Optimal Location of Distribution Generation Source
in Power System Network
Vivek Kumar Shrivastava1 O.P.Rahi2 Vaibhav Kumar Gupta3 and Sameer Kumar Singh4
Department of Electrical Engineering, NIT Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, India
1
viveknit.paper@gmail.com
2
oprahi2k@gmail.com
3
vaibhavele.nith@gmail.com
4
samtridev@yahoo.ie
Abstract Distributed Generation (DG) is growing rapidly
in power systems due to their potential solution for issues, like
the deregulation in power system, to meet the power demand
and the shortage of transmission capacities. Optimal
placement of DG assumes significance that improper
allocation of DG sources in power system would not only lead
to increased power or energy losses, but can also jeopardize
the system operation. Also optimal placement of DG is
necessary for the maximization of reliability and stability in
power system. In this paper classical grid search algorithm
based on successive load flows has been employed to obtain
optimal location and size of multiple DG units in radial power
system network in order to minimize total active power losses
and to improve voltage profile of the system. The proposed
method is the extension of single DG placement to the
placement of multiple DG units. It is significant because of the
fact that with the integration of DG units at various locations,
there is more reduction in total power losses and maximum
voltage drop in the system is also decreased. The proposed
method is tested on 12-bus radial distribution feeder with
different sizes of DG source. The obtained results are
presented in graphical manner.
Keywords- Distributed generation (DG); optimal location;
optimal size; grid search method; radial distribution network;
active power loss; voltage profile
I. INTRODUCTION
Distributed power generation is a technology that could
help to enable efficient, renewable energy production both
in developed and developing world. Distributed generation
(DG) is related with the use of small generating unit
installed at strategic point of electric power system or
locations of load centre's [1]. Distributed generation is an
electric power source connected directly to the distribution
network or on the customer site of the meter [2].DG can be
used in an isolated way, supplying the customers local
demand, or integrated into the grid supplying energy to
remainder of the electric power system. DG technologies
includes engines, small wind turbines, fuel cells and
photovoltaic system .DG technologies can run on
renewable energy resources, fossil fuels or waste heat.
Equipment ranges in size from less than a (kW) to tens of
megawatts (MW). Despite their small size, DG
technologies are having a stronger impact in electricity
markets. In some markets, DGs are actually replacing the
978-1-4673-0766-6/12/$31.00 2012 IEEE
more costly grid electricity. DG can meet all or part of a
customers power needs. If connected to a distribution or
transmission system, power can be sold to the utility or a
third party. The main reasons for the increasingly
widespread use of DG can be summed up as follows [1]:
It may be more economic than running a power
line to remote locations.
It provides primary power, with the utility
providing backup and supplemental power.
It can provide backup power during utility system
outages, for facilities requiring uninterrupted
service.
It can provide higher power quality for electronic
equipment.
For reactive supply and voltage control of
generation by injecting and absorbing reactive
power to control grid voltage.
For network stability in using fast response
equipment to maintain a secure transmission
system.
For system black-start to start generation and
restore a portion of the utility system without
outside support after a system collapse.
The optimal placement of DG has attracted many
researchers attention recently due to its ability to obviate
defects caused by improper installation of DG units, such
as rise in system losses, decline in power quality, voltage
increase at the end of feeders and etc [4]. Integrating DG
sources within the network can improve both the reliability
and efficiency of the power supply; release the available
capacity of the distribution substation as well as reducing
thermal stresses caused by loaded substations, feeders, and
ancillary equipment; improve the system voltage profiles as
well as the load factor; and delay the imminent upgrade of
the present system or the need to build newer infrastructure.
The extent of these benefits depends on how the DG is
placed and sized in a system. In addition to supplying the
system with the power needed to meet certain demands as
an installation incentive, the real power losses could be
minimal if the DG is optimally sited and sized. DG optimal
allocation and sizing is an ongoing research area [5]. The
exact solution of the DG allocation can be obtained by a
complete enumeration of all feasible combinations of sites
and sizes of DGs in the network [3].
In this paper the classical grid search algorithm based
on successive load flows has been employed to obtain
