Development of distributed state estimation methods to enable smart distribution management systems

The increasing penetration of Distributed Generation (DG) and emerging smart metering technologies are transforming passive distribution networks into active distribution networks. In such active networks, extensive monitoring and remote control technologies are essential. Extensive research is ongoing with regard to the development of novel Distribution System State Estimation (DSSE) tools for improved network monitoring and control. The DSSE tool should be highly scalable and distributed to facilitate the computation burden of enormous volumes of data produced from the distribution networks. This paper proposes, develops and investigates a novel distributed DSSE tool that will satisfy the requirements for future distribution management systems. The proposed DSSE tool applies the stochastic optimization mechanism, Differential Evolution Algorithm (DEA), for the numerical solution of the formulated estimation problem. A detailed investigation has been performed with various case studies, in order to evaluate the potential distributed application of this approach at the distribution network level.