952

IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, Vol. 7, No. 2, April 1992

SERVICE RESTORATION IN DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS

VIA NETWORK RECONFIGURATION
Dariush Shirmohammadi
Senior Member
Pacific Gas and Electric Company
San Francisco, California

ABSTRACT L This paper describes the principle and the

implementation of a heuristic methodology to restore service to
the isolated portions of a distribution system via network
reconfiguration. The methodology determines a minimum
possible number of switching operations needed to restore
service to network branches that are isolated due to forced or
scheduled outages. Major operating constraints are taken into
account in the restoration. A computer program has been
developed based on this methodology for use in operations
planning of the PG&E distribution system.
KEYWORDS: Distribution network reconfiguration, service
restoration, distribution planning and operation, distribution
automation.

I.

JNTRODUCTI0N

Forced and scheduled outages are commonplace in distribution

feeders. The common practice under these circumstances is to
first isolate the affected portions of the feeder by opening all the
surrounding switches. The affected portion of the feeder refers to
that part of the distribution feeder which has experienced a
permanent fault or is under scheduled maintenance. For radial
distribution feeders (as is commonly the case) this operation
will result in the isolation of some portions (branches) of the
feeder downstream from the affected area. Therefore, the next
step will be to restore service to these branches via feeder
reconfiguration. This reconfiguration involves the use of
existing, initially open, switches between the isolated branches
and the adjacent feeders. Once the source of outage is removed
the service can be restored to the entire feeder, probably by
reinstating the original network configuration.

In actual practice, distribution operators should restore the

service to the isolated branches as quickly as possible. This
entails a timely determination of all switching operations
required to isolate the affected area and restore service to the
isolated branches. It is also important that the number of
switching operations identified here is the minimum necessary.

This paper was presented at the Transmission

and Distribution Conference in Dallas, Texas

from September 22-27, 1991at the Dallas Convention Center. Sponsored by the IEEE Power
Engineering Society.

The problem of service restoration with minimum number of

switching operations, is a mixed integer nonlinear
programming problem which does not have a robust exact
solution available yet. Several papers have been written on the
subject of service restoration in distribution networks [l-71. All
these papers present methodologies for the reconfiguration of
distribution networks in order alleviate network overloads. The
objective of these methodologies is either to minimize line
losses with network operating limits considered as the
constraints 111 or to minimize a function of network line
loadings.
All algorithms in the literature are heuristic search techniques
developed based on analytical or knowledge-based engines.
These techniques work mostly based on a series of switch
exchange operations. Switch exchange operation consists of
selecting a pair of switches, one for opening and the other for
closing, so that the resulting network configuration has reduced
branch overloads. Once, during these switch exchange
operations an acceptable solution is reached the algorithm has
converged. The major disadvantage of this method is that it is
highly dependent on the initial system configuration. Hence,
there is no guarantee that the number of switching operations
identified in this fashion will be the minimum necessary.
Furthermore, these algorithms may start cycling and a solution
may never be reached.
This paper describes an efficient heuristic method for
determining the minimum number of switching operations to
restore service to isolated branches of a distribution feeder. The
isolated branches are connected to the adjacent feeders through
initially open switches, In this process service is restored to all
isolated branches downstream from the outage location while
complying with the major operating constraints in the network.
A computer program (PICKUP) has been developed based on this
methodology for use in operations planning of the PG&E
distribution system.

II. JVlETHODOLOGY
Consider the simple distribution network of Figure 1 which
consists of three radial feeders connected to a substation
transformer and a group of switches in their initial, open or
closed, positions. Although the methodology is illustrated for
this simple network where feeders are connected to the same
transformer (source), the approach is general and applicable to
cases where feeders are supplied from different substation
transformers (different sources). The example presented later in
the paper indicates the application of the method when three
separate sources are involved. Network loads, assumed
constant, are represented by voltage dependent current
injections at the network nodes.

