Application of grey wolf algorithm for multi‐year transmission expansion planning from the viewpoint of private investor considering fixed series compensation and uncertainties.

Summary: The uncertainties caused by restructuring in power systems make transmission investment less attractive for the private investors and increase the risk level. In this paper, a merchant‐based stochastic method is presented for multi‐year transmission expansion planning from the viewpoint of private investors with allocation of fixed series compensation under wind, bids of generators, and load uncertainties. This proposed method maximizes absorption of private investment and eliminates monopolies in restructured environments. The grey wolf optimizer algorithm and point estimation method are applied as the optimization tool and for management of the uncertainties, respectively. In order to demonstrate the dependability of the proposed approach, the planning methodology has been illustrated on the IEEE 24‐bus and 118‐bus test systems. The results of this research show that adding fixed series compensation, besides the reduction of investment cost, will provide a good vision for private investors in order to get suitable transmission projects for investing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]