optimal location and size of multiple DG units in radial
power system network system to minimize total active
power losses and improve the voltage profile of the system.
The proposed methods are tested by a series of simulations
on 12-bus radial distribution system with different sizes of
DG source. Simulation results have been given to verify the
proposed method.
II. PROBLEM FORMULATION
The total active power loss for a radial distribution
system with N-1 branches is given by [13]
where Ik and Rk are the real part of current magnitude and
resistance, respectively, of branch k. N is the total number
of bus while N-1 is the total number of branches in the
system. The branch current can be obtained from the load
flow solution. The total power loss in the system is the sum
of real power loss (PLOSS) and reactive power loss (QLOSS)
respectively.
The objective function is to minimize real power loss of
the radial distribution system by injected real power of DG
(PDG) for DG placement subjected to restrain voltages along
the radial system within 1 0.05 p.u. and power generation
limit i.e. maximum DG size is selected as total load size of
the system[7,8]. The maximum number of DG which can
be installed in a DG is also restricted to NDG = 3. This
optimization problem is converted to a single objective
problem and the mathematical formulation of the problem
is expressed as follows:
To minimize: f (PDG) = PLoss
Subject to constraints:
i. |Vi | 1 0.05 p.u. , i = 1,2,3..N
ii. 0 PDG PLoad
iii. 0 NDG 3
III. METHODOLOGY
To find the optimum location and size of multiple DG
units classical grid search algorithm based on successive
load flows has been implemented [7, 8]. The Grid Search
algorithm is applied by placing a DG to each bus, by
changing the size of DG from 0% of total load power to
100% of total load power with the step size of 1% (step size
of 0.01MW) of total load power. The total power loss has
been calculated by a complete power flow analysis for each
case. The case with minimum losses determines the
optimum location and size of DG. After that, the bus
voltages are controlled whether the bus voltages are within
the acceptable range.
The grid search algorithm involves setting up a suitable
grid in the design space, evaluating the objective function
at all the grid points, and finding the grid point
corresponding to the lowest function value [9]. For
example, if the lower and upper bounds on the ith design
variable are known to be li and ui, respectively, we can
divide the range (li, ui) into pi 1 equal parts so that xi(1),
xi(2), ., xi(pi) denote the grid points along the xi axis (
i=1,2,..n). This leads to a total of p1 p2 ..pn
grid points in the design space. For problems with a small
number of design variables, the grid method can be used
conveniently to find and approximate minimum. Also, the
grid method can be used to find a good starting point for
one of the more efficient method. The algorithm for
placement of multiple DG units has been given below:
Step 1: Initialize system parameters.
Step 2: Run load flow analysis for the original base system
and obtain total real/active (PLOSS) and reactive power loss
(QLOSS) in the system, voltage profile and current profile at
each bus.
where Ik and Rk are the real part of current magnitude and
resistance, respectively, of branch k. N is the total number
of bus while N-1 is the total number of branches in the
system.
Step 3: Initialize i = 1 (i = bus no. of DG); i = 1,2,3N.
Step 4: Check whether i > N, if the given condition is
satisfied go to step 11 otherwise go to next step.
Step 5: Set PDG=0 (PDG= size of DG); 0 PDG PLoad.
Step 6: Check whether PDG > PLoad, if the given condition
is satisfied go to step 10 otherwise go to next step.
Step 7: Run the load flow for the new modified system with
DG and obtain total real/active (PLOSS) and reactive power
loss (QLOSS) in the system, voltage profile and current
profile at each bus.
Step 8: Identify the maximum saving for minimum
real/active power loss (PLOSS) and the corresponding DG
size (PDG). The corresponding bus is a candidate bus where
DG can be placed.
Step 9: Modify the active load at this bus, PDG =PDG+ ( =
step size; step size is 1% of PLoad).Go to Step 6.
Step 10: Initialize i = i+1 and go to Step 4.
Step 11: Find minimum real/active power PLOSS.
Step 12: Check for voltage constraint as follows: |Vi | 1
0.05 p.u., i = 1, 2, 3..N. If the given condition is satisfied
go to step 14 otherwise go to next step.
Step 13: Reject unsuitable values.
Step14: For minimum real/active PLoss, Find optimum
location (i) and the corresponding DG size (PDG). Identify
the maximum saving. Compare the reactive power loss
(QLOSS), voltage profile and current profile of the modified
system with those of original base system.
Step 15: Place the DG of size (PDG) at the optimum location
(i).
Step 16: Check whether the saving obtain is more than the system voltage drop is reduced drastically when
1Kw. If yes, go to step 2. Otherwise, go to next step. compared with initial voltage drop.
Step17: Print all the candidate locations to place DG
sources and the sizes.

