APPLICATION OF FUZZY LOGIC FOR LOSS REDUCTION IN A

TRANSMISSION NETWORK

BY

OKAFOR EMMANUEL SUNDAY

FPOEEHA19261

A SEMINAR SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF

ELECTRICAL/ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING, SCHOOL OF
ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY
FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC OKO

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE

AWARD OF THE HIGHER NATIONAL DIPLOMA (HND) IN
ELECTRICAL/ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING

SUPERVISOR: ENGR. DR. ANANTI J.E.

NOVEMBER 2021

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 ABSTRACT
To improve the overall efficiency of the power system, the
performance of transmission system must be improved. Some of the
vital ways of achieving this objective is by reducing power losses in
the system and also improving voltage profile. An important method
of controlling bus voltage is by shunt capacitor banks in the
transmission substations. The capacitor absorbs reactive power flow
in the system, thus improving power factor. When this is done, active
power is also improved. In this research, a 10-bus transmission
system is taken as model. Newton-Raphson’s power flow program is
executed using MATLAB toolbox to obtain p. u nodal voltage ranging
from 0.8890 to 1.0564, total real power line losses (0.09438 p.u),
and total reactive power line losses (0.36970 p. u). By using power
loss reduction, power loss index is evaluated and normalized in the
range [0, 1]. These indices, together with the p. u nodal voltage
magnitude, is fed as inputs to the Fuzzy Inference System to obtain
Capacitor Suitability Index (CSI). The CSIs obtained, ranges from
0.244 to 0.897. The values of the CSIs determine nodes most suitable
for capacitor installation. Experimentally, highest values of CSIs are
chosen for capacitor installation. As a result, 3 buses (3, 8, and 10)
with CSI values of 0.680, 0.750, and 0.897 respectively, are chosen.
Capacitor sizes of 50MVar, 85MVar, and 60MVar (obtained from
Index Based Method) are installed on the buses. Voltage profile
improves by 3.74%, 3.27%, and 3.33% respectively, while total real
power loss in the system reduces by 17.55% and total reactive power
injection to the network reduces by 8.70% respectively. Overall,
system stability and efficiency, hence, reliability, are improved by
installation of capacitors at suitable locations in a transmission
system.

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INTRODUCTION
Electrical energy is generated at power stations which are usually
located far away from load centres. Thus, a network of conductors
between the power stations and the consumers is required in order
to harness the power generated. This network of conductors may be
divided into two main components, namely, the transmission
system and the distribution system. As power flows in the lines, a
significant amount is lost. Accurate knowledge of these power
losses on transmission lines and their minimization is a critical
component for efficient flow of power in an electrical network. Power
losses result in lower power availability to final consumers. Hence,
adequate measures need to be taken to reduce power losses to the
barest minimum.
Power plants' planning in a way to meet the power network load
demand is one of the most important and essential issues in power
systems. Since transmission lines connect generating plants and
substations in power network, the analysis, computation and
reduction of transmission losses in these networks are of great
concern to scientists and engineers. Studies have indicated that as
much as 9% or more of total power generated is consumed as losses
at the transmission level. The losses can be separated to active and
reactive component of branch current, where the losses produced
by reactive current can be reduced by the installation of shunt
capacitors. Capacitors (capacitor banks) are widely used in
transmission systems to reduce energy and peak demand losses,
release the MVA capacities of transmission apparatus and to
maintain a voltage profile within permissible limits. The objective of
optimal capacitor placement problem is to determine the size, type,
and location of capacitors to be installed on the transmission
network to achieve positive economic response. The economic
benefits obtained from the loss reduction weighted against
capacitors costs while keeping the operational and power quality
constraints within required limits. Fuzzy logic provides a remedy for

