A comparative study of optimal PMU placement algorithms for cost minimization

Optimal placement of phasor measurement units (PMU's) within a power system is essential to maximize network observability while minimizing implementation cost. As such, it is a popular topic with academic as well as industry researchers. The authors of this work review several innovative optimal PMU placement algorithms published in the IEEE Transactions as well as conference proceedings. From their published results, they compare and contrast the performance of several popular optimal PMU placement algorithms. The authors' objective is to provide power engineers with interest in optimal PMU placement a reference or starting point for further study of this topic.