0885-8977~11/$3
.WO1992 IEEE

953

12

Voltage limits could also be violated under these same

circumstances. Voltage violations may be eliminated or
minimized through the use of voltage regulators and switchable
shunt capacitors. This algorithm ignores all such devices. It is,
however, possible to use this algorithm in conjunction with
another algorithm for the control of voltage correction devices
in the feeders to ensure an acceptable voltage profile.
Line ampacity and Eeeder capacity limits could be the emergency
or normal ratings of the network equipment depending on the
estimated duration of the outage.
In the example network, the isolation of the affected area is
straightforward. It requires the opening of all immediate
switches surrounding the affected area (switches 11, 12, and 16).
The second step requires performing switching operations so
that the isolated branches downstream from the affected area are
reconnected. Some of these switching operations may take
place in feeders not affected by the fault.

."
A

-xFigure 1.

I'"

Substation transformer (source)

The basic methodology fqr determining switching operations

for this purpose is similar to the one presented in [8].
According to this methodology all available switches in the
network are closed first creating a meshed network, as shown in
Figure 2. Switches that isolate the affected area (switches 11, 12
and 16) and switches that will create unopenable loops (switch
4) remain open. (These switching operations are only taken in
the algorithm and not in the field.) An AC power flow solution
for this meshed network is performed to convert loads into nodal
current injections [9].

Closedswitch
I

Openswitch
Example distribution
configuration)

network (initial

Now assume that there is a permanent fault on branch number 3.

The objective of the algorithm developed based on the proposed
methodology (PICKUP) is to determine switching operations
(network configuration) that will:

\ 12

1 ) isolate the affected area - branches 3, 8, and 9;

2) restore service to isolated branches downstream from the

affected area - branches 15, 16, 21, 22, 27, and 28,
using minimum possible number switching operations. The
algorithm also ensures that in the resulting configuration the
relevant network operating constraints are not violated. The
operating constraints considered in the proposed algorithm are:
(i) the resulting feeders should remain radial; (ii) service is
restored to all the isolated branches downstream from the
affected area; (iii) the number of switching operations is within
the limit specified by the operator; (iv) line ampacities and
feeder capacity limits are not violated.
This algorithm treats constraints (i) through (iii) as hard
constraints. Therefore, it is possible that if the size of load to
be restored is too large or the operator specified limit on the
number of switching operations is too small, the ampacity limit
on some branches are violated. Under these circumstances, the
algorithm ensures that such violations are limited to the
shortest branches in the network.

Figure 2. Example network after closing all switches and

isolating the affected area (the fault)

I
I
I

954

Now, assume that the closed switches are fully adjustable ideal
current sources that can be used to modify flows in network
branches. In the network, a flow pattern that would minimize
overall system current overloads, "Secure Flow Pattern", can be
reached by adjusting these fictitious current sources. An
efficient algorithm for determining the secure flow pattern is
described in Appendix A. Note that currents in the radial
sections of the feeder can not be altered and only the loop
currents can be modified for this purpose.
Once the secure flow pattern is known the magnitude of the
fictitious current sources (representing network switches) can be
determined. Using this information, the switch carrying the
least current under the secure flow pattern is opened, eliminating
one of the network loops. The switch to be opened is selected in
this fashion in order to incur a minimum disturbance in the
secure flow pattern of the network.

Assume the next switch to be opened based on the secure flow

pattern of the network of Figure 3 is switch 10. Since this is an
initially closed switch (one that was closed before the initiation
of the fault) its opening will correspond to a pair of switching
operations. This is because one of the initially open switches 6
or 14 in Figure 3 must now remain closed to keep branches
downstream from switch 10 connected. In this algorithm, the
switch carrying the highest current under secure flow pattern is
selected to remain closed (switch 6). Hence, a pair of switching
operations has actually taken place. Figure 4 shows the
resulting network configuration.

Assume, in Figure 2 that switch 15 has been selected for

opening because it carries the least current according to the
secure flow pattern. This switch is an initially open switch (a
switch that was open before the initiation of the fault). Hence,
its opening does not constitute a switching operation. (Again
note that the process of transforming the meshed network to a
group of radial feeders only indicates the steps in the proposed
algorithm and not the actual operation in the field.) Figure 3
shows the resultant network after opening switch 15.

