Modified Genetic Algorithm for Capacitive Compensation in Radial Distribution Systems

This paper introduces an Modified Genetic Algorithm (MGA) for optimizing the placement of capacitor banks in radial distribution systems to minimize active power losses. In MGA, the crossover and mutation processes adapt based on each chromosome's fitness value. Chromosomes with high fitness values perform local searches to enhance efficiency, while those with low fitness values conduct global searches to prevent premature convergence. Additionally, an ‘OR’ operator is incorporated into the crossover process to improve the algorithm's performance. This operator ensures that offspring from high-fitness parents have higher or at least comparable fitness values to the best parent. M GA has been tested on 33-bus and 69-bus systems, demonstrating superior optimization results compared to other methods, as evidenced by the lowest power losses achieved.