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any lack of uncertainty in the data. Fuzzy logic is a subset of
conventional (Boolean) logic that has been extended to handle the
concepts of partial truth-values, between ‘completely true’ and
‘completely false’.
The ideas of fuzzy logic dates all the way back to Plato who
proposed that there is a third region between true and false. Fuzzy
logic is a technique of making a choice answer to questions, other
than ‘yes’ or ‘no’. It resembles human reasoning in the use of
approximate information and uncertainty to generate decision. The
fuzzy logic is a designed technique used in providing tools for
dealing with imprecision that are intrinsic to many problems. The
fuzzy set theory implements clauses of data that are not sharply
defined. To that effect, the degree of power loss incurred in
transmission lines is evaluated using Fuzzy logic in MATLAB
toolbox.
Furthermore fuzzy logic has the advantage of including heuristics
and representing engineering judgments into the capacitor
allocation optimization process.
The Problem
Presently, many electrical energy companies in a number of
countries are experiencing very high losses. Studies show that
about 9% of total power generated is wasted in the form of losses at
the transmission level in Nigeria. Similarly, voltage drops and/or
over-voltages are frequently experienced by Transmission Company
of Nigeria (TCN) in transmitting electricity. To reduce these losses
and improve voltage profile, shunt capacitor banks are installed on
transmission sub-stations. With active power loss reduction and
voltage profile improvement as objectives, the optimal capacitor
placement problem aims to determine the optimal capacitor location
and capacitor sizes in the transmission systems. Efficient methods
are required to determine the best location and sizes.

Significance of the Research

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Shunt capacitor installations enhance an improved voltage profile,
power factor, and reduction in real power loss in the transmission
system. Thus, this work is significant because of the following
i. It would be a reference material for researchers.
ii. The work would also be useful to Transmission Company of
Nigeria (TCN).
iii. It could also be a resource material for policy makers in power
system, etc.
Scope of the Research
The scope of this work is limited to a 10-bus model transmission
network. The bus system (which cut across 2 of the 8 TCN regions),
is carefully chosen as a case study for this work. This is because of
higher losses and voltage drops experienced in the regions. Power
flow analysis of this sub-network is conducted to obtain losses.
‘Capacitor placement method’ is applied using Fuzzy logic technique
to determine the sizes and locations of buses to install the
capacitors. Sizes of capacitors to be installed are equally evaluated.

HISTORY
Electric Power Supply Systems In early days, there was a little
demand for electrical energy so that small power stations were built
to supply lighting and heating loads. However, the widespread use
of electrical energy by modern civilization has necessitated
producing bulk electrical energy economically and efficiently. The
increased demand of electrical energy can be met by building big
power stations at favorable places where fuel (coal or gas) or water
energy is available in abundance. This has shifted the site of power
stations to places quite away from the consumers. The electrical
energy produced at the power stations has to be delivered to the
consumers. There is a large network of conductors between the
power station and the consumers. This network can be broadly
divided into transmission and distribution. The conveyance of
electric power from a power station to consumers’ premises is
known as electric supply system. Therefore, an electric supply
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system consists of three main components which include the power
generation, the transmission system and the distribution system.
Electric power generated at power stations (usually located far away
from consumers), is then stepped up and transmitted over long
distances from the power stations to load centres by means of
conductors known as transmission lines. We have primary and
secondary (or sub-) transmission stages. Finally, power is
distributed to a large number of consumers through a distribution
network. We also have primary and secondary (sub-) distribution
stages. The electric supply system can be broadly classified into:
i. Alternating Current and Direct Current Systems
ii. Overhead and Underground Systems.
Alternating Current and Direct Current Transmission Systems
Electrical power can be transmitted and distributed by either
Alternating Current (AC) or Direct Current (DC) systems. However,
in practice, 3-phase, 3-wire AC system is generally used for
transmission of large blocks of power and 3-phase, 4-wire AC
system is used for the distribution of electric power. The main
advantage of AC transmission system is that voltage can be stepped
up at generating end by means of step-up transformers to a desired
value for transmission purposes and then stepped down at the
distributing end by means of step-down transformers for
distribution purposes. This permits the transmission of electric
power at high voltage. Again, the maintenance of AC sub-stations is
easier and cheaper. Also, in AC transmission system, electric power
can be generated at high voltages easily. Meanwhile, AC system also
has its own disadvantages which include the following:
i. An AC line requires more copper conductors than a DC line
ii. In overhead transmission lines, spacing between the
conductors is always kept more in order to provide adequate
insulation and avoid corona loss.
iii. The construction of an AC transmission line is more
complicated than the one for a DC transmission line.
iv. The effective resistance of the transmission line is increased
because of skin effect in AC line.
v. AC transmission line has capacitance, thus there is a
continuous loss of power due to charging current even when