16

17

Figure 4. Example network after opening switch 10

(initially closed switch)

Figure 3. Example network after opening switch 15

(initially open switch)
Since the resulting network configuration is not yet radial we
must continue opening additional switches. For this purpose,
we must again determine the secure flow pattern in the network
and then use the current flows in switches to determine the next
switch to be opened.

To ensure minimum number of switching operations, it is

necessary to examine whether network reconfiguration can be
stopped after a switching operation have taken place (i.e.,
opening of an initially closed switch). For this purpose, we
must verify that the network of radial feeders after this switching
operation complies with operating constraints.
Algorithmically, this corresponds to opening all initially open
switches, except for the ones that must remain closed. In Figure
4, switches 5, 7, and 14 must be opened. The new set of radial
feeders are shown in Figure 5 . Note that the initially open
switch 6 remained closed due to opening of switch 10. The AC
power flow for the radial feeders can be solved to examine the
violation of operating constraints. If there are no violations,
we have reached an acceptable network configuration with
minimum number of switching operations.
If, however, there are constraint violations in the network of
Figure 5 , there is a need to identify additional switching
operations that may relieve branch overloads. This can be

955

achieved by f i s t going back to the network of Figure 4. Then

the secure flow pattern of this network must be determined in
order to identify the next switch to be opened.
~

~~~~

open switches necessary to

isolate the fault

close all initially open switches

(meshed network)

Figure 5. Example network in a new radial configuration

The process delineated above must be repeated until a network of
radial feeders with acceptable operating performance is reached.
The overall algorithm is shown in Figure 6.
Successful implementation of this algorithm required efficient
algorithms for solving the AC power flow and the secure flow
pattern of radial and meshed distribution networks. Network
switches must also be efficiently modeled. References [8] and
[9] address the modeling of network switches and an efficient
algorithm for solving the AC power flow of distribution
networks. An efficient algorithm for calculating the secure flow
pattem of a network is described in Appendix A.

In. RESULTS

position (not kept closed

due to previous switching
switching operations
I

Figure 6.

ouerations)

The overall algorithm

Initial load:

A computer model, PICKUP, was developed based on the

algorithm presented in Section 11. Several cases were studied
using this program. The results of some of these case studies are
presented in this section.
Consider a distribution network consisting of four feeders as
shown in Figure 7. All feeders are very large containing more
that 500 branches and 50 switches. Hence, only the available
switch connections between them are shown in Figure 7. The
initial loading on each feeder is also shown in this figure. In all
the studies presented below a portion of the feeder 1 is isolated
by opening an upstream switch. The isolated branches and their
loads are then picked up by one or more adjacent feeders.
Emergency ratings have been used in all case studies.

Feeder 4
InitiaI load:
6786 lcW

(W)
Figure 7.

Configuration of the case study

Initial load:

956
In case 1, only one of the adjacent feeders (feeder 2) is
considered for picking up the isolated loads -- feeders 3 and 4 are
not included in the study. In this case, feeder 2 is unable to pick
up all the isolated load without violating its ampacity limits.
Table 1 shows the results of this case study. Note that in this
example only two of the three switches between feeders 1 and 2
are useful in transferring load between the two feeders.

Feeders in the study: 1 and 2

Load isolated on feeder 1: 970 kW
Number of branches isolated 253
Maximum switching operations allowed: 10
Number of switching operations: 3
(2 closed between feeders 1 and 2;
1 opened in the isolated portion of feeder 1)
Load transferred to feeder 2: 970 kW
Maximum current loading in feeder 1: N/A
Maximum current loading in feeder 2: 110 percent
CPU time on an IBM 3090-200 computer: 1 seconds
Table 1. Results of case study I

suitable balance can be achieved based on the knowledge of the

distribution engineers.

Feeders in the study: 1,2, 3 and 4

Load isolated on feeder 1: 970 kW
Number of branches isolated: 253
Maximum switching operations allowed. 10
