Application of HGSO to security based optimal placement and parameter setting of UPFC

Highlights: • A new method for solving the security based UPFC placement and parameter setting problem is proposed. • The proposed method is a global method for all mixed-integer problems. • The proposed method has the ability of the parallel search in binary and continues space. • By using the proposed method, most of the problems due to line contingencies are solved. • Comparison studies are done to compare the performance of the proposed method. - Abstract: This paper presents a novel method to solve security based optimal placement and parameter setting of unified power flow controller (UPFC) problem based on hybrid group search optimization (HGSO) technique. Firstly, HGSO is introduced in order to solve mix-integer type problems. Afterwards, the proposed method is applied to the security based optimal placement and parameter setting of UPFC problem. The focus of the paper is to enhance the power system security through eliminating or minimizing the over loaded lines and the bus voltage limit violations under single line contingencies. Simulation studies are carried out on the IEEE 6-bus, IEEE 14-bus and IEEE 30-bus systems in order to verify the accuracy and robustness of the proposed method. The results indicate that by using the proposed method, the power system remains secure under single line contingencies