6
 the line is open. Overhead and Underground Systems Electric
power can be transmitted or distributed either by means of
overhead lines or by underground cables. The underground
cables are rarely used for power transmission because of the
following reasons.
In the first place, power is generally transmitted over long
distances to load centres. So the installation costs for
underground transmission will be very high. The initial
installation cost of underground system is almost double that of
overhead system. Secondly, electric power has to be transmitted
at high voltages for economic reasons. As a result, it is very
difficult to provide proper insulation for the cables to withstand
the high pressures. The underground system cannot be operated
above 66KV because of the insulation problem whereas overhead
transmission system can be designed to operate at 400KV or
above. With the continuous rise in voltage level as a result of
increased power demand, power transmission by overhead
transmission lines is common. Another advantage of overhead
transmission system over underground system is that overhead
system is more flexible. In overhead system, new conductors can
be laid along with the existing ones for load expansion. In
underground transmission systems such new conductors needed
for load expansion will be laid in new channels. In Nigeria, the
common practice is that electrical power is transmitted and
distributed using overhead AC system.

Overview of Nigeria’s Electricity Transmission Network In

Nigeria
Electrical energy transmission system is operated by
Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), one of the 18 successor
companies carved out of the parent formerly state-owned
vertically integrated Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).
Following the conclusion of the privatization programme in
November 2013, the 11 downstream distribution companies
(DisCos) and six upstream generation companies (GenCos) were
handed over to new private-sector owners, while government
retains ownership of TCN. The TCN network spreads to all parts
of the country and across the border to several neighboring
countries, and Nigeria is a net exporter of power. It is a member

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of the West African Power Pool (WAPP) and integration with the
WAPP system is anticipated. TCN is made up of the Corporate
Headquarters at Abuja, the National Control Centre (NCC) at
Osogbo, two Supplementary NCCs located at Benin and Shiroro,
eight Regional Transmission Headquarters located at Bauchi,
Benin, Enugu, Kaduna, Lagos, Osogbo, Port-Harcourt and
Shiroro, and 32 Work Centres spread across the eight Regions.
TCN, by virtue of its operating licence, carries out the functions
of Transmission Service Provider (TSP), System Operations (SO)
and Market Operations (MO). The transmission system in
Nigeria, operated by TCN comprises 330 KV and 132 KV circuits
and substations; the thermal generation stations are located in
the south of the country, generally near to the sources of gas,
while hydro generating stations are located further north at
Jebba, Kainji and Shiroro. Overall, there is a shortage of
generation in the North. Distribution is split into 11 zones and
the distribution networks comprise 33KV, 11KV and low voltage
circuits. System nominal frequency is 50 Hz. The eight (8) TCN
regions are responsible for running and maintenance of
transmission and transformation facilities in their areas of
operation, which are:
i. Bauchi Transmission Region with Headquarters in Bauchi
and covers Bauchi, Yobe, Adamawa, Taraba, Gombe and
Plateau states.
ii. Kaduna Transmission Region with Headquarters in Kaduna
and covers Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa and Zamfara
states.
iii. Shiroro Transmission Region with Headquarters in Shiroro
and covers Niger, Kebbi, Sokoto, Nasarawa states and the
Federal Capital Territory.
iv. Benin Transmission Region with Headquarters in Benin and
covers Delta, Edo and Kogi states.
v. Lagos Transmission region with Headquarters in Ijora and
coversLagos and Ogun states.
vi. Osogbo Transmission Region with Headquarters in Osogbo
and covers Osogbo, Ekiti, Ondo, Oyo, Osun and Kwara
states.
vii. Enugu Transmission Region with Headquarters in Eungu
and covers Enugu, Anambra, Ebonyi and Benue states. viii.