The flowchart for the placement of single DG in the

radial distribution power system network has been shown
in Fig.1 in the APPENDIX.
TABLE I: LINE LOSS WITH SINGLE DG
IV. LOAD FLOW STUDY
Due to the high R/X ratios and unbalanced operation in Bus No. Optimum Active Line Reactive Line
distribution systems, the Newton-Raphson and ordinary Size of DG Losses (MW) Losses (MVAr)
(MW): PDG1 PLOSS QLOSS
Fast Decoupled Load Flow method may provide inaccurate 1 0.43500 0.02069 0.00806
results and may not be converged [14]. Therefore, 2 0.43500 0.01867 0.00721
conventional load flow methods cannot be directly applied 3 0.43500 0.01703 0.00653
to distribution systems. An efficient load flow solution 4 0.40455 0.01480 0.00561
technique is required for application to radial 5 0.35670 0.01257 0.00469
6 0.34365 0.01200 0.00445
distribution networks. This method exploits 7 0.33495 0.01158 0.00428
the radial nature of the network and uses forward and 8 0.28275 0.01088 0.00410
backward propagation to calculate branch currents and 9 0.23490 0.01076 0.00414
node voltages. In this paper, network topology based 10 0.22185 0.01102 0.00424
forward/backward sweep algorithms using Kirchhoffs 11 0.20880 0.01130 0.00435
12 0.20010 0.01670 0.00448
Laws or making use of the well-known bi-quadratic
equation have been used for load flow analysis Due to its
low memory requirements, computational efficiency and From table I: it can be seen that for DG size of 0.23490
robust convergence characteristic[15,12]. MW at bus 9, active line losses are reduced from 0.02069
MW to 0.01076 MW and reactive line losses are reduced
from 0.00806 MVAr to 0.00414 MVAr.
V. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
TABLE II: LINE LOSS WITH 2 DGs
The proposed method is tested on 12- bus radial
distribution feeder with different sizes of DG. The load and Bus No. Optimum Active Line Reactive Line
line data of the 12 bus distribution test system can be found Size of DG Losses (MW) Losses (MVAr)
in [10].The classical grid search algorithm is employed (MW): PDG2 PLOSS QLOSS
with the power flow program MATPOWER [11] to 1 0.43500 0.01076 0.00414
validate the results. The classical grid search algorithm 2 0.22275 0.01033 0.00395
3 0.19440 0.01010 0.00386
takes computation time depending upon size of the system 4 0.15225 0.00993 0.00379
and power steps. 5 0.11310 0.00999 0.00382
6 0.10440 0.01005 0.00384
The parameters of 12-bus system are given in [10]. The 7 0.08700 0.01012 0.00387
total real power and reactive power loads on this system are 8 0.04350 0.01054 0.00401
9 0.23490 0.01076 0.00414
0.4350 MW and 0.4050 MVAr. The initial real and reactive
10 0.01305 0.01073 0.00410
power losses in the system are 0.02069 MW and 0.00806 11 0.01305 0.01072 0.00410
MVAr. Based on the method described previously, the 12 0.01305 0.01072 0.00410
optimal sizes of DG are calculated at all buses for the test
system. From table II: it can be seen that for DG size of 0.15525
MW at bus 4, active line losses are reduced from 0.01076
Based on classical grid search method described above MW to 0.00993 MW and reactive line losses are reduced
the optimal sizes of DG are calculated at all buses for the from 0.00414 MVAr to 0.00379 MVAr.
test system. Fig.2 shows the optimal sizes of DG units at all
buses for test system. The real and reactive power losses for TABLE III: VOLTAGE PROFILE
the corresponding DG unit sizes are shown in Fig.3 and
Fig.4. Improvement in voltage profile and current profile Bus No. Voltage Profile Voltage Profile Voltage Profile
was observed from Fig.5 and Fig.6 for 12bus distribution without with single with double
DG (p.u.) DG (p.u.) DG (p.u.)
feeder. Results of proposed method, total power losses with
1 1.00000 1.00000 1.00000
and without DG obtained have been tabulated in Table I, 2 0.99433 0.99655 0.99793
Table II, Table III and Table IV for the test system 3 0.98902 0.99366 0.99655
respectively. It has been observed that the total power 4 0.98057 0.98950 0.99505
losses are significantly reduced for all test systems. With 5 0.96983 0.98526 0.99084
the increase in integration of more number of DG units in 6 0.96654 0.98420 0.98979
 7 0.96376 0.98347 0.98906
8 0.95533 0.98398 0.98957

