A Distribution Network Line Planning Method considering Economic Efficiency and Reliability

The design of new distribution networks requires a balanced consideration of economic efficiency and supply reliability. This paper proposes a distribution network line planning framework that explicitly considers the trade-off between these two objectives. The planning problem is formulated as a multi-objective optimization model incorporating line investment and operation costs as well as load interruption costs under single-line contingencies, and an improved novel binary particle swarm optimization (INBPSO) algorithm is applied to handle discrete line connection decisions. Simulation results on a 21-bus distribution system show that prioritizing economic efficiency leads to a radial network structure, whereas increasing the importance of reliability results in looped or partially meshed configurations. These results demonstrate that the economic–reliability trade-off directly determines the topological characteristics of new distribution networks.