State Estimation for Distribution Systems using

Branch Currents as State Variables

Mohamad S. Ismail Neto and Eduardo N. Asada
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Engineering School of Sao Carlos
University of Sao Paulo
Sao Carlos, SP, Brazil
Email: [m.ismail,easada]@usp.br

AbstractThe performance of control actions on a power
system depends on a good monitoring of the grid, which can
be provided by the State Estimator (SE). SE is an algorithm that
provides a reliable estimation of voltages on all system buses. As
it was originally developed for transmission systems, the SE must
be rethought in order to suit the specific properties of distribution
systems (DS). In this paper, an approach using branch currents as
state variables was considered, and a solution to address weakly
meshed DS was proposed. IEEE test feeders were used to evaluate
the algorithm performance. The chosen methodology was able to
estimate the DS state with adequate precision for the different
cases considered.
I. I NTRODUCTION
The spread of distributed generators (DG) and the deregu-
lation of power systems can be cited as major changes that
have been affecting the distribution systems (DS). Taking
into account also the prospect of future distribution networks
migrate to smart grids, it is clear the need to improve the
monitoring and control of these systems [1].
Monitoring of a DS is a challenging task because, unlike
transmission systems, they have a low number of meters
installed on the network [2]. The alternatives proposed in the
literature seek to achieve the best cost/benefit ratio, which
is why the number of new meters installed on the network
becomes limited [3]. In addition, distribution systems are
naturally unbalanced and may have feeders with three-phase,
two-phase or single-phase branches. The distribution lines
are also very short, without transposition, and with a high
ratio between resistance and reactance (r/x), a fact that brings
problems of poor matrix conditioning [4].
The advance on communication technology and computa-
tion resulted in a reduction of electronic components prices.
Thus, the development of Supervisory Control and Data
Acquisition Systems (SCADA) and the installation of smart
meters in DS became more viable [3]. Hence, a larger amount
of data can be used in the analysis of DS.
Within this context, the State Estimator (SE) is presented
as a solution to determine, in real time, the state that best
represents the true value of this limited set of measurements
[5]. The main function of the SE is to minimize errors and
inconsistencies in the input data. Usually these errors are
small, only caused by low amplitude noise from the measuring
instruments and communication systems. However, there are
cases where the errors are way higher than the precision
considered in the measurement model. These are called gross
errors (GE), and their presence jeopardize the estimation pro-
cess. The SE has the ability to filter small measurement errors,
detect and identify gross errors, and fill measurements that are
unavailable due to failures in communication systems [6].
Because of the limited amount of real-time measurements
in distribution systems, the SE usually does not have sufficient
data to be executed. Thus, it becomes necessary to use pseu-
domeasurements, created from historical data on consumer
demand and load forecasts [3].
Most SE proposed in the literature for distribution systems
are based on the method of Weighted Least Squares (WLS)
[2][5], [7], and differ primarily in the way that different
types of measurements are incorporated and the selected state
variable. While in transmission systems the use of voltage as
state variable is already consolidated, in distribution there are
two trends: the classic, based on voltages [5], [8], and a second
one based on branch currents as state variables [1][4], [7].
The State Estimator based on Branch Currents (SE-BC),
first introduced in [2], was developed to take advantage of
specific features of distribution systems, and is usually faster
when compared to voltage-based solutions [2], [9], [10]. This
justifies the adoption of this model in this paper. The SE-BC
efficiency is due the treatment of power measurements as
equivalent currents, which simplifies the Jacobian and Gain
matrix, and the ability to decouple the problem in three
independent subproblems, one for each phase.
The aim of this paper is to explore this alternative state
estimator under different circunstances. In this paper we also
propose a new method to deal with weakly meshed distribution
networks while mantaining the decoupled feature of SE-BC.