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 Port Harcourt Transmission Region with Headquarters in
PortHarcourt and covers Rivers, Cross Rivers, Bayelsa, Imo,
Abia and Akwa Ibom states.
Existing Transmission Infrastructure Two major facilities used by
TCN to provide electrical service to its customers are
transmission lines and power transformers. Transmission lines
can be described as highways of electricity while power
transformers are used at various points along the way from
generation to delivery and to final use. The existing transmission
system has the capacity to transmit about 7,340.6MW at 330KV
and 9,172MW at 132KV as portrayed in the following
transmission network data as at 31st March, 2014.
• 5,512km of 330 KV of Transmission lines
• 6,965km of 132KV of Transmission lines
• 27 No. 330/132KV Substations with total installed
transformation capacity of 8,636MVA (equivalent to
7,340.6MW) 21
• 114 No. 132/33/11KV Substations with total installed
transformation capacity of 10,791.5MVA (equivalent to
9,172.8MW)
• The Average Available Capacity on 330/132KV is
8,204.2MVA and 10,036.1MVA on 132/33KV which is
about 95% and 93% of installed capacity respectively
• Average Transmission Loss is about 9.7%.
The eight (8) regions of TCN namely: Bauchi, Benin, Enugu,
Kaduna, Lagos, Oshogbo, Port Harcourt and Shiroro.

Electric Power Losses in Transmission Lines

The Nigerian power system network, like all other power system,
waves about the entire country and it is one of the largest
interconnection of a dynamic system in existence. No matter how
carefully the system is designed, losses are present. Electric power
losses are wasteful energy caused by external factors or internal
factors, and energy dissipated in the system. They include losses
due to resistance, atmospheric conditions, theft, miscalculations,
etc, and losses incurred between sources of supply to load centre
(or consumers). Loss minimization and quantification is very vital in

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all human endeavors. In power system, it can lead to more
economic operation of the system. If we know how the losses occur,
we can take steps to limit and minimize the losses. Consequently,
this will lead to effective and efficient operation of the system.
Therefore, the existing power generation and transmission can be
effectively used without having the need to build new installations
and at the same time save cost of losses. Sadly, Nigerian electricity
grid has a large proportion of transmission and distribution losses -
whopping 40%. This is attributed to technical losses and non-
technical losses. Due to the size of the area the power system
serves, the majority of the power systems are dedicated to power
transmission. Generally, system losses increase the operating cost
of electric utilities and consequently result in high cost of electricity.
Therefore, reduction of system losses is of paramount importance
because of its financial, economic and socio-economic values to the
utility company, customers and the host country. However, low
losses in transmission system could be achieved by installing
generating stations near the load centres.
Technical Losses (TL)
These are losses that occur naturally and consist mainly of power
dissipation in electricity system components such as transmission
and distribution lines, transformers and measurement systems.
Technical losses in power system are caused by the physical
properties of the components of the power system. The most
obvious example is the power dissipated in transmission lines and
transformers due to internal electrical resistance. Technical losses
are naturally occurring losses (caused by action internal to the
power system) and consist mainly of power dissipation in electrical
system component such as transmission lines, power transformers,
measurement system, etc. Technical losses are possible to compute
and control, provided the power system in question consists of
known quantities of loads. Technical losses occur during
transmission and distribution and involve substation, transformer,
and line related losses. The distance of transmission lines are

