Optimizing D-PMU deployment for distribution system state estimation

The introduction of synchrophasor technology in power distribution sector is an emerging trend in an effort to meet the intense requirements for high quality monitoring and control of active distribution grids. Given the appreciable resources needed to develop a phasor measurement unit infrastructure, this paper presents a new optimization-based method for the deployment of distribution-level phasor measurement units in order to improve state estimation accuracy considering the associated investment costs and the pre-existing conventional metering system. The related problem is formulated as a mixed integer semidefinite programming model aiming to minimize the worst case coordinate state estimation error while satisfying predetermined budget constraints. The proposed method is assessed via numerical simulations on the IEEE 34-node test feeder and an actual 64 node distribution network. The obtained results show that it can represent a reliable design tool for the installation of phasor measurement units in distribution grids, making an optimal trade-off between precision and cost.