II. S TATE E STIMATION FOR R ADIAL D ISTRIBUTION
N ETWORKS
The measurement model is represented by:
z = h(x) + e (1)
Where z is a vector representing the available measures,
h(x) is a vector of functions that relate the measures z with
the state variables x, and e is the measure error vector. The
objective of the SE-BC is to minimize the objective function
given in (2) using the WLS method.
min J(x) = [z h(x)]T W [z h(x)]
x
Defining the measure residual as r = z h(x), the objective
function is the weighted sum of squared residuals. The weight-
ing is performed by the W matrix. It is a diagonal matrix
whose terms are calculated as the inverse of the corresponding
measurement variance, i.e., Wii = 1/i2 . The solution of the
problem is obtained by the iterative solution of the normal
equation given in (3).
Gxk = H T W [z h(xk )]
Where H is the Jacobian of h(x) and G = H T W H
is called the system Gain matrix. The state vector x has a
phase-decoupled structure and it is represented by rectangular
coordinates of the branch currents:
B. Power Injection Measurements
Power injection measurements are converted into current
measurements in the same way as power flow measurements,
(2) using the expression (6). However, the mathematical model is
different, and it is obtained using Kirchhoffs First Law. The
mathematical model for a power injection measurement in a
given bus j is represented as in (8).
X X
h(I k ) = k
Iij k
Iji (8)
The above expression states that a positive sign is given to
the branch currents that flow in direction to the bus j, and a
negative sign is given to the ones that flow in the opposite
way. The Jacobian matrix for power flow measurements will
(3)
also present a simple structure, composed only by elements
1, -1 and 0.
C. Current Magnitude Measurements
Measures of current magnitude are represented by the
following mathematical model:

x = Ir Ix
  q
(4) 2 2
h(I k ) = Irk + Ixk (9)
Where = a, b, c represents the system phases and Ir and Thus, the non-zero Jacobian elements are given by:
Ix the real and imaginary parts of the currents in each phase.
The definition of state variables as currents is possible because h/Ir = cos I (10)
if these variables are known, the voltages in system buses
can be calculated by the forward sweep method, as expressed
in (5). h/Ix = sin I (11)
a a aa Where I is the phase angle of the branch current. The orig-
Zijab Zijac
a
Vj Vi Zij Iij inal SE-BC formulation [2] proposed to exclude the available
Vjb = Vib Zijba Zijbb Zijbc Iijb (5) current measurements from the first iteration of the algorithm
Vjc Vic Zijca Zijcb Zijcc Iijc and then introduce them in later iterations. The goal is to
| {z }
Zij obtain a better estimate of the initial current angles to avoid
convergence problems. However, when these measures are
Where Vj is the voltage on the bus immediately downstream critical, that is, their exclusion makes the system unobservable
from Vi , Zij is the impedance matrix and Iij the branch current [11], this can derail the execution of SE-BC. Considering a
between two buses i and j. zero initial angle, as done for voltages in flat start, is not an
The initial condition considered for the branch currents has option because it can easily lead to convergence problems.
a large impact on the algorithm convergence [3]. Therefore, Taking this into account, in this paper it was decided to
before running the SE-BC, it is performed one iteration of the consider the substation power angle as an initial current angle
backward-forward sweep algorithm for better initialization of estimation. For feeders with a good power factor, it is a good
these variables. initial estimate [7]. In tests carried out in this paper, such
consideration was shown to be sufficient for the state estimaton
A. Power Flow Measurements
in all cases.
Power flow measurements are converted into equivalent
D. Voltage Magnitude Measurements
current measurements using the voltage available in the current
iteration k, as expressed in (6), with the mathematical model The original formulation of SE-BC [2] proposed to discard
given in (7). In this way, the Jacobian matrix will present a voltage measurements from the estimation process. How-
simple structure, composed only by elements 1 and 0. ever, ignoring measurements can degrade the accuracy of
the estimator, or even lead it to unobservability. Thus, the
z(V k ) = (Sm /V k ) (6) incorporation of voltage measurements becomes desirable.
The solution adopted for voltage measurements was pro-
posed in [4], where the voltage is expressed in terms of lines
h(I k ) = Irk + jIxk (7) parameters and branch currents present on the path between
the substation and the bus whose voltage is being measured,
Where Sm represents the measured complex power. as expressed in (12).
