions, making further improvements very unlikely.
Under those circumstances, a population restart process is
triggered. All individuals, except the best one, are replaced by
randomly generated solutions and the evolutionary process re-
sumes. For the memetic algorithm, a local search step is applied
to the best individual in the population before continuing the
evolutionary process. This local search is explained next.
F. Local Search Strategy—Memetic Algorithm Only
1) Problem A: For the reconfiguration problem considering
switches only, the local search strategy is based on bit-swap. The
method iteratively tries to change the state of every switch, ei-
ther or . Every time a switch change improves the
objective function, it is confirmed and the process is restarted
from the first switch again. If a switch change worsens the ob-
jective function value then it is discarded, i.e., the switch returns
to its previous state, and the process continues to the following
switch. The local search stops when a complete pass, from the
first to the last switch, does not improve the objective function.
2) Problem B: For the reconfiguration problem considering
switches and tap-changers, there is an additional local search
procedure for the tap-changer section, based on stepwise in-
creases/decreases. For the switch section the procedure is the
same as explained above. After it finishes, the local search for
the tap-changer section starts. It iteratively tries to step-up each
tap-changer ratio by 1%. If that is not successful, then it tries to
step it down by 1%. The tests run through all tap-changers and
every time a tap change improves the objective function value,
it is confirmed and the process is restarted from the first tap-
changer. Analogously to the switch local search, the tap-changer
local search stops when a complete pass does not produce any
improvement in the objective function.
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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER SYSTEMS, VOL. 28, NO. 1, FEBRUARY 2013
As mentioned before, the local search is applied only when
the population converges and just on its best individual. That
choice aims at reducing CPU time usage. If too many individ-
uals go through local search the algorithm becomes intensifica-
tion-biased, in detriment of diversification, and prone to being
trapped in local optima. The best balance between the CPU time
dedicated to local search and to the other evolutionary operators
was one local search applied at the end of an evolutionary cycle
(i.e., when the population restart is triggered).
G. Parameter Setting
We have tested several configurations for the algorithms in
terms of population size, crossover rate and mutation rate. Pop-
ulation size was tested at 13, 40, and 121 individuals, which
refer to complete ternary trees with 3, 4, and 5 levels. The best
results were obtained with a population of 40 individuals. The
use of 13 individuals did not allow enough diversity during the
search process and population restarts were triggered too fre-
quently. With 121 individuals, the algorithm took much longer
to converge to high-quality individuals.
For the crossover rate, we tested 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0, i.e., the
number of new individuals created in each generation is 0.5 ,
1.0 , and 2.0 the population size. Again, the average value
was better. The lower crossover rate induced too many popu-
lation restarts, and a crossover rate at 2.0 made the algorithm
more prone to get stuck at local minima for too many genera-
tions, wasting CPU time. The population is restarted only when
no new individual created is better than its parents during an en-
tire generation. A high crossover rate produced the effect of the
population improving only one or two individuals in each gen-
eration for several generations, delaying the population restart
for too long. The best value for the crossover rate was 100%.
The mutation rate was tested at the values 1%, 5%, and 10%.
The best results were obtained with 1%. Higher mutation rates
added too much noise to the new individuals created. That result
was somewhat expected and followed the general knowledge to
always set mutation rates at very low levels.
IV. COMPUTATIONAL TESTS
A. Multi-Threading Approach
The genetic algorithm is a naturally parallelizable process.
In particular, the creation and evaluation of new solutions are
independent processes that can easily take advantage of multi-
threading; particularly in a multi-core processor environment.
All tests shown in this study were run on a Dual Intel Xeon
X5650 six-core processor with hyper-threading; 2.66 GHz; 48
Gb RAM and running Windows 7 64-bit. The software was im-
plemented in Java, version 1.6.0_21-ea 64-bit. That configura-
tion opened the possibility of running up to 24 threads concur-
rently and reducing CPU times.
The bottleneck of the algorithm is the evaluation of the
objective function. This evaluation requires running an AC
power flow model, and the communication between the Java
application and a Matlab engine that executes the MATPOWER
package. This calculation was the ideal candidate for paral-
lelization. To illustrate that, we tested the use of different
number of threads for the power flow calculations, from one up
to 30 threads. The results are depicted in Fig. 2 as the speed-up
achieved in the number of power flow calculations completed
in 3 min of CPU time, which was the time limit imposed for the
MENDES et al.: SWITCH AND TAP-CHANGER RECONFIGURATION OF DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS 89

