MATLAB implementation of the complex power flow

Purpose The purpose of this work is that of providing the guidelines of an efficient implementation of power flow computations using the MATLAB computation environment. Design/methodology/approach The goal of obtaining high efficiency from MATLAB programs often proves elusive unless special care is taken in exploiting the vectorising capability of MATLAB programming. In the present paper the implementation of Newton‐Raphson power flow in MATLAB is examined with particular emphasis on the way of obtaining a vectorisable code capable of achieving effective numerical performance by exploiting its formulation in terms of complex variables. Findings Tests on actual networks with up to 1,300 buses are presented. They show that the complex power flow is as efficient as the best implementations of the Newton Raphson power flow using real variables, as long as the operations involved are reordered with the aim of exploiting the vectorisation capabilities of the MATLAB environment. Originality/value It is shown that improved numerical efficiency in the MATLAB can be obtained through its formulation in terms of complex variables. The complex Newton‐Raphson load flow, not very common in practical uses, is shown to have many desirable qualities from the point of view of MATLAB programming and is presented in detail.