 X F. Synchronized Phasor Measurements
Vl = V1 Iij Zij (12)
ijl
Where l is the set of all branches that connect the substa-
tion to the bus l, and V1 represents the substation voltage. In
rectangular coordinates, (12) can be written as:
X estimator can be improved [13][15]. In the presence of these
Vl,r = V1,r (Rij Iij,r Xij Iij,x ) (13)
ijl
X PMU measurements is synchronized by the Global Positioning
Vl,x = V1,x (Rij Iij,x + Xij Iij,r ) (14)
ijl
Where Rij and Xij are the real and imaginary parts of Zij .
Although only the magnitude of the voltage is measured, the
mathematical models presented in (13) and (14) consider a
complex voltage represented by its real and imaginary parts.
This was done in order to simplify the model for this kind of
measurement. The equivalent complex voltage measurement is
then given by (15), wherein the voltage magnitude is updated
while maintaining the same phase angle computed for the k th
iteration.
k
Vcalc
k
Vmeq = |Vm | k |
(15)
|Vcalc
k
Where Vm is the measured voltage magnitude and Vcalc the
th
complex voltage calculated for the k iteration.
In this case the Jacobian matrix has a coupled structure due
to the mutual impedances between phases present in the matrix
Zij . However, in real applications the mutual impedances
are significantly lower than the self impedances of the lines
[4]. Thus, it was decided to disregard the coupling terms
between phases in H. This simplification managed to keep
the decoupled feature of the SE-BC. Mutual impedances were
still represented in the mathematical model h(x).
E. Substation Voltage
Usually, it is considered that the substation voltage is
known with great precision and it is included as a constant
in the estimation process. However, in distribution systems the
voltage in the substation can undergo rapid changes, especially
when considering the integration of DG in the system [1].
If the voltage considered for the substation is wrong, the
estimation quality is compromised.
The consideration of voltages in the measurement set pro-
vides the SE-BC the ability to estimate the voltage at the
substation using voltage measurements in the downstream
buses. To do so, the state vector was expanded by adding
a variable corresponding to the voltage magnitude at the
substation, such as proposed in [1]. The expanded state vector
follows in (16). Inspecting (15), it is observed that the first
term on the right side of the equation, that was considered
to be a constant, is now treated as a state variable. This will
have an impact on the Jacobian H as derivatives with respect
to new variables should be considered.
x = Ir Ix |V1 |
 
(16)
The measurements described so far are called traditional
measurements. There is also the possibility of using mea-
surements from Phasor Measurement Units (PMU) [12] in
the SE-BC [1]. When synchronized phasor measurements
are added in sufficient number, the accuracy of the state
measurements, the estimation of substation complex voltage
becomes mandatory. This is because the angular reference of
System (GPS). Thus, considering the substation as angular ref-
erence bus can lead to considerable errors. The mathematical
model for the PMU current and voltage are the same given in
(7) and (12), respectively. The expanded state vector becomes
the expression shown in (17).
x = Ir Ix
 
V1,r V1,x (17)
G. Virtual Measurements
The adoption of very high weightings for very precise
measurements such as virtual measurements of zero power
injection can lead to poor conditioning of the gain matrix [11].
Therefore, it is preferable that this kind of measurements are
treated as equality constraints. Using the formulation given in
[16], the normal equation given in (3) is modified as in (18).
G C T xk
  T
H W (z k h(xk ))
  
= (18)
C 0 c(xk )
Where c(x) is the function that represents the zero injection
measurements, which are now excluded from h(x), C is its
Jacobian and the Lagrange multipliers.
H. Gross Errors
The detection and identification of bad data was performed
using the maximum normalized residual test. Given the resid-
ual covariance matrix represented by (19).
HG H T
1 1
=W (19)
The normalized residual of each measurement can be ob-
tained as in (20).
p
rni = ri / ii (20)
If rnmax > 3, the bad data is considered detected. The
measurement that corresponds to this maximum residual is
identified as the one carring the gross error.
