The Complexity of Switching and FACTS Maximum-Potential-Flow Problems

Abstract: This papers considers the problem of maximizing the load that can be served by a power network. We use the commonly accepted Linear DC power network model and consider wo configuration options: switching lines and using FACTS devices. We present the first comprehensive complexity study of this optimization problem. Our results show hat the problem is NP-complete and that there is no fully polynomial-time approximation scheme. For switching, these results extend to planar networks with a aximum-node degree of 3. Additionally, we demonstrate that the optimization problems are still NP-hard if we restrict the network structure to cacti with a maximum degree of 3.