A modified marine predators optimization algorithm for simultaneous network reconfiguration and distributed generator allocation in distribution systems under different loading conditions.

A modified marine predators optimizer (MMPO) is proposed for simultaneous distribution network reconfiguration (DNR) associated with the allocation of distributed generators (DGs). In the MMPO, the predator's strategies are merged to consider the possibilities for variation in the environmental and climatic circumstances. The suggested MMPO is contrasted with the standard marine predators optimizer (MPO) and genetic, harmony search, fireworks, firefly and improved sine–cosine optimizers. The proposed MMPO is validated on single and multiple objectives using 33- and 69-bus distribution systems at light, nominal and heavy loading levels. The results obtained by the proposed MMPO are compared with those obtained by the original MPO and other optimizers. The achieved simulation outputs reveal a great improvement over the standard MPO and demonstrate the superiority of the proposed MMPO for simultaneous DNR and DG allocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]