I. Algorithm
The implemented SE-BC algorithm for radial networks can
be summarized as follows:
i. Initialize the branch current variables by running 1 itera-
tion of the backward-forward sweep algorithm;
ii. Convert power measurements into equivalent current and
voltage magnitude measurements into equivalent complex
voltage using the present calculated voltage V k ;
iii. Solve the normal equation for x and update xk+1 =
xk + x for each phase; Grid Grid
iv. Update bus voltages using the forward sweep procedure;
v. Check for convergence. If x < , the algorithm stops.
Otherwise, go back to step ii;
vi. Check for bad data. If no bad data is detected, the B B B'
algorithm stops. Otherwise, eliminate the erroneous mea-
surement from the measurement set and go back to step ii.
SB SB'
III. S TATE E STIMATION FOR W EAKLY M ESHED F EEDERS (a) Before breaking the loop. (b) After breaking the loop.
Fig. 1: Breakpoints.
Some distribution systems serving areas with a high load
density operate weakly meshed by closing normally open
Where |V | and V represent the voltages magnitude
switches [2]. The SE-BC should be able to handle this system
and phase angle mismatches, P and Q the increments in
configuration.
the artificial power injections, and Rth and X th the Thevenin
The measurement model for weakly meshed grids remains
equivalent resistance and reactance between the terminals of
the same as for the radial case. However, for each closed loop,
each breakpoint. The matrix M is called the sensitivity matrix,
Kirchhoffs second law must be satisfied. To ensure that this
and represents how V changes depending on S. More
condition will be satisfied, equality constraints can be included
details on the formulation of BFS-Req proposal can be found
to the state estimation problem, as discussed in the original
in [17] and [18].
proposal of the SE-BC [2]. However, by choosing to treat
For radial feeders, one iteration of the BFS algorithm was
the equality constraints this way, the SE-BC became coupled
performed in order to obtain the initial conditions for the state
between phases, losing one of the main characteristics of the
variables. For weakly meshed feeders, the proposed SE-BCM
method. Another issue concerns the calculation of voltages in
method run 2 iterations of the BFS-Req algorithm. This is
each iteration using the forward sweep algorithm (step iv).
because the artificial power injections are initialized as null.
In a meshed grid, there are several different combinations of
The incremental of these power injections are calculated in
paths between the substation and each bus of the system. Thus,
the end of each iteration. So, in order to consider the effect
multiple paths may exist for calculating the voltage in the same
of these power injections, a second iteration is performed so
bus.
that the incrementals can be applied. This was done to ensure
The papers of [17] and [18] proposed methods for solving
the convergence of the state estimation process.
power flow problems in weakly meshed distribution systems
using the backward-forward sweep algorithm and a conversion
into equivalent radial system. In this paper, this method was A. Algorithm
called BFS-Req. Based on this idea, we proposed in this paper
The proposed algorithm to handle weakly meshed networks
a hybrid method between the SE-BC and the BFS-Req to deal
can be summarized as follows:
with the state estimation for weakly meshed systems, called
the SE-BCM. The proposed method ensures that Kirchhoffs i. Identify the loops in the network;
second law is satisfied within each loop while maintaining the ii. Open the loops in the breakpoints;
decoupled characteristic of the branch current state estimator. iii. Compute Z th and structure the sensibility matrix M .
