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A New Power Flow Method For Distribution
System
De Sousa V.A., Pereira F.S., student Member, and Da Costa G.R.M., Member IEEE
Abstract—This paper presents a new approach to solve the
power flow problem in the radial distribution systems. The
approach consists on the penalty function method and the
Newton method to solve the PF problem in radial systems. The
ill-conditioned of Newton’ Jacobian matrix is solved by
associating with the penalty function method. In order to verify
the effectiveness of the proposed approach the electrical
distribution systems of 10, 33, 34 and 70 busses were used and a
comparative test with classical methods to solve the radial PF
problem was accomplished. In all test, the proposed approach
showed a superior performance than the classical methods.
Index Terms—Power system, nonlinear programming, power
flow, Newton’s method.
I. INTRODUCTION
A S the power distribution networks become more and
more complex, there is a higher demand for efficient and
reliable system operation. The power flow is a basic tool used
by the control centers for determine the state and operations
conditions of these power system. Basically, the approaches
handled for calculation of power flow are based in the
classical methods of Newton and Gauss. But in the energy
distribution systems, due their prevailing radial nature and
high R/X ratio, these methods showed convergence problems
and became most of the time inefficient.
Some authors solved these problems suggesting modified
versions of the classical methods. In Rajicic and Bose [1], is
proposed a modification in the fast decoupled method by
using compensation techniques to solve problems with high
R/X ratio. These same problems were solved by Zang and
Cheng [2] through of change in the representation of Jacobian
matrix of conventional Newton’ method to avoid the ill-
Manuscript received April 4, 2008. This work was supported in part by the
by CNPq - Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico and by
FAPESP - Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo.
V. A. de Sousa works at the Electrical Engineering Department,
Engineering School of São Carlos, University of São Paulo, 13566-590 Brazil,
Tel: 55 16 3373-8152, Fax: 55 16 3373-9372 (e-mail: vsousa@
sel.eesc.usp.br).
F. S. Pereira works at the Electrical Engineering Department, Engineering
School of São Carlos, University of São Paulo, São Carlos, SP, Brazil (e-
mail: fpereira@ sel.eesc.usp.br).
G. R. M. da Costa works at the Electrical Engineering Department,
Engineering School of São Carlos, University of São Paulo, São Carlos, SP,
Brazil (e-mail: geraldo@ sel.eesc.usp.br).
1
conditioned problem. In 2002, Teng [3], showed a modified
algorithm of Gauss-Seidel for analyze the three-phase
distribution systems. The method, based on optimal ordination
of Y-bus matrix, can be applied as much the radial networks
as the meshes and weakly meshes networks.
Others authors developed specify formulations for
application in the distribution systems. Among these, the
Backward/Forward Sweep algorithm proposed by
Shirmohammad et al. [4], with its low memory and
computation requirements and robust convergence
characteristic, has gained the most popularity in recent years.
Based on the ladder theory for linear circuit analysis [5], the
forward/backward sweep algorithm can fully utilize the radial
structure of most distribution networks. With minor
modifications, several methods have been proposed to extend
its application in weakly meshed distribution systems and for
three-phase unbalanced systems as in [6] and [7]. Baran and
Wu [8] proposed an iterative solution of active and reactive
power equations, voltage magnitude to solve the power flow.
In 1990, Renato [9] showed a simple modeling of power flow,
which eliminates the necessity of deal with complex voltages
and allow including in the formulation voltage load
dependents. More recently, Bijwe and Raju [10] presented a
method based on fuzzy logical that can be applied to the
weakly meshed and unbalanced systems.
Although these specific methods are more effective for
radial distribution systems than the others based on Newton or
Gauss, its structure does not allow its use in meshed networks.
This paper presents a new approach to solve the PF
problem in the radial distribution systems. The approach
consists on the penalty function method and the Newton
method to solve the PF problem in radial systems. The ill-
conditioned of Newton’ Jacobian matrix is solved by
associating with the penalty function method. In order to
verify the effectiveness of the proposed approach the electrical
distribution systems of 10, 33, 34 and 70 busses were used
and a comparative test with classical methods to solve the
radial PF problem was accomplished.
II. PENALTY FUNCTION METHOD
In this section the main characteristics of the optimization
approach, penalty function, in their basic form is discussed.
On this purpose, consider a nonlinear problem with equality
and inequality constraints, as follows:
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Minimize f ( x) x k +1 = x k + ∆x
subject to g ( x) = 0 (1) λ k +1 = λ k + ∆λ
x min ≤ x ≤ x max
The penalty factor, c, is updated as:

where: x ∈ R n , g(x) ∈ R m , the functions are C2 class, xmin e c k +1 = ρ c k

xmax are their lower and upper limits, respectively.
In the penalty function method (PFM), the violated
inequality constraints are included in the objective function
through penalty factors. The PFM generates a sequence of
infeasible points, which limit is an optimal solution of the
original problem. The penalized problem consists on:
where ρ > 1 is the penalty correction factor.
The solution will be reached when the values of x and λ
satisfied the KKT conditions, and minimizing the objective
function.

Minimize F ( x) = f ( x) + ∑γ l
(2)
l
III. PFM APPLIED TO THE RADIAL POWER FLOW PROBLEM
subject to g ( x) = 0
In general, a distribution system is fed by at one voltage-
controlled that is assumed to be a slack bus and all other nodes
where γ represents the set of the violated inequality constraints are assumed to be P-Q load buses. The power flow problem in
associated with penalty factors, that is: a radial system can be formulated as:

γ=
c c
( y min − y ) 2 or γ = ( y − ymax ) 2 Minimize f (V , θ)
2 2 subject to ∆P (V , θ) = 0
(6)
where y represents the inequality constraints which violate its ∆Q (V , θ) = 0
limit and c is the penalty factor. V min ≤ V ≤ V max
The Lagrangian function associated to the problem, Eq. (2),
is given by: where:

m
f km (V , θ) = ∑g km (Vk2 +Vm2 − 2Vk Vm cos θ km )
L ( x, λ ) = F ( x ) + ∑ λ k g ( x )
( k , m )∈NL
(3)
k =1

∆Pk (V , θ) = PkG − PkC − ∑ Pkm (V , θ);

where λ is the Lagrange multiplier. m∈ Ω

The process consists of finding values of x and λ that Pkm (V , θ) = (Vk ) 2 g km − (Vk )Vm ( g km cosθkm + bkm senθkm )
satisfy the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) conditions, that is:
∆Qk (V, θ) = QkG − QkC − ∑Q km (V, θ);
∂L m∈Ω
=0
∂x Qkm (V, θ) = −(Vk )2 (bkm + bkm
sh
) + (Vk )Vm (bkm cosθkm − gkm senθkm )
(4)
∂L
=0
∂λ
∆P ∈ R m , ∆Q ∈ R m , θ ∈ R m e V ∈ R m m=1,2,...,nbc (number
The solution of equation (4) can be obtained by Newton’s of load bus); V is the voltage magnitude; θ is the voltage
method, and is given by: angle; f(V,θ) are the active losses, ∆P(V,θ) and ∆Q(V,θ) are
the active and reactive mismatches, respectively.
⎡H J T ⎤ ⎡∆x ⎤ ⎡∇ x L ⎤ In the problem (6) the number of variables is equal to the
⎢ ⎥ ⎢ ⎥ = −⎢ ⎥ (5) number of equations (n = 2*m), in this conditions it is a power
⎣J 0 ⎦ ⎣∆λ ⎦ ⎣∇ λ L⎦
flow problem; therefore it has a unique solution. Thus, the Eq.
(6) can not be an optimization problem.
The Lagrangian matrix is symmetrical, where: Appling the PFM to the problem (6):

