Optimal PMU Placement Technique to Maximize Measurement Redundancy Based on Closed Neighbourhood Search

This paper proposes a method for the optimal placement of phasor measurement units (PMUs) for the complete observability of a power system based on the degree of the neighbourhood vertices. A three-stage algorithm is used to determine the minimum number of PMUs needed to make the system observable. The key objective of the proposed methodology is to minimize the total number of PMUs to completely observe a power system network and thereby minimize the installation cost. In addition, the proposed technique also focuses on improving the measurement redundancy. The proposed method is applied on standard IEEE 14-bus, IEEE 24-bus, IEEE 30-bus, IEEE 57-bus and IEEE 118-bus test systems and a hybrid AC/DC microgrid test system. The results obtained are compared with already existing methods in terms of the Bus Observability Index (BOI) and System Observability Redundancy Index (SORI). The results show that the proposed method is simple to implement and provides better placement locations for effective monitoring compared to other existing methods.