Low voltage system state estimation based on smart metering infrastructure

The accurate monitoring of distribution grids is essential to enable the intelligent management and control of future Smart Grids. Several challenges prevent an easy development of the state estimation tools needed to assess the operating conditions of distribution networks. The lack of a suitable measurement infrastructure is one of the most challenging aspects to face. However, in last years, several utilities started a massive deployment of smart meters in their networks. The proper use of these measurements is key to enhance the performance of distribution system state estimators. This paper presents a two-level approach conceived to efficiently include smart meter measurements in low voltage grid state estimation. The proposed solution relies on a cloud-based smart metering architecture, which allows scalability and interoperability among different off-the-shelf meters. Moreover, a suitable design of the estimation algorithm, using the uncertainty propagation theory, is proposed in order to maximize the accuracy of the estimation results. Tests performed on a sample low voltage network show the performance and the main features of the proposed state estimation solution.