10
usually very long from the generating stations and also a very good
distance to the distributing stations, thereby generating losses.
Technical losses are due to current flowing in the electrical network
and generate the following types of losses:
(i) Copper losses: These are due to R losses that are
inherent in all inductors because of the finite resistance
of conductors
(ii)Dielectric losses: Losses that result from the heating
effect on the dielectric material between conductors
(iii) Induction and radiation losses that are produced by
the electromagnetic fields surrounding conductors.
Technical losses are possible to compute and control, provided the
power system in question consists of known quantities of loads. The
following are the causes of technical losses:
i. Harmonics distortion
ii. Improper earthing
iii.Long transmission lines
iv. Unbalanced loading
v. Losses due to overloading and low voltage
vi. Losses due to poor standard of equipment.

Non-Technical Losses (NTL)

Non-Technical losses, on the other hand, are caused by actions
external to the power system or are caused by loads and condition
that the technical losses computation failed to take into account.
Non- Technical losses are more difficult to measure because these
losses are often unaccounted for by the system operators and thus
have no recorded information. Non-Technical Losses occur as a
result of theft, metering inaccuracies and unmetered energy. By
contrast, relate mainly to power theft in one form or another. Theft
of power is energy delivered to customers that is not measured by
the energy meter for the customer. This can happen as a result of
meter tampering or by by-passing the meter. Losses due to metering
inaccuracies are defined as the difference between the amounts of

11
energy actually delivered through the meters and the amount
registered by the meters. The most probable causes of Non-
Technical Losses (NTL) are:
(i) Tampering with meters to ensure the meter recorded a
lower consumption reading
(ii)Errors in technical losses computation etc.
Technical losses will be simply calculated using load flow method of
power system. This will be done because non-technical losses are
more difficult to measure. NTL cannot be computed and measured
easily, but it can be estimated from preliminary results, i.e. the
result of technical losses are first computed and subtracted from
the total losses to obtain the balance as NTL. The technical losses
are computed using appropriate load-flow studies simulated under
MAT LAB environment. Although some electrical power loss is
inevitable, steps can be taken to ensure that it is minimized.
Several measures have been applied to this end, including those
based on technology and those that rely on human effort and
ingenuity.

Fuzzy Logic Technique Basically, Fuzzy Logic (FL) is a multi-valued

logic that allows intermediate values to be defined between
conventional evaluations like true/false, yes/no, high/low, etc.
Notions like rather tall or very fast can be formulated
mathematically and processed by computers in order to apply a
more human-like way of thinking in the programming of computers.
Fuzzy logic idea is similar to the human being’s feeling and
inference process. Unlike classical control strategy, which is a
point-to-point control, fuzzy logic control is a range-to-point or
range-torange control. The output of a fuzzy controller is derived
from fuzzifications of both inputs and outputs using the associated
membership functions. A crisp input will be converted to the
different members of the associated membership functions based
on its value. From this point of view, the output of a fuzzy logic
controller is based on its memberships of the different membership

12
functions, which can be considered as a range of inputs. Fuzzy
Logic has emerged as a profitable tool for the controlling and
steering of systems and complex industrial processes, as well as for
household and entertainment electronics, including other expert
systems. Fuzzy ideas and fuzzy logic are so often utilized in our
routine life that nobody even pays attention to them. For instance,
to answer some questions in certain surveys, most time one could
answer with 'Not Very Satisfied' or 'Quite Satisfied', which are also
fuzzy or ambiguous answers. Exactly to what degree is one satisfied
or dissatisfied with some service or product for those surveys?
These vague answers can only be created and implemented by
human beings, but not machines. Is it possible for a computer to
answer those survey questions directly as a human beings do? It is
absolutely impossible. Computers can only understand either '0' or
'1', and 'HIGH' or 'LOW'. Those data are called crisp or classic data
and can be processed by all machines. Is it possible to allow
computers to handle those ambiguous data with the help of a
human being? If so, how can computers and machines handle
those vague data? The answer to the first question is yes, but to
answer the second question, we need some fuzzy logic techniques
and knowledge of fuzzy inference system. The idea of fuzzy logic was
invented by Professor L. A. Zadeh of the University of California at
Berkeley in 1965. This invention was not well recognized until Dr.
E. H. Mamdani, who is a professor at London University, applied
the fuzzy logic in a practical application to control an automatic
steam engine in 1974 [10], which is almost ten years after the fuzzy
theory was invented. Then, in 1976, Blue Circle Cement and SIRA
in Denmark developed an industrial application to control cement
kilns. That system began operation in 1982. More fuzzy
implementations have been reported since the 1980s, including
those applications in industrial manufacturing, automatic control,
automobile production, banks, hospitals, libraries and academic
education. Fuzzy logic techniques have been widely applied in all