TABLE I
RESULTS FOR PROBLEM A AND PROBLEM B, USING THE GENETIC AND THE MEMETIC ALGORITHMS. (A) FIGURES INDICATE THE NUMBER OF BRANCHES
REMOVED (OUT OF 460) THAT RESULTED IN SPECIFIC INTERVALS OF Number of Buses Outside Operational Limits, AFTER THE RECONFIGURATION. (B) NUMBER
OF BRANCHES REMOVED THAT RESULTED IN SPECIFIC INTERVALS OF Number of Branches Outside Operational Limits AFTER THE RECONFIGURATION. NOTE THE
BETTER RESULTS OBTAINED BY THE MEMETIC ALGORITHM APPLIED TO PROBLEM B, WITH 355 BRANCHES REMOVED THAT RESULTED IN A RECONFIGURED
NETWORK WITH ZERO BUSES OUTSIDE OPERATIONAL LIMITS. FOR THE BRANCHES OUTSIDE OPERATIONAL LIMITS, DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE ALGORITHMS
WERE LESS SIGNIFICATIVE, BUT AGAIN, THE MEMETIC APPROACH WITH PROBLEM B HAD A BETTER PERFORMANCE

switches, however, can be excluded from the search process due

Fig. 2. Speed-up with the use of multi-threading. Maximum speed-up is
reached with 20 threads; then levels off and slowly decreases. Due to those
results, the computational tests use exactly 20 threads.
tests. The values plotted are averages for 10 runs with different
seeds. Maximum speed-up was 11.6, reached when 20 threads
were used.
B. Pre-Processing
Computational tests were conducted on a real network with
158 switches operated by Energy Australia. Several of those
to operational or topological constraints. Two rules were used to
automatically detect and remove such switches from the search:
• Extreme switches—Those are switches located at leaf
nodes of the network tree and are typically used to con-
nect the network with other neighboring networks. They
were excluded from the search and their switching state
remained as the original one, i.e., before the contingency.
• Topologically critical switches—Those are switches lo-
cated at sections of the network where the power flow
has to go through them to reach the buses located further
downstream, due to the lack of alternative paths. These
switches have to remain closed.
Out of the 158 switches present in the test network, 21 are
located at leaf nodes and another 21 are topologically critical
switches. The pre-processing reduced the number of switches
that participate in the search process by 26% to 116.
A second element of the pre-processing refers to topologi-
cally critical branches. Analogously to the case of switches, if
any of those branches is removed, no reconfiguration can bring

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90 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER SYSTEMS, VOL. 28, NO. 1, FEBRUARY 2013

supply back to the area affected, as it becomes topologically

disconnected from all generators in the network. It is thus un-
necessary to search for reconfiguration strategies if a topologi-
cally critical branch is removed. The number of such branches
is 1185 out of 1645 and the results presented refer only to the
460 branches that are not topologically critical.
The pre-processing procedures described above are auto-
mated and make use of efficient graph search algorithms. The
CPU time required to pre-process the network is negligible
compared to the search process itself.

