In distribution power systems, an optimal network reconfiguration (ONR) is utilized to reduce losses in the real power and enhance the voltage drops within the allowable interval. As a result, achieving optimal reconfiguration in distribution systems is considered the main aim of several researchers. The use of conventional heuristic algorithms of genetic algorithms (GA), ant colony optimization (ACO), and particle swarm optimization (PSO), can minimize the active power losses and improve the network’s reliability. These algorithms reports more issues such as poor convergence characteristics, amount reduction in power loss, amount increasing in bus voltage. For this reason, this paper aims to suggest, the efficient optimization techniques of a salp swarm algorithm (SSA) and whale optimization algorithm (WOA) to increase the voltage of the bus, decrease the distribution losses, and then enhance the reliability of the network. To establish the optimal network architecture, the suggested algorithms are implemented and tested on IEEE 33- and 69 bus networks. The effectiveness of the studied techniques is demonstrated using MATLAB in steady-state circumstances, with advantages in active power loss reduction compared to existing algorithms. From the comparison, the SSA algorithm presents the best performance for power losses and the bus voltage improvement compared to the WOA algorithm.