Additionally, due to the conversion into an equivalent radial iv. Initialize the state variables by running 2 iterations of the
system, the issue of multiple paths in the forward sweep step BFS-Req algorithm;
is eliminated. v. Convert power measurements into equivalent current and
The BFS-Req method is based on the choice of breakpoints, voltage magnitude measurements into equivalent complex
where each loop is turned into two radial feeders as shown voltage using the present calculated voltage V k ;
0
in Fig. 1. The breakpoints are given in pairs B and B . vi. Solve the normal equation for x and update xk+1 =
To ensure equivalence between the original meshed grid and xk + x;
the equivalent radial system, the voltage mismatch between vii. Update bus voltages using the forward sweep procedure;
each pair of breakpoints has to be null (or less than a given viii. Compute voltage mismatches in each breakpoint pair;
tolerance). To achieve this goal, artificial power injections are ix. Solve (21) for S;
added in each breakpoint pair. These power injections are x. Update the artificial power injections SB = SB + S
initialized as zero and updated using the sensibility equation and SB 0 = SB 0 S;
given in (21). xi. Check for convergence. If x < and V < the
algorithm stops. Otherwise, go back to step ii;
xii. Check for bad data. If no bad data is detected, the
 th
Rth Q
   
X |V |
= (21) algorithm stops. Otherwise, eliminate the erroneous mea-
Rth X th P V
| {z } | {z } | {z } surement from the measurement set and go back to step ii.
M S V
 IV. T EST R ESULTS Regarding the phasor measurements, both voltage and cur-
rent measurements provided a good state estimation precision
The SE-BC algorithm was implemented using the program-
compared to their corresponding traditional measurements.
ming language Python 2.7.10 on a computer with Intel Core
PMU current measurements had a greater effect on improving
i7 3.40 GHz, 8 GB of RAM and operating system Windows 7
the SE-BC accuracy compared to the PMU voltage measure-
Professional 64-bit. The tolerance considered for convergence
ments.
tests was 103 .
The simulations in this paper were performed using two B. Case 2
IEEE distribution test feeders, that is the 13 and 123 bus
The second case goal was to evaluate the effect of including
systems, described in details at [19]. The software OpenDSS
the substation voltage estimation in the SE-BC process. The
was used to solve unbalanced power flow cases in both
voltage magnitude in the substation was increased by +3%,
systems. The results of the power flows were treated as
which became equal to 1.03 pu, while the voltage considered
reference values. Then, Gaussian noise with zero mean and
by the SE-BC to calculate the forward sweep remained in
standard deviation of 1% has been added for traditional voltage
1 pu. Three different scenarios were considered. First, the SE-
measurements (V ), 2% for traditional current measurements
BC was executed without estimating the substation voltage.
(I), 3% for power flow (F ) and power injection measurements
The set of measurements was composed of traditional power,
(INJ ), and 30% for pseudomeasurements (PM ). For PMU
current and voltage. In a second scenario, the substation
data, the considered standard deviation was 1% for magnitude
voltage magnitude was estimated using traditional voltage
and 0.02 for phase angle. Each case was run 10 times and
measurements. Finally, in the third scenario PMU measure-
the average absolute estimation error was calculated. The mean
ments were used to estimate the substation complex voltage.
and standard deviation of the simulation time was also taken
The results follow in Tables III and IV.
after 10 simulations, such as the mean of iterations.
TABLE III: Case 2 - 13 Bus
A. Case 1
Cenario Time [ms] Error It.
The first case aims to show how the SE-BC algorithm
1 20 4 5.31% 2.7
handles each traditional and PMU measurement in terms of 2 30 4 2.33% 4.3
convergence, simulation time and precision. The results for 3 31 4 0.21% 4.73
the 13 and 123 bus systems are shown in Tables I and II.
TABLE IV: Case 2 - 123 Bus
TABLE I: Case 1 - 13 Bus
Cenario Time [ms] Error It.
Measure Time [ms] Error It.
1 313 33 3.36% 2.37
PM 16 6 2.82% 2.67 2 433 53 0.92% 4
PM+3F 19 4 0.51% 2.67 3 510 170 0.21% 4.07
PM+3I 25 16 1.57% 2.77
PM+3V 13 2 1.97% 2.37
PM+3INJ 15 4 1.84% 2.67 The estimation of substation voltage proved to be effective
PM+3VPMU 26 4 0.76% 5
PM+3IPMU 15 1 0.38% 2.67
to reduce the estimation error using both traditional and phasor
voltage measurements. The inclusion of PMU measurements
had more significant influence on the estimation precision
TABLE II: Case 1 - 123 Bus
improvement.
Measure Time [ms] Error It.