H = ∇ 2xx L , Minimize F (V , θ) = f (V , θ) + ∑ γ i
J = ∇ 2xλ L = ∇ x g ( x) . i

subject to ∆P(V , θ) = 0 (7)

The solution of (5) is used to update x and λ , i.e.: ∆Q(V , θ) = 0
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where γ is the set of violated voltage magnitude constraints λkp+1 = λkp + ∆ λkp (11)
associated with the penalty factors, i. e.:
λ =π +∆π
k +1
q
k
q
k
q

c c
γ= (V min − V ) 2 ou γ = (V − V max ) 2 The penalty factor is updated by:
2 2

The Lagrangian function associated to the problem, Eq. (7), c k +1 = ρ c k

is given by:
where ρ > 1 is the penalty correct factor.
m m

L ( x , λ ) = F ( x ) + ∑ λ p k ∆P ( x ) + ∑ λ q k ∆Q ( x ) (8) A. Algorithm
k =1 k =1
The power flow problem showed in Eq. (6), can be solved
by an iterative process consisting of the following steps:
where: x = (V,θ), λp and λq are the Lagrange multipliers.
1. Set k=0, makes starting estimates for
The first-order necessary conditions are applied to the
d k = ( x k , λkp , λkq ) and ck > 1;
Lagrangian function (8), generating a non-linear equations
system, as follows: 2. Verify which voltage constraints are violated and
determine γ;
⎧∇ x F ( x) + J p ( x) T λ p + J q ( x) T λ q = 0 3. Evaluate the gradient vector and the Hessian matrix of
⎪ Lagrangian, and solve the system (10);
⎨∆P( x) = 0 (9)
4. Update the variables problem. Set k=k+1;
⎪∆Q( x) = 0
⎩ 5. Update the penalty factor c;
6. If the stop criteria are satisfied then stop. Otherwise, go
where: J p ( x) T = (∇ x ∆P1 ( x),..., ∇ x ∆Pm ( x)) , and to step 2.
J q ( x)T = (∇ x ∆Q1 ( x),..., ∇ x ∆Qm ( x)) .
The stop criteria is verified if the power flow equations are
The non-linear equations system (9) is solved by Newton’s greaten than a precision, ε , and all voltage magnitudes are
method. The application of Newton’s method generates the inside of theirs limits.
search directions (∆V, ∆θ, ∆λp, ∆λq), which will be used to
update of variables of the problem, and, can be represented as:
IV. TEST RESULTS
W∆d = −∇L (10) Tests were done to verify the efficiency of the proposed
approach. The algorithm was implemented in FORTRAN,
where: using double-precision arithmetic. The computational work
was performed in a microcomputer Pentium (R) 4 – 3,4 GHz,
⎛ ∇ xx L J p ( x)T J q ( x)T ⎞ with 2 GB RAM. The main characteristics of the electrical
⎜ ⎟
W= ⎜ J p ( x) 0 0 ⎟, system study are summarized in Table I.
⎜ J ( x) 0 0 ⎟⎠
⎝ q TABLE I
ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SYSTEM
is the Hessian matrix of Lagrangian with: Systems 10 33 34 70
Bus substation 1 1 1 1
∆d T = (∆x, ∆λ p , ∆λ q ) and Load bus 9 32 33 69
Line 9 32 33 69
Lateral 0 4 4 7
⎡∇ xx F ( x) + J p ( x)T λ p + J q ( x)T λ q ⎤
⎢ ⎥
∇ L = ⎢ ∆P ( x ) ⎥,
⎢ ∆Q ( x ) ⎥ In all tests, the initial values of Lagrange multipliers were
⎣ ⎦ λp= λq=0, the penalty factor and the penalty correction factor
were defined as c=100 and ρ=5, respectively. The initial
is the gradient vector.
values of voltage magnitudes vector was V = 1 p.u. and the
phase angle vector θ = 0°.
The variables vector x, λp, and λq are updated as follows:

x k +1 = x k + ∆x k
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A. 10-bus System The voltage profile of the 33-bus system at the solution is
This test was accomplished with the system proposed in showed in Figure 2. The magnitude of voltage base, bus
[11]. The process converged in 3 iterations with a total of number one, is 12.66 kV.
1036.47 kVAr of reactive power losses in the lines. The
amount of active power loss was 783.77 kW. The
optimization process is summarized in Table II, which shows 12.80
at each iteration, the active loss (P), the reactive loss (Q), the 12.60

