METHODS ENRICHING POWER & ENERGY DEVELOPMENTS (MEPED'13)

April 12th, 2013

ISSN:-2230-7850

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

OPTIMAL CAPACITOR PLACEMENT AND SIZING

IN DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS USING POWER LOSS INDEX
V.SUGANTHI1, S.MAHALAKSHMI2, S.KALYANI3
1

UG student, 2UG student, 3Professor,

Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering,
Kamaraj College of Engineering & Technology, Virudhunagar .
Abstract:
An energy efficient power distribution network can provide cost effective and
collaborative platform for supporting present and future smart distribution system
requirements. Energy efficiency in distribution systems is achieved through optimal
capacitor placement and sizing. The main objective of this paper is to estimate the
maximum loadability margin in radial distribution systems for optimal capacitor
placement and sizing. The work also aims to achieve reduction in system power loss and
improvement in voltage profile. The optimal location for capacitor placement is
determined based on Power Loss Index (PLI). The proposed work is implemented in
benchmark IEEE 15-bus radial distribution system and results are analyzed. Simulation
programs for the work have been developed in MATLAB. The simultaneous improvement
in loadability limit and power loss reduction enhances energy efficiency in distribution
systems by releasing power demand and feeder capacity.
KEYWORDS:
Optimal capacitor placement, Maximum loadability index (MLI), Energy efficiency,
Reconfiguration of distributed generation.
I.INTRODUCTION
The delivery of power from sources to the consumer points is always accompanied with power
losses. It has been reported in literature review that power losses occurring in distribution networks account
for as much as 13% of the generated energy [1]. Such non-negligible amount of power losses has a direct
impact on the financial results and the overall efficiency of distribution utilities is reduced [1].
The aim of this paper is to examine the effect of optimal size and location of capacitor to improve
the loadability (i.e. MLI) and energy efficiency of the existing power distribution systems. MLI gives an
estimate of additional load as a factor of the existing load that may be connected at the candidate node
before reaching the system voltage collapse. The value of MLI computed is a function of source voltage or
sending end node voltage.
Losses can be reduced by series or shunt compensation of capacitor installation so as to locally
supply a considerable portion of the reactive power demanded by the consumers and thereby reducing the
reactive component of branch currents. The installation of shunt capacitors provides supplementary
benefits, such as voltage profile improvement, the power factor improvement and enhanced stability of the
distribution system.
This paper is organized as follows. An overview of the operation of smart distribution system is
discussed in section II. The procedure for the estimation of maximum loadability limit of radial distribution
systems is discussed in section III. The mathematical formulation of capacitor placement and sizing is
described in section IV. The simulation results obtained for IEEE 15-bus radial distribution system are

Indian Streams Research Journal

OPTIMAL CAPACITOR PLACEMENT AND SIZING IN DISTRIBUTION.............

detailed in section V. Finally, important conclusions are drawn in section VI.

II. SMART DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
A distribution system is a complex network, and the designed configuration has direct bearing on
its operation and performance. Distribution systems act as mediator between generation and consumption,
and usually operate on the verge of its loadability limit, so as to supply as many consumers as possible.
Therefore, under critical loading condition, the chances of voltage collapse in the area with high load and
low voltage profile increases. In most cases, the incidence of unexpected voltage collapse has been
experienced due to rapid growth in power demands of certain industrial loads When such collapse occurs,
some industrial loads are disconnected through automatic cut-off switches resulting in severe interruptions.
The smart distribution systems are capable of predicting the critical loading conditions and also providing
the preventive measures in advance. The selection of optimal size and location of capacitor is associated
with reactive components of branch current. It has been identified that by installing the capacitor of
optimum size at appropriate location, the system loadability can be increased and a significant reduction in
the system losses can be achieved.
III. ESTIMATION OF MAXIMUM LOADABILITY
To determine the expression for the estimation of maximum loadability, a simple two-bus radial
distribution system as shown in Fig. 1 is considered.

Fig. 1 Single line representation of IEEE 2-Bus

Radial Distribution system

ns
nr
Vi-1
Vi
Ii
ri
xi
Pi +jQ i

sending node
receiving node
sending end voltage
receiving end voltage
branch current.
resistance of the branch
reactance of the branch
load at receiving end

The phasor diagram of equivalent radial distribution system between two nodes is shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 Pha sor diagram of the distribution system

OPTIMAL CAPACITOR PLACEMENT AND SIZING IN DISTRIBUTION.............

