A Current Injection Approach for Minimum Loss Solution

Abstract

The current injection method is commonly employed for solving the power flow problem in distribution networks with PQ nodes; it can handle distributed generation at PV nodes by iterating with a sensitivity based reactive power computation that satisfies pre-specified generator set-point voltage magnitudes. This letter shows that the current injection framework can be extended to compute the distributed generation set-point voltages and reactive power so that the network power loss is minimized. The proposed extension is based on Wirtinger calculus, and operates in complex voltage coordinates like the classical current injection method. Numerical results on distribution networks with up to 3139 nodes show that the minimum loss current injection power flow gives the same results as the MATPOWER interior point optimal power flow solver, while being around an order of magnitude faster.

Keywords:

• distributed power generation
• load flow control
• power system simulation
• reactive power control
• voltage control

Additional information

Funding

This project has been funded with support from the National Council for Scientific Research in Lebanon and the American University of Beirut.

Notes on contributors

Rabih A. Jabr

Rabih A. Jabr received the B.E. degree in electrical engineering (with high distinction) from the American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon, in 1997 and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Imperial College London, London, U.K., in 2000. Currently, he is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the American University of Beirut. Prof. Jabr is a Fellow of the IEEE. His research interests are in mathematical optimization techniques and power system analysis and computing.