AN AUTOMATIC FRAMEWORK FOR BALANCING LOW-VOLTAGE CUSTOMERS IN DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS – CASE STUDY

Abstract

Distribution network operators are continuously facing challenging issues concerning system losses. Among different reasons for system losses, unbalanced networks are one of the outstanding ones that have not been properly addressed in the studies. Therefore, in this paper, an automatic framework based on the GIS and billing services is presented to deal with this problem. By employing the proposed method, the network operator would be able to automatically ascertain the balanced structure of every low-voltage feeder of the system. In the proposed framework, the customers are analyzed and compared with the load of the feeders, and then each customer is assigned to the best phase. The strategy is programmed and implemented using MATLAB software. By importing the whole network’s data into the software, the program produces a file containing customers’ information concerning the new structure. The outcome is quite adjustable with GIS software, which enables the network’s operator to provide a graphical structure of the system. Meanwhile, the proposed method analyzed the imported data and can recognize wrong or imperfect information. The proposed method is tested and implemented on a real low-voltage network and the result demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed structure.