Minimisation of Neutral Current in Distribution Network by Home Level Rephasing

Unbalance is one of the biggest problems associated with a distribution system. It can lead to increased copper losses, thermal loading and neutral conductor size. This work proposes an algorithm to address the unbalance, hence reduce the neutral current of the system. The results obtained are reproducible. Consumers are classified into industrial, commercial, agricultural and residential. Phase allocation of single-phase residential consumers is changed to achieve overall system balance. Balancing was carried out initially at an intra-bus level starting from the end of the lateral feeders. Unbalance between phases is calculated for each time interval at each bus. Houses are identified to be rephased within the same bus. This method however addresses only the unbalance within individual buses. If any unbalance is not addressed within a bus, balancing is carried out in the previous bus such that the net unbalance of the considered buses is minimized. The results are demonstrated using the IEEE 33-bus system.