Soler, Edilaine Martins [UNESP]Asada, Eduardo N.Da Costa, Geraldo R. M.2014-05-272014-05-272013-04-15IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, v. 28, n. 3, p. 2174-2182, 2013.0885-8950http://hdl.handle.net/11449/75115The optimal reactive dispatch problem is a nonlinear programming problem containing continuous and discrete control variables. Owing to the difficulty caused by discrete variables, this problem is usually solved assuming all variables as continuous variables, therefore the original discrete variables are rounded off to the closest discrete value. This approach may provide solutions far from optimal or even unfeasible solutions. This paper presents an efficient handling of discrete variables by penalty function so that the problem becomes continuous and differentiable. Simulations with the IEEE test systems were performed showing the efficiency of the proposed approach. © 1969-2012 IEEE.2174-2182engInterior-point methodnonlinear programmingoptimal power flowContinuous variablesDiscrete control variablesDiscrete variablesNonlinear programming problemOptimal power flowsOptimal reactive power dispatchReactive dispatchNonlinear programmingOptimizationArtigo10.1109/TPWRS.2013.2252207WOS:000322989900013Acesso restrito2-s2.0-8488091957801965031529508280000-0002-7615-5768