Voltage magnitude
maximum error of the active power (∆P), and, the maximum 12.40

error of the reactive power (∆Q), respectively. 12.20

12.00
TABLE II 11.80
SUMMARY OF OPTIMIZATION PROCESS FOR 10-BUS SYSTEM 11.60
It. P Q ∆P ∆Q 11.40
(kW) (kVAr) (MW) (MVAr) 0 5 10 15 20 25 30

0 0 0 1.84000 1.84000 Bus number

1 592.26 810.28 0.65103 1.09528
2 778.39 1030.75 0.00952 0.00439 Fig. 2. Voltage profile of 33-bus system
3 783.77 1036.47 0.00002 0.00007
C. 34-bus System
The voltage profile at the solution of the 10-bus system is This test was accomplished with the system proposed in
showed in Figure 1. The magnitude of voltage base, bus [13]. The process converged in 3 iterations and the value of
number one, is 23 kV. active and reactive power loss were 222.29 kW and 65.20
kVAr, respectively. The optimization process is summarized
in Table IV.
24

23
Voltage magnitude

22 TABLE IV
SUMMARY OF OPTIMIZATION PROCESS FOR 34-BUS SYSTEM
21

20
It. P Q ∆P ∆Q
19
(kW) (kVAr) (MW) (MVAr)
0 0 0 0.23000 0.14250
18
1 209.20 62.36 0.64368 0.17655
17
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 2 222.24 65.18 0.00030 0.0001
Bus number 3 222.29 65.20 0.00009 0.00003

Fig. 1. Voltage profile of 10-bus system

The voltage profile at the solution of the 34-bus system is
B. 33-bus System showed in Figure 3. The magnitude of voltage base, bus
number one, is 11 kV.
This test was accomplished with the system proposed in
[12]. The process converged in 2 iterations and the value of
active and reactive power loss were 123.28 kW and 87.91 11.1

kVAr, respectively. The optimization process is summarized 11

Voltage magnitude

10.9
in Table III.
10.8
10.7
TABLE III 10.6
SUMMARY OF OPTIMIZATION PROCESS FOR 33-BUS SYSTEM 10.5
It. P Q ∆P ∆Q 10.4
(kW) (kVAr) (MW) (MVAr) 10.3
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
0 0 0 0.42000 0.60000
Bus number
1 117.08 82.81 0.49474 0.21350
2 123.28 87.91 0.00006 0.00011 Fig. 3. Voltage profile of 34-bus system
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D. 70-bus System TABLE VI

COMPARATIVE TEST 10-BUS SYSTEM
Method It. P Q
This test was accomplished with the system proposed in [8].
(kW) (kVAr)
The process converged in 3 iterations and the value of active
PF 3 783.77 1036.47
and reactive power loss were 225.02 kW and 102.18 kVAr, Baran-Wu 4 783.77 1036.50
respectively. The optimization process is summarized in Table BFS 9 783.77 1036.50
V.