From the phasor diagram ,

OA =
Vi =
Vi cosq
+
Ii ri
1 cosy
AB =
Vi=
Vi sin q
+
Ii xi
1 siny

(1)
(2)

ViOA 2 +
AB 2 =
OB 2 .
1 =
=
(Vi cos q
+
I i ri ) 2 +
(Vi sin q
+
I i xi ) 2

(3)

On solving equ (3),

2

P +
Q
2
ViVi 2 +
2ri Pi +
2 x i Qi +
( ri 2 +
xi 2 )[ i 2 i ] (4)
1 =
Vi
Where,
Pi =
Vi I i cos q
.
Qi =
Vi I i sin q
.
1
2

( Pi +
Qi ) 2
Ii =
Vi
Re-arranging the equ(4),
2

ViVi +
2ri Pi +
2xiQi +
ri co s2 q
Ii (1 +
tan2 q
)
1 =
2

+
xi cos2 q
I i (1 +
tan2 q
)
(5)

Further re-arranging, as in equation (5) and writing in generalized form with respect to the ith
node, for the network having 'n' no. of nodes, the receiving end node voltage equation is obtained as under:
2
ViV 12
1 Vi 2 =
( ri Pi +
xi Qi )
[{ i ( ri Pi +
xi Qi )}2 2
2
1

( ri 2 +
xi 2 )( Pi 2 +
Qi 2 )] 2 =
X
Y.
(6)
Here,
2
Vi 1 X=
( ri Pi +
x i Qi )
2
1

V 12
Y =
[{ i ( ri Pi +
xi Qi )}2 ( ri 2 +
xi 2 )( Pi 2 +
Qi 2 )] 2
2

As in equation (6) mathematically the voltage solution does not exist when the term Y2 becomes
negative. Therefore the solution exists when,
2

V 1
{ i( ri Pi +
xi Qi )} 2 ( ri 2 +
xi 2 )( Pi 2 +
Qi 2 )
0.
2
(7)

The possible solution, as in equation (7) at particular load defines loadability limit at that node. In
order to determine the maximum loadability, the existing load (Pi + jQi) is replaced by the term {MLIi * (Pi+
jQi)}while the load power factor is assumed constant. Further, modifying, as in equation as quadratic
equation by equating it to zero, the MLIi is calculated as under:

OPTIMAL CAPACITOR PLACEMENT AND SIZING IN DISTRIBUTION.............

2
Vi(ri Pi +
x i Qi ) +
(ri 2 +
xi 2 )(Pi 2 +
Qi 2 ) ]
1 [MLIi =
2 (xi Pi +
ri Qi )2
(8)

Using equation (8), the MLI can be estimated at different loading conditions. To illustrate the
estimation of MLI, a lossy distribution system is considered. The sending end voltage, load power factor,
the line resistance and reactance is assumed to be |1.0| p.u, 0.8, 2.8 and 2.2 respectively. The value of
MLI reaches to '1', indicating that additional load leads to voltage collapse. The network loadability limit
when MLI=1.000 is found to be 8.496MVA, which is called as critical loading limit. The fourth column of
Table 1 gives the additional load, which is obtained by taking the difference of individual MVA load from
the critical load value i.e. 8.496. The additional load indicates the extra load, which can be connected to the
receiving end node of the sample system without the cause of voltage collapse of the system.

IV. MATHEMATICAL FORMULATION FOR CAPACITOR PLACEMENT AND SIZING

The problem of optimal capacitor placement requires determination of the location, sizes and
number of capacitors to be installed, subject to the certain operational constraints, in a distribution system
to achieve the maximum benefits.
A. Calculation of Capacitor Size
The total active power loss for a distribution system with branches is given by,
n

TPL =I i 2 ri

i=
1

(9)

Where, Ii and ri are the current magnitude and resistance respectively of the branch 'i'. Separating
the real and reactive components of current the power loss can be expressed as:

OPTIMAL CAPACITOR PLACEMENT AND SIZING IN DISTRIBUTION.............

i1

i1

TPL =I ai 2 ri +I ri 2 ri

(10)

Therefore,
(11)

TPL =
TPLa +
TPLr

Where, TPLa is power loss due to active components of current and TPLr is power loss due to
reactive components of current. The placement of the capacitor aims to maximize the system loss reduction
and the mathematical equations are obtained as follows:
If a capacitor of current Ick is placed at a node k, the total real power loss of the system is given by
equation (12)
n

TPL =
( I ri +
I ck ) 2 ri +
I r+
I r

i=
b( j )
i
b ( j ) ri i
i=
1 ai i

(12)

Here 'b' is the branch segments in radial path from source to candidate nodes.
The total loss reduction TPLk can be expressed by equation (13) as:
k

D
TPLk =
2 I ck
I rI ck
r (13)
i=
b( j ) ri i
i=
b( j) i
The capacitor current Ick that provides the maximum loss saving can be obtained from by taking
the first derivative of equation (13) with respect to Ick,
d
(D
TPLk )
k
k
=
2(
I ri ri +
I ck
r)=
0 (14)
i
=
b
(
j
)
i=
b( j ) i
d
I ck