>>W>K^^ Dt
9 0.94730 0.98735 0.99292
10 0.94448 0.98464 0.99023
11 0.94358 0.98378 0.98937 >>
12 0.94337 0.98358 0.98917 
'Dt
From table II: it can be seen that with the integration of
single DG in the system there is reduction in maximum >>
voltage drop from 5.663% to 1.653% which further reduces 
to 1.094% with the integration of 2nd DG source into the 12 'Dt
bus test system.
>>
The obtained results are presented in graphical manner '
Dt
shown below in Fig.2, Fig. 3, Fig.4, Fig. 5 and Fig. 6
respectively. Fig. 2 shows optimum size of DG (MW) to be
installed in the radial power system at different bus. From E
this graph it can be seen that the optimum size of second
DG to be installed in system gets significantly reduced Fig. 3: 12-Bus Line Losses P (MW)
LOSS
when compared with the optimum size of first DG to be
installed in the system. Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 shows curve
between active power loss vs bus no. and reactive power
loss vs bus no. respectively for optimum size of DG at
different bus. It can be observed that by installing DGs at

>>Y>K^^Ds

all the potential locations, the total power loss of the system
has been reduced. Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 shows curve for voltage
>>
and current profile at different bus.

'Ds
>>

'Ds
K^'Dt

K >>
 '
'Dt Ds
K
 E
'Dt

Fig. 4: 12-Bus Line Losses Q (MVAr)
LOSS

s
sW



'
E
Fig.2: 12-Bus Optimum Size of DG (MW) s


'
s


'
E
Fig.5: 12-Bus Voltage Profile (p.u.)
 CONCLUSION
In this paper the classical grid search algorithm based
on successive load flows has been employed to obtain
optimal location and size of multiple DG units in radial
WZ/  distribution power system network to minimize total power
> losses and improve voltage profile of the system. Improper
 allocation of DG sources in power system would not only
lead to increase power or energy losses, but can also

' jeopardize the system operation. DG should be placed in

the optimal location in order to provide maximum
economical, technical and environmental benefits. The
> proposed methods are tested by a series of simulations on
 12-bus radial distribution feeder with different sizes of DG.
 The obtained results have been presented in graphical
manner. This method is easy to be implemented for the
'
 given accuracy. It is proved that the proposed method can
save huge amount of power and achieve significant
>E improvement in voltage profile and current profile of the
system.
Fig.6: 12-Bus Current Profile Real I (A) for different Line
k
APPENDIX

TABLE IV: 12 BUS SYSTEM RESULT

System No DG Single DG Double DG

Parameter Profile Profile Profile
Active/Real Line 0.02069 0.01076 0.00993
Loss PLOSS at bus 9 at bus 4
(MW)
% Reduction in - 47.99 52.01
Loss
Reactive Line 0.00806 0.00414 0.00379
Loss
QLOSS (MVAr)
% Reduction in - 48.64 52.98
Loss
Maximum 1.0000at bus 1
Voltage (p.u.)
Minimum 0.94337 0.98347 0.98906
Voltage (p.u.) at bus 12 at bus 7 at bus 7
% Maximum 5.663 1.653 1.094
voltage drop
Optimum - 9 4 9
Location
Optimum Size - 0.23490 0.15225 0.23490
(MW)

