State Estimation of Active Distribution Networks: Comparison Between WLS and Iterated Kalman-Filter Algorithm Integrating PMUs

One of the challenging tasks related to the realtime control of Active Distribution Networks (ADNs) is represented by the development of fast (i.e. sub-second) state estimation (SE) processes. As known, the problem of SE of power networks links the measurements performed in the network with a set of non-linear equations representing the links between the network node voltage phasors (i.e. the system states) and measured quantities. The calculation of these voltages is accomplished by the solution of a minimization problem by using, for instance, Weighted Least Squares (WLS) or Kalman filter (KF) methods. The availability of phasor measurement units (PMUs), characterized by high accuracy and able to directly measure node voltage phasors, allows, in principle, a simplification of the SE problem. Within this framework, the paper has two aims. The first is to propose a procedure based on the use of the Iterated KF (IKF) aiming at making achievable, in a straightforward manner, the SE of ADNs integrating PMU measurements. The second goal is to present a sensitivity analysis of the performances of WLS vs IKF methods as a function of the measurements and process covariance matrices.