A Weighted Least Squares Algorithm for Optimal PMU Placement

This letter presents a new method for optimal placement of phasor measurement units (PMU) for complete power system observability. The optimal PMU placement (OPP) problem is formulated as a quadratic minimization problem with continuous decision variables subject to nonlinear observability constraints. The optimal solution is obtained by an unconstrained nonlinear weighted least squares (WLS) approach. Simulations are conducted on different IEEE systems (14-bus, 30-bus, 57-bus, and 118-bus) to prove the validity of the proposed algorithm.