In table IV, for 12 bus distribution system the total

power losses with and without DG are tabulated. It is seen
that active power losses are reduced from 0.02069 MW to
0.00993 MW and reactive power losses are reduced from
0.00806 MVAr to 0.00379 MVAr with the integration of 2
DG units in the system i.e., DG unit of size 0.23490 MW at
bus 9 and 0.15225 MW at bus 4. Also maximum voltage
drop in the system has been reduced from 5.663% to
1.094%. With the integration of more DG units in the
system, there is huge amount of power saving and
significant improvement in voltage profile and current
profile of the system.
Fig. 1: Flowchart for Single DG Placement
 REFERENCES
[1] L.L.Lai and T.F.Chan, Distributed Generation: induction and
permanent magnet generators,Wiley,2007.
[2] T. Ackermann, G. Andersson and L. Soder, Distributed generation:
a definition, Electric Power Systems Research,Elsevier, 2001.
[3] M. Gandomkar,M. Vakilian, M. Ehsan, Optimal distributed
generation allocation in distribution network using Hereford Ranch
algorithm, Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on
Electrical Machines and Systems, 2005.Volume 2, Issue , 27-29
Sept. 2005, pp. 916 918.
[4] M. Sedighizadeh, M. Fallahnejad, M. R. Alemi, M. Omidvaran and
D. Arzaghi-haris, Optimal Placement of Distributed Generation
Using Combination of PSO and Clonal Algorithm,IEEE
International Conference on Power and Energy (PECon
2010),Malaysia
[5] M. F. Alhajri, M. R. Alrashidi and M. E. EL-Hawary, Improved
Sequential Quadratic Programming Approach for Optimal
Distribution Generation Deployments via Stability and Sensitivity
Analyses, Electric Power Components and Systems, 38,pp 1595
1614, 2010
[6] S. F.Mekhamer, Hawary,S.A.Soliman,M.A.Moustafa,M.M.Mansour,
New Heuristic Strategies for Reactive Power Compensation of
Radial Distribution Feeders, IEEE trans. Power Delivery,Vol. 17,
October 2002, pp. 1128-1135
[7] T. Gozel , U. Eminoglu , M.H. Hocaoglu, A tool for voltage
stability and optimization (VS&OP) in radial distribution systems
using matlab graphical user interface (GUI), Simulation Modelling
Practice and Theory 16 (2008),pp 505518, Elsevier,February 2008
[8] T. Gozel , M.H. Hocaoglu, An analytical method for the sizing and
siting of distributed generators in radial systems, Electric Power
Systems Research, 2008
[9] S.S. Rao, Engineering Optimization: Theory and Practice, third ed.,
Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1996.
[10] P.Ravi Babu, C.P.Rakesh, G.Srikanth, M.Naveen Kumar and
D.Prabhuvardhan Reddy, A Novel Approach for Solving
Distribution Networks, Annual IEEE India Conference
(INDICON), 2009
[11] R.D. Zimmerman, C.E. Murillo-Snchez, D. Gan, MATPOWER : A
MATLAB Power System Simulation Package,
www.pserc.cornell.edu /matpower/matpower. html (access date:
April 20,2007).
[12] D. Thukaram, H.M.W. Banda, J. Jerome, A robust three-phase power
flow algorithm for radial distribution systems, Electric Power
Systems Research 50 (3) (1999),pp 227236.
[13] S. F.Mekhamer, Hawary,S.A.Soliman,M.A.Moustafa,M.M.Mansour,
New Heuristic Strategies for Reactive Power Compensation of
Radial Distribution Feeders, IEEE trans. Power Delivery,Vol. 17,
October 2002, pp. 1128-1135
[14] J. B. V. Subrahmanyam, Load Flow Solution of Unbalanced Radial
Distribution Systems, Journal of Theoretical and Applied
Information Technology,2005
[15] S. Kumar Injeti, Navuri P Kumar, Optimal Planning of Distributed
Generation for Improved Voltage Stability and Loss Reduction,
International Journal of Computer Applications, Volume 15 No.1,
February 2011