Improving Topology Error Detection with Distribution System State Estimation

For real-time monitoring of distribution systems, distribution system state estimation (DSSE) methods have been developed. For accurate DSSE results, an accurate system model is needed. However, topology of a distribution network changes due to various reasons and some changes may not be monitored or known to the control center. This leads to an incorrect model used for the DSSE and thus causes incorrect estimation results. The contributions of this paper include an investigation on the capability of DSSE for bad data detection (BDD) in the presence of most common topology errors in practice, including capacitor bank failure and load balancing. Additionally, common measurement schemes are investigated to determine how a measurement scheme can be improved in order to improve topology error detection. Test results using a sample IEEE distribution feeder has been provided to illustrate the challenges associated with topology error detection using DSSE.