C. Case 3
PM 295 116 1.41% 2.1
PM+15F 294 91 0.28% 2.1 Although the distribution systems are mostly radial, they
PM+15I 344 107 0.69% 2.37 may, in special situations, operate with some closed loops in
PM+15V 306 107 1.00% 2.17
PM+15INJ 279 123 1.17% 2.1 the system. In Case 3, the closure of 1 and 2 loops in 13
PM+15VPMU 400 149 0.44% 3.57 and 123 bus systems, respectively, was simulated. This was
PM+15IPMU 325 137 0.23% 2.2 done in order to verify the ability of the proposed SE-BCM
algorithm to deal with this system operating condition.
Among all traditional measures, the power flow proved to In the 13 bus system, a new two-phase line (phases bc)
have the best influence on the SE-BC performance, resulting between buses 632 and 646 was added so that the loop (632
in the estimation with less error, followed by the current 645 646 632)bc was closed. For the 123 bus test, two
magnitude measurements. The voltage and power injection lines were inserted to the system. The first one was a single-
measurements presented similar contributions to the state phase line (phase c) between buses 13 and 17 so that the loop
estimation precision, and they are the ones that least contribute (13 34 15 17 13)c was closed. The other one was
in improving the SE-BC accuracy compared to the others. a three-phase line between buses 44 and 49 so that the loop
Similar behavior of the estimation error related to traditional (44 47 49 44)abc was created. The results follow in
measurements was found by [3]. Table V.
 TABLE V: Case 3 - 13 and 123 Bus
residual was effective in the detection and identification of bad
Num. of Buses Time [ms] Error It. data.
13 23 8 1.42% 1.77 ACKNOWLEDGMENT
123 299 16 0.82% 1.03
The authors would like to thank Fundacao de Amparo
a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP) (Grants
The conversion from weakly meshed system into equivalent
2015/04538-0 and 2014/27342-1) for supporting the develope-
radial system provided to the SE-BC the ability to run nor-
ment of this research.
mally, just checking the voltages mismatches and updating the
artificial power injections in the breakpoint buses. R EFERENCES
In this case the average number of iterations was smaller [1] M. Pau, P. A. Pegoraro, and S. Sulis, Branch current state estimator for
distribution system based on synchronized measurements, in Applied
than in the other cases for both 13 and 123 bus feeders. This Measurements for Power Systems (AMPS), 2012 IEEE International
is because of the 2 iterations executed to obtain the initial Workshop on, Sept 2012, pp. 16.
conditions of the variables, that drives the state estimation [2] M. Baran and A. Kelley, A branch-current-based state estimation
method for distribution systems, Power Systems, IEEE Transactions
process closer to the convergence point. The average iteration on, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 483491, Feb 1995.
number takes into account only the number of iterations that [3] H. Wang and N. Schulz, A revised branch current-based distribution
the state estimator took to converge, i.e., the 2 initial iterations system state estimation algorithm and meter placement impact, Power
Systems, IEEE Transactions on, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 207213, Feb 2004.
are not considered. [4] J. Teng, Using voltage measurements to improve the results of branch-
current-based state estimators for distribution systems, Generation,
D. Case 4 Transmission and Distribution, IEE Proceedings-, vol. 149, no. 6, pp.
In this case, the SE-BC ability to detect and identify the 667672, Nov 2002.
[5] M. Baran and A. Kelley, State estimation for real-time monitoring of
presence of bad data was evaluated. For each system, 3 tests distribution systems, Power Systems, IEEE Transactions on, vol. 9,
were performed, each one considering a different measurement no. 3, pp. 16011609, Aug 1994.
with gross error, one for each phase. The applied error was [6] F. Schweppe and J. Wildes, Power system static-state estimation, part
i: Exact model, Power Apparatus and Systems, IEEE Transactions on,
10. The results follow in Tables VI e VII. vol. PAS-89, no. 1, pp. 120125, Jan 1970.
[7] W.-M. Lin, J.-H. Teng, and S.-J. Chen, A highly efficient algorithm in
TABLE VI: Case 4 - 13 Bus
treating current measurements for the branch-current-based distribution
max state estimation, Power Delivery, IEEE Transactions on, vol. 16, no. 3,
Measure with GE rn Identification pp. 433439, Jul 2001.
