Development and testing of a branch current based distribution system state estimator

The recent increase of distributed generation has forced many distribution network operators to develop distribution automation and active network management. Many active distribution network management functions need accurate real-time estimates of the network state. In this paper, a distribution network state estimation algorithm is developed and used in conjunction with coordinated voltage control. The state estimator utilizes equality constrained weighted least squares optimization and includes bad data detection. The state estimator is tested with MATLAB simulations, real-time digital simulator and in a real distribution network.