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aspects in today’s society. To implement fuzzy logic technique to a
real application requires the following three steps:
(i) Fuzzification – convert classical data or crisp data into fuzzy
data or Membership Functions (MFs)
(ii)Fuzzy Inference Process – combine membership functions with
the control rules to derive the fuzzy output
(iii) Defuzzification – use different methods to calculate each
associated output and put them into a table: the lookup table.
Pick up the output from the lookup table based on the current
input during an application.
As mentioned before, all machines can process crisp or classical
data such as either '0' or '1'. In order to enable machines to
handle vague language input such as 'Somehow satisfied', the
crisp input and output must be converted to linguistic variables
with fuzzy components. For instance, to control an air
conditioner system, the input temperature and the output
control variables must be converted to the associated linguistic
variables such as 'HIGH', 'MEDIUM', 'LOW' and 'FAST', 'MEDIUM'
or 'SLOW'. The former is corresponding to the input temperature
and the latter is associated with the rotation speed of the
operating motor. Besides those conversions, both the input and
the output must also be converted from crisp data to fuzzy data.
All of these jobs are performed by the first step – fuzzification.
In the second step, to begin the fuzzy inference process, one need
combine the membership functions with the control rules to
derive the control output, and arrange those outputs into a table
called the lookup table. The control rule is the core of the fuzzy
inference process, and those rules are directly related to a
human being’s intuition and feeling. For example, still in the air
conditioner control system, if the temperature is too high, the
heater should be turned OFF, or the heat driving motor should
be slowed down, which is a human being’s intuition or common
sense. During an actual application, a control output should be
selected from the lookup table developed from the last step based

14
 on the current input. Furthermore, that control output should be
converted from the linguistic variable back to the crisp variable
and output to the control operator. This process is called
defuzzification.
In most cases the input variables are more than one dimension for
real applications, and one needs to perform fuzzification or develop
a membership function for each dimensional variable separately.
Perform the same operation if the system has multiple output
variables. Summarily, a fuzzy process is a process of crisp-fuzzy-
crisp for a real system. The original input and the terminal output
must be crisp variables, but the intermediate process is a fuzzy
inference process. The reason why one needs to change a crisp to a
fuzzy variable is that, from the point of view of fuzzy control or a
human being’s intuition, no absolutely crisp variable existed in our
real world.
Fuzzy Sets and Membership Functions
Zadeh introduced the term fuzzy logic in his seminal work “Fuzzy
sets,” which described the mathematics of fuzzy set theory (1965).
Plato laid the foundation for what would become fuzzy logic,
indicating that there was a third region between “True” and “False”.
It was Lukasiewicz who first proposed a systematic alternative to
the bi-valued logic of Aristotle. The third value Lukasiewicz
proposed can be best translated as “possible” and he assigned it a
numeric value between “True” and “False”. Later he explored four-
valued logic and five-valued logic, and then he declared that, in
principle, there was nothing to prevent the derivation of infinite-
valued logic. FL provides the opportunity for modeling conditions
that are inherently imprecisely defined. Fuzzy techniques in the
form of approximate reasoning provide decision support and expert
systems with powerful reasoning capabilities. The permissiveness of
fuzziness in the human thought process suggests that much of the
logic behind thought processing is not traditional two valued logic
or even multi-valued logic, but logic with fuzzy truths, fuzzy
connectiveness, and fuzzy rules of inference.

