Optimisation of capacitor allocation using an interactive trade-off method

A novel formulation for the optimal capacitor allocation problem is presented. This involves cost investment, operating efficiency, system security and service quality, which are of priority concern to the system planner. However, these objectives contradict each other and have trade-off relations. Conventional approaches that optimise a single objective have difficulty in resolving such problems. An interactive trade-off algorithm is presented. Based on the E-constrained technique to obtain a compromised or most satisfactory noninferior solution. Through the interactive steps, the planner can provide his or her preference or system operating policy on each objective to resolve the multi-objective optimisation problem. Numerical examples involving the Taipower system demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.