ECE PhD Proposal Review: Andre Langner

PhD Proposal Review: Multi-area Distribution State Estimation Using a Virtual Reference

Andre Langner

Location: Teams Link

Abstract: State Estimation (SE) is the backbone of modern Energy Management System due to its capability of processing real-time measurements and provide reliable information to system operators. Since its introduction to power systems in the ’70s, SE has been widely used in transmission networks. Distribution grids, on the other hand, lack sufficient number of real-time measurements, and for that reason, SE has not been widely implemented on these systems. The recent increase in the number of renewable energy sources connected to the grid at lower voltage levels, the advent of Distribution Automation, and Smart Grids necessitate closer monitoring of distribution networks. Thus, forcing utilities to upgrade their operations and deploy Advanced Distribution Management Systems. Therefore, Distribution System State Estimation (DSSE) is paramount to provide real-time monitoring of active distribution grids. In the first part of this proposal, a three-phase distribution system state estimator is presented, especially for highly unbalanced networks. In the second part, the Multi-area State Estimation (MASE) approach is proposed to distribution systems, by a partition into non-overlapping areas, aiming at reducing the overall execution time. Furthermore, it is also proposed to combine MASE along with the so-called Generalized State Estimation to identify topology errors causing divergence in the state estimation process.