MATLAB/Simulink Based Steady-State Power Flow Analysis and Voltage Characteristics Study of a Microgrid

Photovoltaic (PV) generation changes power flows and voltage profiles in grid-connected microgrids. This study examines these effects using the Baran–Wu IEEE 33-Bus Radial Distribution System under balanced operation at 50 Hz. A single PV unit is modeled as a constant-PQ source with zero reactive power. A current-based forward/backward sweep algorithm is implemented in MATLAB for eleven operating cases covering PV capacity, connection location, and load level. Two cases are checked independently using the MATPOWER Newton–Raphson solver, and four are verified using a three-phase Simscape Electrical network. At rated load, connecting 0.50 MW at bus 18 raises the minimum voltage from 0.91309 to 0.92451 pu and reduces total active power loss from 202.68 to 153.42 kW. Across the sampled capacities, losses initially decrease and then increase, with local reverse power flow occurring in some branches. Changing the connection location redistributes voltage improvements, whereas increased loading deepens voltage drops and increases losses. The maximum voltage difference between MATLAB and Simulink is below 5 × 10⁻¹⁰ pu. The results support steady-state comparisons of PV connection schemes under the specified network and constant-power assumptions.