The main purpose of this paper is to assess the DFR (Distribution Feeder Reconfiguration) strategy as a costless technique to enhance the reliability of the distribution systems. The objective functions to be investigated are: SAIFI (System Average Interruption Frequency Index), AENS (Average Energy Not Supplied), total active power losses and the total network cost. In order to observe the effect of renewable energy sources on the reliability of the power system, wind power source as a popular type of renewable energy source is also considered in the system. In addition, to make the analysis more reliable, the uncertainty of the forecast error of active and reactive loads, wind speed variations as well as the failure rate and repair rate parameters are modeled though the probabilistic load flow. Since the problem investigated is a type of discrete, nonlinear and non-convex optimization problem, a novel self adaptive modified optimization algorithm based on the BA (bat algorithm) is proposed too. The proposed self adaptive modification method makes use of three sub-modifications to give each bat (solution) a choice of preferences during the optimization process. The efficiency and feasibility of the proposed method are studied through a standard IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) test system. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.