Improving state estimation in smart distribution grid using synchrophasor technology: a comparison study

Both the growing number of dispersed generation plants and storage systems and the new roles and functions on the demand side (e.g. demand side management) are making the operation (monitoring and control) of electrical grids more complex, especially in distribution. This paper demonstrates how to integrate phasor measurements so that state estimation in a distribution grid profits optimally from the high accuracy of PMUs. Different measurement configurations consisting of conventional and synchronous mea- surement units, each with different fault tolerances for the quality of the calculated system state achieved, are analyzed and compared. Weighted least squares (WLS) algorithms for conventional, linear and hybrid state estimation provide the mathematical method used in this paper. A case study of an 18-bus test grid with real measured PMU data from a 110 kV distribution grid demonstrates the improving of the system’s state variable’s quality by using synchrophasors. The increased requirements, which are the prerequisite for the use of PMUs in the distribution grid, are identified by extensively analyzing the inaccuracy of measurement and subsequently employed to weight the measured quantities.