Detection and Localization of Faults in a Regional Power Grid

Abstract

The structure of power flows in transmission grids is evolving and is likelyto change significantly in the coming years due to the rapid growth ofrenewable energy generation that introduces randomness and bidirectionalpower flows. Another transformative aspect is the increasing penetrationof various smart-meter technologies. Inexpensive measurement devicescan be placed at practically any component of the grid. Using modeldata reflecting smart-meter measurements,we propose a two-stage procedure for detecting a fault in a regional powergrid. In the first stage, a fault is detected in real time. In the second stage,the faulted line is identified with a negligible delay. The approach uses onlythe voltage modulus measured at buses (nodes of the grid) as the input.Our method does not require prior knowledge of thefault type. The method is fully implemented in R.Pseudo code and complete mathematical formulas are provided.