Number of switching operations: 3
(1 closed between feeders 1 and 2;
1 closed between feeders 2 and 4;
1 opened in feeder 2)
Load transferred to feeder 2 970 kW
Load transferred to feeder 3: 0 kW
Load transferred to feeder 4: 373 kW of feeder 2 load
Maximum current loading in feeder 1: N/A
Maximum current loading in feeder 2: 98 percent
Maximum current loading in feeder 3: N/A
Maximum current loading in feeder 4: 95 percent
CPU time on an IBM 3090-200 computer: 6 seconds
Table 3. Results of case study 3

In case 2, feeder 3 is also considered for picking up the isolated

load in feeder 1. In this case five switching operations take
place for picking up the isolated portion of feeder 1. Two
switching Operations for transferring part of the isolated load to
feeder 2 and three operations for transferring the remaining
isolated load to feeder 3. No ampacity violations remain in this
case. Table 2 shows the results of thii case study.

Feeders in the study: 1 , 2 and 3

Load isolated on feeder 1: 970 kW
Number of branches isolated: 253
Maximum switching operations allowed: 10
Number of switching operations: 5
(1 closed between feeders 1 and 2;
2 closed between feeders 1 and 3;
2 opened in the isolated portion of feeder 1)
Load transferred to feeder 2: 452 kW
Load transferred to feeder 3: 518 kW
Maximum current loading in feeder 1: N/A
Maximum current loading in feeder 2: 93 percent
Maximum current loading in feeder 3: 95 percent
CPU time on an IBM 3090-200 computer: 3 seconds
Table 2.

Results of case study 2

In case 3, feeder 4 is also included in the study. Feeder 4 has no

switch connection to feeder 1. There are, however, two switches
between feeders 2 and 4. In this case the load is fully restored
with only three switching operations in which feeder 2 picks up
all of the isolated load from feeder 1 and transfers a portion of its
own load to feeder 4. Feeder 3 does not play any role in this
network reconfiguration. No ampacity violations remain in this
case. Table 3 shows the results of thii case study.
The sequence of events in'case 3 was not commonly observed.
It, nevertheless, indicates that the study area should not be
limited to feeders with direct switch connection to the affected
feeder. It also points out one advantage of the proposed
algorithm over earlier algorithms that work based on switch
exchange operations [l-71. On the other hand, the CPU time
increases rapidly as more feeders are added to the case. A

IV. CONCLUSIONS
This paper describes a heuristic technique for the reconfiguration
of distribution networks to restore service to isolated portions
of a distribution feeder and its successful implementation in a
computer model. Test results indicate that the proposed
technique is computationally robust and efficient; hence,
suitable for both planning and operations studies. Also, in
conjunction with fast computers, data acquisition facilities and
remotely controlled switches the model may be used for on-line
applications in distribution automation.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Author withes to thank Wayne Hong and Ben Mesa for their
useful and valuable suggestions and comments in the
development and implementation of the proposed methodology.

REFERENCES
[ l ] US. Department of Energy Report: "Development of
Advanced Methods for Planning Electric Energy
Distribution Systems," Contract ET-78-C-03-1845,
Prepared by Systems Control, Inc., February 1980.
[2] T. Taylor, D. Lubkeman, "Implementation of Heuristic
Search Strategies for Distribution Feeder Reconfiguration,"
IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, January 1990, pp.
239-246.
[3] A.L. Morelato, A. Monticelli, "Heuristic Search Approach
to Distribution System Restoration," IEEE Transactions on
Power Delivery, bctober 1989, pp. 2235-2241.
[4] M.E. Baran, F.F. Wu, "Network Reconfiguration in
Distribution Systems for Loss Reduction and Load
Balancing," IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, April
1989, pp. 1401-1407.

[5] K. Aoki, H. Kuwabara, T. Satoh, M. Kanezashi, "An

Efficient Algorithm for Load Balancing of Transformers and
Feeders by Switching Operation in Large Scale Distribution
Systems," IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, October
1988, pp. 1865-1872.
[6] C.C. Liu. S.J. Lee, S.S. Venkata. " an Expert System
Operational Aide for Restoration and Loss Reduction of
Distribution Systems," IEEE Transactions on Power
Systems, May 1988, pp. 619-626.
[7] K. Aoki. H. Kuwabara, T. Satoh, M. Kanezashi, "Outage
State Optimal Load Allocation by Automatic Sectionalizing
Switching Operation in Distribution Systems." IEEE