Solving equation (14), the capacitor current for maximum loss saving is given by equation (15) as:
k

I ck

I r

=
(
)
r

i=
b( j ) ri i
k
i=
b( j ) i

(15)

It is assumed that there is no significant improvement in the node voltage Vk after capacitor
placement, due to change in active component of load current, at respective nodes. Therefore, the size of
capacitor at candidate node can be calculated as:
Qck =
I ck Vk

(16)

The size of capacitor calculated, as in equation (16), may differ at each node. The placement of
these sizes of capacitor at respective node does not guarantee to improve the required parameters uniformly.
B. Calculation of Power Loss Index
The network when compensated by Qck (i.e. optimal capacitor size calculated, as in (16) releases
the feeder KVAR capacity and reduces resultant power loss). The power loss reduction in the compensated
network varies from minimum to maximum value, and is calculated for each ith node using equation (17)
given below:
TPLi = TPLi (Base) - TPLi (compensated, Qck )
(17)
Based on the loss reduction, the power loss index PLI (i.e. normalized value in (0 1) range) can be

OPTIMAL CAPACITOR PLACEMENT AND SIZING IN DISTRIBUTION.............

obtained, in respect to the candidate node, using equation (18):

D
TP D
TPL min
PLI i =Li
D
TPL max D
TPL min

(18)

Using power loss index, the reduction in active power loss is calculated which in turn is used in
determining the selection criterion for optimal capacitor placement. The optimal location for the capacitor
placement is identified as the node having the maximum PLI.
V. SIMULATION RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The proposed work is simulated in a benchmark standard IEEE 15-bus radial distribution system,
whose single line diagram is shown in Fig. 3. The bus data and branch data of the test system are taken from
[2] and the substation voltage is maintained at 1.0p.u. The distribution system is assumed to be balanced
and operating under constant power load model. Initially by assuming flat voltage profile as 1p.u. and line
power loss as zero the load flow program is run. The base case load flow solution obtained by Newton
Raphson method for the IEEE 15-node distribution system is shown in Table 2.

Fig. 3 IEEE 15 bus distribution system

The maximum loadability limit calculated for each bus using equation (8) is shown in Table 3. The
system MVA load is varied at bus 7 and the values of node voltage and MLI evaluated are tabulated in Table
4. It has been observed that the small variation in load in 7th bus after 6.628MVA leads to sudden shutdown
of the system due to voltage collapse which has been highlighted in the Table 4. It results in the severe
interruptions while supplying power. Therefore, to operate the system under such critical loading
conditions, especially when power demand is growing, the loadability limit has to improve. This can be
achieved by optimal capacitor placement. Capacitor placement at suitable location proves to improve the
maximum loadability limit by locally supplying reactive power demand and reducing the line power loss.

OPTIMAL CAPACITOR PLACEMENT AND SIZING IN DISTRIBUTION.............

Table 2 Base case load flow solution

Voltage(pu)
Ploss(pu)
1.0000
0.5094
0.9273
0.5064
0.8899
0.4358
0.8785
0.4922
0.8774
0.5039
0.9029
0.4955
0.9006
0.4953
0.8965
0.4396
0.9159
0.4534
0.9147
0.5055
0.8748
0.4908
0.8599
0.4100
0.8585
0.5023
0.8667
0.4175
0.8758
0.4919

BusNo.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

Qloss(pu)
0.4693
0.4664
0.3978
0.4526
0.4640
0.4569
0.4568
0.4076
0.4174
0.4658
0.4520
0.3792
0.4629
0.3828
0.4524

Table 3 Estimated MLI values

Bus
No

MLI
Bus
No
MLI

252.32
7

26.791
8

79.444
9

252.32
10

79.444
11

79.444
12

26.791
13

26.791
14

252.32
15

79.444

26.791

252.32

26.791

79.444

Bus
No
MLI

Tabl e
Load in
MVA
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
5.5
6
6.5
6.628
7

4 Voltage & MLI variation at 7 bus

Voltage
MLI
A dditional
(pu)
Load(MVA)
0.8064
2.6513
4.1280
0.7843
2.2094
3.6280
0.7606
1.8938
3.1280
0.7350
1.6571
2.6280
0.7067
1.4730
2.1280
0.6749
1.3257
1.6280
0.6376
1.2051
1.1280
0.5906
1.1047
0.6280
0.5148
1.0197
0.1280
0.4552
1.0000
0
No solution 0.9469
-0.3720

