Multiobjective Reactive Power Compensation Applied to the Paraguayan Power System

This paper presents the application of a variant of the Strength Pareto Evolutionary Algorithm to address reactive power compensation in the Paraguayan Power System. This is solved as a multi-objective problem, turning traditional constraints into objective functions. The method optimizes independently several features related to the operation of power systems: amount of reactive power devices, transmission losses, average voltage deviation, maximum voltage deviation and voltage security measured by a load margin index. In addition, total reactive power generation of existing Static Var Compensators is included. Also, real operational constrains have been taken into account to specify parameters, such as the maximum reactive power compensation per bus and desired voltage profile. As a result, a wide set of optimal solutions, known as Pareto set, is found before deciding which solution best combines different and sometimes contradictory features. This work has been done in a transmission planning framework, aimed to validate a reactive power compensation scheme obtained purely based on practical engineering judgments. In this way, the algorithm has been a useful tool providing support to a key component of the system planning.