15
Power Flow Analysis Load flow analysis is the most important and
essential approach to investigate problems in power system
operating and planning. Based on a specified generating state and
transmission network structure, load flow analysis solves the
steady operation state with node voltages and branch power flow in
the power system. Load flow analysis can provide a balanced steady
operation state of the power system, without considering system
transient processes. Hence, the mathematic model of load flow
problem is a non-linear algebraic equation system without
differential equations. Power system dynamic analysis investigates
system stability under some given disturbances. Its mathematic
model includes differential equations. It should be pointed out that
dynamic analysis is based on load flow analysis and the algorithm
of load flow analysis is also the base for dynamic analysis methods.
Therefore, familiarity with the theory and algorithms of load flow
analysis is essential to understanding the methodology of modern
power system analysis. Using digital computers to calculate load
flow started from the middle of the 1950s. Since then, a variety of
methods has been used in load flow calculation. The development of
these methods is mainly led by the basic requirements of load flow
calculation, which can be summed up as:

i. The convergence properties

ii. The computing efficiency and memory requirements
iii. The convenience and flexibility of the implementation.

Mathematically, the load flow problem is a problem of solving a

system of non-linear algebraic equations. Its solution usually
cannot avoid some iteration process. Thus, reliable convergence
becomes the prime criterion for a load flow calculation method.
With the scale of power system continually expanding, the
dimension of load flow equations now becomes very high (several
thousands to tens of thousands). For the equations with such high
dimensions, we cannot ensure that any mathematical method can
converge to a correct solution. This situation requires the

16
researchers and scholars in the power system analysis field to seek
more reliable methods. In the early stages of using digital
computers to solve power system load flow problems, the widely
used method was the Gauss–Seidel iterative method based on a
nodal admittance matrix. The principle of this method is rather
simple and its memory requirement is relatively small. These
properties made it suit the level of computer and power system
theory at that time. However, its convergence is not satisfactory.
When the system scale becomes larger, the number of iteration
increases sharply, and sometimes the iteration process cannot
converge. This problem led to the use of the sequential substitution
method based on the nodal impedance matrix (also called the
impedance method). At the beginning of the 1960s, the digital
computer had developed to the second generation. The memory and
computing speed of computers were improved significantly,
providing suitable conditions for the application of the impedance
method. The impedance matrix is a full matrix. The impedance
method requires the computer to store the impedance matrix that
represents the topology and parameters of the power network. Thus
it needs a great amount of computer memory. Furthermore, in each
iteration, every element in the impedance matrix must be operated
with, so the computing burden is very heavy. The impedance
method improved convergence and solved some load flow problems
that the admittance method could not solve. Therefore, the
impedance method was widely applied from then on and made a
great contribution to power system design, operation, and research.
The main disadvantage of the impedance method is its high memory
requirement and computing burden. The larger the system is, the
more serious these defects are. To overcome the disadvantage, the
piecewise solution method based on impedance matrix was
developed. This method divides a large system up into several small
local systems and only the impedance matrixes of local systems and
the impedances of tie lines between these local systems are to be
stored in the computer. In this way, the memory requirement and

17
computing burden are greatly alleviated. The other approach to
overcoming the disadvantages of the impedance method is to apply
the Newton–Raphson’s method. The Newton-Raphson’s method is a
typical method used to solve non-linear equations in mathematics
with very favorable convergence. As long as the sparsity of the
Jacobean matrix is utilized in the iterative process, the computing
efficiency of the Newton method can be greatly improved. Since the
optimal order eliminating method began to be employed in the
middle of the 1960s, the Newton-Raphson’s method has surpassed
the impedance method in the aspects of convergence, memory
demand, and computing speed. It is still the favored method, and is
widely used in load flow calculation today.

