Abstract

Development planning of electrical distribution networks is one of the oldest issues that has been addressed in the field of distribution system engineering, and numerous studies have been conducted in this regard. However, it should be noted that ultimately, it is the distribution companies that implement the development plans, and network planning should be carried out from an economic perspective for these companies, with an operational approach. In this research, a new approach is proposed for network planning issues, aiming to demonstrate the role of regulators as mediators of the common interests of electricity network consumers. The goal is to find a planning solution that not only focuses on the economic aspects and cost reduction for the distribution company but also ensures the common interests of consumers and governance, particularly in terms of reliability to a desirable extent. The proposed approach utilizes a genetic algorithm to solve a location-allocation problem and determine the capacity of distribution substations. It has been implemented and demonstrated the efficiency of the approach by discussing the objective functions, the performance of the distribution company, and its effectiveness.