Ic 684-611 7.4970 Ic 684-611 [8] M. Karimi, H. Mokhlis, A. Bakar, and A. Shahriari, Distribution state
Fa -P 632-633 6.9011 Fa -P 632-633 estimation for smart distribution system, in PowerTech (POWERTECH),
Fb -Q 645-646 6.64676 Fb -Q 645-646 2013 IEEE Grenoble, June 2013, pp. 16.
[9] M. Pau, P. Pegoraro, and S. Sulis, WLS distribution system state
estimator based on voltages or branch-currents: Accuracy and perfor-
TABLE VII: Case 4 - 123 Bus mance comparison, in Instrumentation and Measurement Technology
Conference (I2MTC), 2013 IEEE International, May 2013, pp. 493
Measure with GE max
rn Identification 498.
[10] C. Muscas, M. Pau, P. Pegoraro, and S. Sulis, An efficient method to
Ia 77-78 7.52060 Ia 77-78
include equality constraints in branch current distribution system state
Fc -P 1-3 6.92182 Fc -P 1-3
estimation, in Journal on Advances in Signal Processing, 2015, pp.
Fb -Q 21-22 4.97274 Fb -Q 21-22
111.
[11] A. Abur and A. G. Exposito, Power System State Estimation, 1st ed.
Nova Iorque: Marcel Dekker, 2004.
The fact that all normalized residuals had presented max- [12] A. G. Phadke and J. S. Thorp, Synchronized Phasor Measurements and
imum values above 3 allowed the detection of bad data Their Application, 1st ed. Nova Iorque: Springer, 2008.
measures in all scenarios. The measures with the maximum [13] J. Thorp, A. Phadke, and K. Karimi, Real time voltage-phasor measure-
ment for static state estimation, Power Apparatus and Systems, IEEE
normalized residuals corresponded exactly to the measures Transactions on, vol. PAS-104, no. 11, pp. 30983106, Nov 1985.
where the gross error was applied, which allowed the correct [14] A. Phadke, J. Thorp, and K. Karimi, State estimlatjon with phasor
identification in all scenarios. measurements, Power Systems, IEEE Transactions on, vol. 1, no. 1,
pp. 233238, Feb 1986.
V. C ONCLUSION [15] R. Zivanovic and C. Cairns, Implementation of pmu technology in
state estimation: an overview, in AFRICON, 1996., IEEE AFRICON
An alternative model of state estimation for distribution 4th, vol. 2, Sep 1996, pp. 10061011 vol.2.
systems has been addressed. This model has a decoupled [16] W.-M. Lin and J.-H. Teng, State estimation for distribution systems
with zero-injection constraints, in Power Industry Computer Application
characteristic between phases for radial systems. In this paper, Conference, 1995. Conference Proceedings., 1995 IEEE, May 1995, pp.
a solution was proposed for dealing with weakly meshed 523529.
systems using a conversion to equivalent radial systems. Thus, [17] D. Shirmohammadi, H. Hong, A. Semlyen, and G. Luo, A
compensation-based power flow method for weakly meshed distribution
the SE-BC became robust enough to deal with different system and transmission networks, Power Systems, IEEE Transactions on,
configurations without losing its decoupled feature. The sim- vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 753762, May 1988.
ulations has shown that the algorithm was able to handle all [18] G. Luo and A. Semlyen, Efficient load flow for large weakly meshed
networks, Power Systems, IEEE Transactions on, vol. 5, no. 4, pp.
kinds of measurements, both traditional and PMU, as with the 13091316, Nov 1990.
presence of loops and the state vector expansion for estimating [19] W. Kersting, Radial distribution test feeders, in Power Engineering
the substation voltage. The test of the maximum normalized Society Winter Meeting, 2001. IEEE, vol. 2, 2001, pp. 908912 vol.2.