A review of meta-heuristic algorithms for reactive power planning problem

Reactive power planning (RPP) is generally defined as an optimal allocation of additional reactive power sources that should be installed in the network for a predefined horizon of planning at minimum cost while satisfying equality and inequality constraints. The optimal placements of new VAR sources can be selected according to certain indices related to the objectives to be studied. In this paper, various solution methods for solving the RPP problem are extensively reviewed which are generally categorized into analytical approaches, arithmetic programming approaches, and meta-heuristic optimization techniques. The research focuses on the disparate applications of meta-heuristic algorithms for solving the RPP problem. They are subcategorized into evolution based, and swarm intelligence. Also, a study is performed via the multi-objective formulations of reactive power planning and operations to clarify their merits and demerits.