A combined multi-stage algorithm is proposed and built to handle thirteen challenges along with electrical
constraints that face electric-supply restoration in smart grids. The challenges include maximization of the
number of recovered out-of-service healthy loads, avoiding in-service load shedding, occurrence of multi-simultaneous faults, minimization of total power loss, sequence consideration of commanded switches, minimization of number of switches receiving order, reducing restoration time, independency on system size and
achieving self-healing. The electrical constraints include branch current capacity, voltage limits, load priority
and system radiality. These challenges are discussed in five stages, each stage represents a step in dealing with
these challenges and electrical constraints. The proposed algorithm is aimed at minimizing the energy-not-supplied by minimizing number of out-of-service healthy downstream loads in a tree exposed to a permanent
single fault or multi-simultaneous faults without violating the electrical constraints. The proposed algorithm is
independent on distribution system size and its restoration time lies within 190–199 ms. The proposed algorithm
is tested under IEEE 16-bus, IEEE 33-bus and IEEE 69-bus distribution systems for all maneuvering fault processes. The proposed algorithm achieves 100 % self-healing capability under a single fault maneuvering processes against 95.8 %, 98.3 % and 97. 8 % satisfaction of self-healing condition under exposure to two, three and four multi-simultaneous faults, respectively. The proposed algorithm showed better performance compared to
other algorithms reported in the literature as regards as capability of self-healing, efficiency, restoration time and
number of considered challenges.