Optimal Capacitor Placement Approach An important method of

controlling bus voltage is by shunt capacitor banks at the buses at
both transmission and distribution levels along lines or at
substations and loads. Essentially, capacitors are a means of
supplying VARs at the point of installation. Capacitor banks may be
permanently connected, but as regulator of voltage they may be
switched ON and OFF the system as changes in load demand occur.
Switching may be manually or automatically controlled either by
time clocks or in response to voltage or reactive-power
requirements. When they are in parallel with a load having a
lagging power factor, the capacitors are the source of some or
perhaps all of the reactive power of the load. Thus, capacitors
reduce the line current necessary to supply the load and reduce the
voltage drop in the line as the power factor is improved. Since
capacitors lower the reactive power requirement from generators,
more real-power output is available. Shunt capacitors not only
reduce the loss but also improve the voltage profile, power factor
and stability of the system. However, addition of shunt capacitors
can generate the reactive power and therefore it is not necessary to
supply all reactive power demands and losses by the source. Thus,
there is a possibility to minimize the loss associated with the

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reactive power flow through the branches. Capacitors are used
widely to reduce the transmission system loss. In addition, shunt
capacitors could also improve voltage regulation and VAR supply.
Mainly, capacitors are used to develop reactive power near the point
of consumption. Series and shunt capacitors in a power system
generate reactive power to improve power factor and voltage,
thereby enhancing the system capacity and reducing the losses.
However, due to various limitations in the use of series capacitors,
shunt capacitors are widely used in transmission systems. Some of
the advantages of shunt over series capacitors are:

i. Installation cost of shunt capacitors is lower than that of

series.
ii. Protection of series capacitors from system fault is more
difficult and complicated.
iii. Shunt capacitors reduce line losses more than series
capacitors.
iv. Shunt capacitors reduces load on generators more than
series capacitors etc.

The general capacitor placement problem is formulated as an

optimization problem to determine the number and location of
capacitors, the types (fixed or switched), and size of capacitors to be
installed and the control scheme for the capacitors at the buses of
the transmission networks. When capacitors are placed power loss
is reduced & also energy loss is reduced. To determine the location
& size of capacitors to be installed, a load flow program was
executed on MATLAB. This gives the location of bus most suitable
for capacitor placement. In this work, shunt (switched) capacitors
are used at suitable buses.

Fuzzy Logic Technique and Shunt Capacitor Placement in

Power Loss Reduction

The basics of fuzzy approach in power loss reduction are to

determine suitable locations for capacitor placement. Two objectives

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are considered while designing a fuzzy logic system for identifying
the optimal capacitor location(s). The two objectives are:

i. To minimize the real power loss and;

ii. To maintain the voltage within the permissible
limits.

Conclusion
A method has been proposed to determine most sensitive buses to
place capacitors using fuzzy logic and its size is calculated using
Index Based Method in the chosen transmission subsystem. The
FES considers loss reduction and voltage profile improvement
simultaneously while deciding which buses are the most ideal for
placement (installation) of capacitor. Hence, a good compromise of
loss reduction, voltage profile improvement is achieved. Overall,
improvement in voltage profile and reduction in power losses
enhance system stability and efficiency. The proposed method has
been tested on a transmission system consisting of ten (10) buses.
It was noticed that voltage profile of buses 3, 8, and 10 improved by
3.74%, 3.27%, and 3.33% respectively. Similarly, total real power
loss reduced by 17.55% while total reactive power injection to the
network reduced by 8.70%. Meanwhile, it is highly expected that an
extension of the method to the larger network of Nigeria’s 330KV
system will yield a similar positive result.
Recommendation
The following recommendation, among others is made: The case
study system, which is a relatively small network of 10 buses,
reveals that the proposed approach can yield a significant
improvement of voltage profile and reduction in total real power
losses, and reactive power injection to the network. We however
recommend that the efficiency of the approach be verified on larger
system of Nigeria 330KV network of about 31 buses. This may

20
demand additional intelligent classification algorithms to achieve
high degree of accuracy.

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