Optimized microgrid-based restoration for enhancing power distribution system resilience

This paper proposes a Hybrid PSO-GA optimization framework for microgrid-based post-disturbance restoration of power distribution systems, addressing the growing threat of prolonged outages from extreme weather, cyberattacks, and ageing infrastructure. Microgrids use distributed energy resources (DERs) and demand response programs (DRPs) to strengthen distribution system resilience after disruption. The proposed Hybrid PSO-GA combines PSO’s rapid convergence with GA’s global search diversity, mitigating premature convergence and improving solution quality under stochastic DER and load uncertainty. Four restoration strategies, namely: Hybrid PSO-GA, GA-only, PSO-only, and a non-optimized baseline, are evaluated on the modified IEEE 33-bus distribution system. Performance metrics include the Network Resilience Index (NRI), the Microgrid Resilience Index (MRI), restoration cost, DRP utilization, and load shedding. The Hybrid PSO-GA restores 96.50% of total demand with the lowest restoration cost and most efficient DRP utilization among all compared strategies. These results support the integration of stochastic hybrid metaheuristic optimization into distribution management systems for scalable, economically viable resilience planning.