TABLE V
SUMMARY OF OPTIMIZATION PROCESS FOR 70-BUS SYSTEM The Table VII presents a summary of the results obtained in
the comparative test with the 34-bus system.
It. P Q ∆P ∆Q
(kW) (kVAr) (MW) (MVAr) TABLE VII
0 0 0 1.24400 0.88800 COMPARATIVE TEST 34-BUS SYSTEM
1 190.65 87.51 0.09317 0.42638 Method It. P Q
2 224.70 102.05 0.01473 0.01451 (kW) (kVAr)
3 225.02 102.18 0.01417 0.01472 PF 3 222.29 65.20
Baran-Wu 4 222.29 65.27
BFS 6 222.29 65.27
The voltage profile of the 70-bus system at the solution is
showed in Figure 4. The magnitude of voltage base, bus
number one, is 12.66 kV. The Table VIII shows a summary of the comparative test
with the 70-bus system.

TABLE VIII
12.90
COMPARATIVE TEST 70 BUSES SYSTEM
12.70
Method It. P Q
Voltage magnitude

12.50
12.30
(kW) (kVAr)
12.10 PF 3 225.02 102.18
11.90 Baran-Wu 4 225.04 102.26
11.70 BFS 7 225.05 102.26
11.50
11.30
1 5 9 13 17 21 25 29 33 37 41 45 49 53 57 61 65 69

Bus number
One can observe from tables VI, VII, and, VIII that the
PFM had a better performance than the classical methods,
Fig. 4. Voltage profile of 70-bus system because it converged with less iteration.

E. Comparative Test V. CONCLUSION

The results obtained from penalty function method (PFM)
The aim of this paper was to propose a new approach to
implementation, adapted for radial distribution systems, will
solve the PF in the distribution system.
compare with the methods of Backward-Forward Sweep
A comparative study among the PFM and the classical
(BFS) [4] and Baran-Wu [12] that are the classical methods
methods, BFS and Baran-Wu, for PF calculations in the power
for solving the PF problem in the radial distribution systems.
distribution network was analyzed in different radial systems.
The results presented are referent the simulations of three
An important contribution of applying the PFM to the radial
system 10, 34, and, 70-bus.
PF problem is the obtaining of Lagrange multipliers, which
We emphasize that, as the 33-bus system has meshes the
can be used for reactive allocation studies, distributed
classical methods, BFS and Baran-Wu, can not be applied to
generation, among others.
this system. Whereas, the PFM does not have difficulties with
Still as future works, we intend to calculate and analyze the
meshed systems, this characteristic is an advantage of the
radial PF problem considering the voltage controlled buses
proposed approach.
and reactive limits. The aim is to provide for the utility a
The Table VI shows a summary of the results obtained in
computational tool capable to help the operators of
the comparative test using the 10-bus system.
distribution system with effectiveness.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This project was financed by CNPq - Conselho Nacional de
Desenvolvimento Científico and by FAPESP - Fundação de
Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo.
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Vanusa A. de Sousa received a B.Eng. degree from the Federal University of
Goiás, Brazil, in 1997. She received the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees, both in
Electrical Engineering, from the Engineering School of São Carlos at the São
Paulo University, Brazil, in 2001 and 2006, respectively. Currently, she is a
Researcher Fellow at the Department of Electrical Engineering, Engineering
School of São Carlos at the São Paulo University. Her research interests are
power systems operation and planning in the distribution and transmission.
Fernando S. Pereira (M’07) received a B.Eng. degree from the Federal
University of Mato Grosso, Brazil, in 2001. He received the M.Sc., in
Electrical Engineering, from the Engineering School of São Carlos at the São
Paulo University, Brazil, in 2005. Currently, he is a PhD. Student at the
Department of Electrical Engineering, Engineering School of São Carlos at
the São Paulo University. His research interest is distribution system
operation.
Geraldo R. M. da Costa (M’88) received his B.Eng. and M.Sc. degrees, both
in Electrical Engineering, from the Engineering School of São Carlos of São
Paulo University. He received a Ph.D. from the University of Campinas,
Brazil. Currently, he is an Associate Professor of the Department of Electrical
Engineering, Engineering School of São Carlos at the São Paulo University,
SP, Brazil. His research interests include power system operation and
planning, particularly in the application of optimization methods to power
systems.