In this paper, three metaheuristic techniques have
been developed to propose a safe and economic grounding system
for the future power plant of Labreg situated in Khenchela City
(400 km east of Algiers). The corresponding algorithms have
been elaborated using particle swarm optimization (PSO), genetic
algorithm optimization (GAO) and hybrid particle swarm genetic
algorithm optimization (HPSGAO). The aim is to minimize the
cost of the considered grounding system basing on the optimal
decision of its construction and geometrical parameters in accordance
with the security restrictions required by the ANSI/IEEE
Standard 80-2000. A new mathematical model has been proposed
for the cost function. This later includes the number of conductors,
conductor dimension, grid depth, number of rods, length of rods,
total area of excavation, and revetment. The results show that the
HPSGAO technique presents lower values of the cost than those
obtained using GAO and PSO methods. The good accordance
between HPSGAO technique safety parameters and those of the
CYMGrd code confirms the efficiency of the proposed algorithms.