The optimum capacitor size in KVAr to be installed at respective nodes computed using equation
(16) is shown in Table 5. The network becomes reconfigured by placement of capacitor with suitable size at
various nodes. In order to analyze the performance of the reconfigured network, the percentage measure of
average voltage profile improvement and average reduction in total real power loss attained with respect to
base case solution after placing the capacitor of calculated size (Qck) at the respective nodes is detailed in
Table 5. Fig. 4 shows the voltage profile improvement and power loss reduction with respect to capacitor
placed at respective nodes. It is observed from Fig. 4 and Table 5 that maximum voltage profile and

OPTIMAL CAPACITOR PLACEMENT AND SIZING IN DISTRIBUTION.............

maximum power loss reduction occurs when a capacitor of size 708.8937 KVAr is installed at 14th bus.
Table 5 Dete rmination of capacitor size
Bus No.
C apaci tor
Voltage
Real
Size (KVAr)
Profi le
Power
Improvem Loss
en t (%)
Reduction
(% )
2
43.1839
0.0573
0.5427
3
714.0000
1.4600
12.742
4
143.0000
0.3400
3.1313
5
142.8261
0.3493
3.1120
6
485.4295
0.8313
7.7680
7
531.6006
0.9267
8.2413
8
375.8294
0.6827
6.7913
9
104.6100
0.1620
1.6267
10
118.0891
0.1900
1.8120
11
103.3249
0.2533
2.4547
12
496.5955
1.3387
12.1613
13
466.0855
1.2840
11.0287
14
708.8937
1.7373
14.988
15
373.9869
0.8947
7.7160

Fig. 4 Aver age Voltage Profile Improvement and

Power Loss Re duction after Capacitor Placement

The optimal capacitor placement can also be determined using the power loss index calculated
using equation (18) for various capacitor sizes calculated as shown in Table 6. Fig. 5 shows the variation of
PLI (power loss index) and Qck (size of the capacitor) in every node of the network system. The node
having maximum value of PLI is identified as the suitable candidate node for the capacitor placement. It is
observed from Table 6 and Fig. 5 that node 12 has a maximum PLI value of 1.000.

OPTIMAL CAPACITOR PLACEMENT AND SIZING IN DISTRIBUTION.............

Table 6 Variation of PLI &Q ck at all the buses

Bus No.
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

Qck (MVAr)
0.0432
0.7140
0.1430
0.1428
0.4854
0.5316
0.3758
0.1046
0.1181
0.1033
0.4966
0.4661
0.7089
0.3740

PLI
0.4269
0.8017
0.5053
0.3710
0.2899
0.2553
0.8648
0.8589
0.3947
0.5398
1.0000
0
0.8760
0.3445

1
0.9

Qck

0.8

PLI

0.7
0.6

PLI&Qck

0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
2

10

11

12

13

14

15

BusNo
Fig. 5 Var iation of PLI &Qck at all the buses

From the above simulation results, voltage improvement is found to be maximum at 14th bus and
then at 3rd bus. The maximum capacitor size needed to be installed at 3rd bus is of size 714 KVAr. Based on
PLI value, the first priority for the capacitor placement is given to 12th node with sizing 496.5955 KVAr
followed by the consecutive capacitor placement at 14th, 8th, 9th, 3rd nodes and so on. Hence, based on the
estimation of PLI, the capacitor placement problem is found to be optimized, achieving a significant
improvement in system voltage profile and reduction in system loss, thereby enhancing overall efficiency
of the system.
VI. CONCLUSION
This paper has proposed an efficient method for the optimal location and sizing of capacitors in radial
distribution systems. The paper has also presented a conventional method for the determination of
maximum loadability limit and power loss index. The results presented has clearly indicated that a
considerable improvement in power loss reduction and voltage profiles is achieved by optimal capacitor
placement and sizing. The future scope of work will focus on the inclusion of cost savings in capacitor
installation.

OPTIMAL CAPACITOR PLACEMENT AND SIZING IN DISTRIBUTION.............

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2008, pp. 1192-1203.
[2] D.das, D.P. Kothari, A.Kalam, A simple and efficient method for load flow solution of radial
distribution networks, Int. Journal of Electrical power & energy systems, vol. 17, No. 5, pp. 335-346,
1995.
[3]Ikbal Ali, Mini S. Thomas, Pawan Kumar, Optimal capacitor placement in smart distribution systems to
improve its maximum loadability and energy efficiency, Int. Journal of Engineering, Science and
Technology, Vol. 3, No. 8, 2011, pp. 271-284.
[4] Mesut E. Baran and Felix F.Wu, Optimal sizing of capacitors placed on a radial distribution system,
IEEE Transactions on power delivery, Vol. 4,No. 1, January 1989.
[5]A.M.Sharaf, S.T.Ibrahim, Optimal capacitor placement in distribution networks Electric power
system research 3T (1996) 181-187,PO Box 4400,university of new Brunswick, Frederiction, N.B, Canada
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