C. Results
In Table I, we show the computational results for the memetic
and genetic algorithms, applied to problems A and B. Tests have
determined how adequate the methods are in providing alter-
native supply routes to areas affected by outages; and that the
supply is provided within specific operational limits. Towards
that, a single branch of the network is removed at a time and
the algorithm is run. After repeating that procedure for all 460
non-topologically critical branches, we report the number of
branches whose removal resulted in buses with voltage outside
operational limits, and branches with load higher than the oper-
ational limit. Those results were grouped into different intervals
for better understanding.
In Table I(a), the figures refer to the buses outside operational
limits after the reconfiguration. The correct way to interpret the
Fig. 3. Cumulative curves of the results presented in Table I. Curves with
table is as follows. Consider the first column with numbers, cor- higher profiles indicate better performance. (a) Branches outside operational
responding to the memetic algorithm applied to problem A. For limits. Note the better results by the problem B formulation and the memetic al-
188 out of the 460 branches tested, the memetic algorithm man- gorithm over the genetic algorithm. (b) Buses outside operational limits. There
aged to obtain a new switched state that resulted in zero buses is a stronger similarity between methods and problem formulations, but the com-
bination of problem B and memetic algorithm produces the best result.
with voltage outside operational limits. For 6 branches there was
exactly one bus being supplied electricity outside operational
limits, after the reconfiguration; and so forth.
instance, the memetic algorithm managed to obtain 18 con-
Some interesting results should be emphasized. First, it is no- figurations with only two branches outside limits, for both
ticeable that problem B formulation is more successful in ob-
problems, whereas the genetic algorithm obtained only 13 and
taining reconfigurations with fewer number of buses outside
8. Overall, the memetic algorithm performs better; and the
limits. There are zero buses outside limits for 355 and 351 of the problem B formulation is also better.
branches removed, for the memetic and genetic algorithms, re-
In Fig. 3, we present two graphs summarizing the informa-
spectively. Comparing that to the problem A formulation, there
tion of Table I for a better comparison between algorithms
were only 188 and 137 branches with zero buses outside limits. and problem formulations. The graphs show the cumulative
Also interesting, the memetic algorithm clearly has a better per-
number of removed branches for each interval value of buses
formance than the genetic algorithm for Problem A, but that dif-
and branches outside operational limits. For instance, consider
ference became less evident for Problem B. Fig. 3(a) and the Genetic B curve. There are 351 branches
In Table I(b), the figures correspond to branches with load
with zero buses outside operational limits after reconfiguration;
above operational limits after the reconfiguration. The numbers
followed by 16 branches with exactly one bus outside limits;
should be interpreted similarly to Table I(a). The results are then 28 and so on. The cumulative curve will start at 351,
much more consistent across the two methods and problem for-
followed by 367, 395, etc. Curves with higher profiles indicate
mulations. Note that for the majority of the branches removed,
better performance.
the resulting number of branches outside limits is exactly 3. In terms of CPU time, the algorithms run for 3 min every time
Regarding that number, we must note that the network at its
a branch is removed. It is important to note, though, that the final
original state also has three branches outside limits, at 169.8%,
solution is often reached in less than 90 s. With a total of 460
126.3%, and 124.0%. The row indicating three branches out- branches that required testing and 4 combinations of algorithm/
side limits actually represents operational configurations very
problem formulation, the total CPU time required to generate
close to the original. Regarding the deviation from the opera-
the results in this study was 92 h.
tional limit, the worst case in our tests was a cable with 192.0%,
i.e., close to twice the specified maximum power flow. For volt-
V. DISCUSSION
ages, the deviations were always towards lower values and the
worst case among connected buses was a voltage of 0.81 p.u. From the tests, we conclude that reconfiguration algorithms
In terms of performance, again the memetic algorithm will perform better if they take into account tap-changer adjust-
performs marginally better than the genetic algorithm. For ments. Tap-changer adjustments become necessary in at least

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MENDES et al.: SWITCH AND TAP-CHANGER RECONFIGURATION OF DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS 91

