Large-scale var optimization and planning by tabu search

A generalization on the tabu search method, recently developed for combinatorial optimization problems, is described in this paper. The novel version of the tabu search method can be used to solve a larger class of combinatorial optimization problems. Application of this method to var optimization and planning, which is formulated as a nonlinear large-scale mixed integer programming problem with non-differentiable objective function, is demonstrated. Judicious engineering judgment which is essential for a successful application of the proposed tabu search is developed. Simulation results of a real-world power system are included. A simulation comparison is done between the proposed method and the simulated annealing method, which is currently one of the most popular method for combinatorial optimization problem. (C) 1996 Elsevier Science S.A.