System and method for phase balancing in a power distribution system

A phase balancing system (110) includes a load forecasting module (112), a phase unbalance identification module (114) and a demand response module (116). The load forecasting module (112) determines a load forecast for the distribution system for the period of interest and the phase unbalance identification module (114) determines voltage unbalance on the distribution system for the period of interest. The demand response module (116) estimates an available demand response on the distribution system for the period of interest and allocates an optimized demand response from the available demand response to minimize the voltage unbalance on the distribution system for the period of interest.