two situations. First, consider a specific section of the network contingency situation. According to network man-
where power flows in a certain direction, and which contains agers in Energy Australia, that timeframe is well within the
a transformer tap-changer adjusting the voltage. Then, assume expectations of a control room operator. Two pre-processing
that the re-switching changes the direction of power flow in procedures were implemented: one to detect branches that
that section—Now, the tap-changer will reverse its voltage ad- are topologically critical, i.e., buses affected by their removal
justment effect downstream, effectively increasing the deviation cannot have power restored due to the lack of alternative paths;
from operational parameters instead of correcting it. A second and another to detect switches that should not have their switch
situation arises when the re-switching adds extra load is to a state changed. That pre-processing reduced the complexity of
power supply branch, causing a voltage drop along it. In certain the problem considerably. Another important element of the
conditions, the voltage may drop well below operational limits, implementation is that it makes use of multi-threading in order
requiring a tap-changer adjustment to correct it. to take advantage of multi-core machines.
It is evident that the above discussion is also applicable to
condenser banks switching as another way of correcting out of
limits voltages, as well as reducing power losses. We have not APPENDIX
included this in the solutions as the preferred operational pro- ALGORITHM PSEUDOCODE
cedure with Energy Australia is to correct with tap-changer ad- Method GeneticMemeticAlgorithm
justments. Additional tests to determine the behavior of power begin
losses indicate that in our particular scenario, power loss vari- do
ation is not significative. The original system has a total power initializePopulation(pop);
loss of 9.8%. In the worst case, power losses increased to 11.2% do % main loop
updatePopStructure(pop);
after the reconfiguration. Considering that the reconfiguration is
while(populationNotConverged(pop))
temporary, i.e., only until the fault is fixed, such change has lim-
for to %
ited impact. Another interesting result is that the problem that generation loop
considers tap-changers produces marginally lower power losses
in the reconfigured network, compared to when tap-changers are ;
not considered.
Also important to mention, the method always manages to ;
find a reconnected configuration of the network at the end of the acceptNewSolution(pop,
search procedure. Therefore, the numbers in Table I(a) refer to newSolution);
buses with voltages outside the operational limits, not to buses endFor
checkPopulationConvergence(pop);
that remained disconnected after the reconfiguration.
endWhile
We note that although the methodology proposed here has
restartPopulation(pop);
been discussed and tested for contingency planning, it
applyLocalSearch(pop); % only in the memetic
can readily be applied in situations where more than one branch algorithm
outage has occurred, simply by removing all affected branches while
in the input data to the algorithm. Of course contin- end
gency planning is of particular interest, since it is a time-con- Pseudo-code of the genetic and memetic algorithms was im-
suming manual activity, for which automation can provide effi- plemented. Initially, a population of random solutions is cre-
cient replacement. Nevertheless, the utility of the methodology ated and then the algorithm enters the main loop. The main loop
could be considered for other forms of contingency or opera- creates new solutions in each generation,
tional planning. For example, reconfiguration in normal oper- which can either be accepted or not into the population. For
ation following change in operating condition (i.e., change in every generation loop completed, the algorithm verifies whether
load) may also be useful. the population has converged. Population convergence triggers
a restart procedure, where all individuals are replaced by ran-
VI. CONCLUSION domly generated ones, except for the currently best solution. In
the memetic algorithm there is an additional step where a local
This paper presents two evolutionary algorithms for two search is applied on the best individual in the population. This
variations of the contingency network reconfiguration process is repeated until a time limit is reached and then the best
problem—one considering re-switching strategies; and another solution found is reported.
considering re-switching and transformer tap-changer adjust-
ments. The results show the memetic algorithm obtaining the ACKNOWLEDGMENT
best results, with the least number of buses outside operational The authors would like to thank Energy Australia for pro-
limits after reconfiguration, as well as overloaded branches. viding the network data and validating the results. They also
Even though the test network is relatively large (1645 branches, would like to thank Mr. D. Burke, Division of Engineering
158 switches, and 4 generators), the method is reasonably Transmission & Technology—Smart Grid, Energy Australia.
fast, taking 3 min of CPU time to determine a good switched The authors wish to inform that the network data will be made
state and corresponding tap-changer adjustments for any given available upon request.

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92
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Alexandre Mendes received the Ph.D. degree in 2003 from the State University
of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil.
Currently, he is a Senior Lecturer with the School of Electrical Engineering
and Computer Science at The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia. He
is a member of the Centre for Optimal Planning and Operations (C-OPT) and his
research interests include operations research, in particular artificial intelligence
applications to power systems and mining industry problems.
Natashia Boland received the Ph.D. degree in 1992 from the University of
Western Australia, Perth.
She is a Professor with the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at
The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia. She is also a member and
founding Associate Director of the Priority Research Centre for Computer-As-
sisted Research Mathematics and its Applications (CARMA), and a founding
co-director of the newly established Centre for Optimal Planning and Opera-
tions (C-OPT). Her research interests are in operations research, in particular in
theory, algorithms, and applications for integer programming.
Patrick Guiney received the Bachelor degree in electrical engineering in 2000
from The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia.
He worked as an engineer with Energy Australia from 2001 to 2010. He is
now a Senior Engineer in the area of System Planning and Regulation for Aus-
grid, the distribution branch of Energy Australia, separated in 2010.
Carlos Riveros received the Ph.D. degree in 1990 from Universidad Nacional
de La Plata, La Plata, Argentina.
He worked for GE Energy and Termoelectrica San Martin for 8 years. He
is now a Research Academic with the School of Electrical Engineering and
Computer Science at The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia. His
research interests are combinatorial optimization and algorithms for large-scale
problems.