Transactions on Power Delivery, October 1987. pp.
1177-1185.
[8] D. Shirmohammadi, H.W. Hong, "Reconfiguration of
Electric Distribution Network for Resistive Line Losses
Reduction." IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, April
1989, pp. 1492-1498.

=1
=-I
=O

957
if the branch b starts from the node p
if the branch b ends at the node p
if the branch b is not connected to node p

: Number of branches in E

: Number of nodes in network loops (at the two

end of branches in E )
and superscripts r and i denote the real and imaginary
components, respectively.
The nodal currents injections are accurately calculated from the
nodal power injections using the AC power flow technique
described in [9].
Equation (1) can be decoupled into real and imaginary
components and rewritten as:

bE B

[9] D. Shirmohammadi, H.W. Hong, A. Semlyen, G.X.Luo, "A

Compensation-Based Power Flow Technique for Weakly
Meshed Distribution and Transmission Networks," IEEE
Transactions on Power Systems, May 1988, pp. 753-762.

subject to [A]

f=f

and;

SECURE FLOW PATTERN

b e B

As described earlier, the secure flow pattern in a meshed network

is the set of current flows in the network branches that result in
minimum overall branch overloads as defined below:
Assuming that the nodal current injections due to loads are
known, the problem can be formulated as:

subject to [A]

f=f

where,

The Langrangians associated with equation (2) are:

b e B

(3-4

subject to [A] 1 = I

b e B
and:

where,

: Set of network branches forming loops

Lb

: Length of branch b

Jb=

fb+ jfb

R
Jb

1 = f+j

bE B

: Complex current flow in branch b

r
i
where hand Lare the row vectors of Langrangian multipliers

: Ampacity (current rating) of branch b

having dimension n. The minimum of the Lagrangians in

equation (3) are obtained via :

: m-vector of complex branch currents, Jb

1= f+jf

: n-vector of complex nodal injection currents, I

[AI

: nxm-network incidence matrix, whose entries,

$,bv

me:

958
purely resistive network, whose branch resistances are equal to

where, N is the set of network nodes forming loops.

From equations (3) and (4) the partial derivatives with respect to
Jb yield:
(5-4

k4 = 0
for all b E E
where p and q denote the two nodes of the branch b. Summing
equation (5) over all the network loops yields:

bE B
and

b e B
Multiplying (6-b) by the operator j and adding it to equation
(6-a) yields:

bE B
or,

b e B
Equation (7) is the Kirchhoff Voltage Law (KVL) for the network
loops with the branch impedances replaced by resistances whose
values are w b as defined in equation (2-c). Hence, the secure flow
pattern can be determined by solving the KCL and the KVL of a

b.
The solution procedure for determining the secure flow pattern of
the meshed network can be summarized as follows:

1. Solve for the AC power flow of the meshed network to

determine the nodal current injections.
2. Convert the meshed network into a purely resistive
network by replacing the impedance of each branch with a
resistance equal to quantity w b (equation (2-c)).

3. Calculate the branch current flows of the purely resistive

network for nodal current injections calculated in step 1.
At step 1, it is assumed that loads are known. In planning, these
loads are forecasted future loads. In operations, it is assumed
that the loads are directly read at the location of distribution
feeder transformers or they are the results of on-line stateestimation analysis.
The approach for determining the secure flow pattern, similar to
the overall service restoration methodology, is general and
independent of the number of feeders and the source points
(distribution transformers).

ush Shir(SM'89) received his B.Sc. in

Electrical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology in
1975. He then received his M.A.Sc. and Ph.D. in Electrical
Engineering from the University of Toronto in 1978 and 1982.
respectively. Between 1977 and 1979, Dariush worked with the
Institut de Recherche d'Hydro Quebec (IREQ) on external
insulation. In 1982, he joined the System Planning Division of
Ontario Hydro where he mainly worked on the development and
application of the Electromagnetic Transients Program (EMTP).
Since 1985, Dariush has been with the Systems Engineering
Group of the Pacific Gas and Electric Company. In his position
as a Senior Consulting Systems Engineer, Dariush is
responsible for developing and implementing advanced
methodologies and computer models for the analysis,
optimization and costing of transmission and distribution
systems. Dariush is a registered professional engineer in the
province of Ontario, Canada.