Optimal PMU Allocation Strategy for Completely Observable Networks With Enhanced Transient Stability Characteristics

The installation of phasor measurement units (PMUs) in contemporary electrical networks provides enhanced monitoring and control capabilities of the entire system. However, the placement of additional PMU devices is constrained by the relatively high cost and complicated communication infrastructure. Consequently, optimizing the allocation of PMU units is required to achieve complete visibility of the power system operation while minimizing the associated cost. This paper presents a coherent approach for solving the optimal PMU placement (OPP) in order to reduce the total number of PMUs that is required to completely observe the network. Furthermore, the proposed formulation of the OPP allocation problem considers several objectives such as cost minimization, redundancy and efficiency maximization in addition to various constraints like incorporation of zero-injection buses, single PMU failure, single line outage and consideration of flow measurements. Moreover, a two-stage approach is proposed to ensure the numerical observability of the obtained PMU placement. The proposed framework relies on solving a mixed integer linear programming problem for the OPP placement problem based on conventional measurements. The rank of the gain matrix is thereafter computed to check if the solution is numerically observable. In contrast to reported studies in the literature, transient stability enhancement is augmented in the formulation of the optimization problem such that the redundancy of predetermined buses is guaranteed without increasing the total number of installed PMU units. A novel spectral cluster-based online coherency grouping is employed to identify buses which possess the ideal characteristics in terms of transient stability support.

Automated summary

The placement of phasor measurement units (PMUs) in electrical networks is important for monitoring and controlling the system. This paper presents a coherent approach for solving the optimal PMU placement problem, considering multiple objectives and constraints. A two-stage approach is proposed to ensure numerical observability, and a novel online coherency grouping method is used to identify buses with ideal transient stability support.