This paper gives an overview of the Particle Swarm Optimization technique with the aim of investigating its applicability to minimizing losses in a power distribution system. The suitability of this method is investigated by emphasizing the impact of its intrinsic parameters on the results. The investigation employs particle swarm optimization on a test system by controlling the generator voltages, transformer taps and the reactive power in the capacitor banks for each load bus. In total it contains 33 control variables: 5 generators (not including the terminal bus), 4 transformers and 24 capacitor banks. A theoretical approach of the PSO is given in the beginning, followed by the simulation results and analyses.