Optimal placement of phasor measurement units to obtain network observability using a hybrid PSO–GSA algorithm

Abstract

The rapid growth and expansion of power grids makes analysis and control of such systems a complicated task. Control, management and stability analysis of a power network needs sufficient knowledge of its current state. The traditional measurement system gives little consideration onto the required costs and is no longer a possibility. Phasor measurement units (PMUs) can effectively construct an optimal measurement system to obtain network observability. These units can potentially detect any fault in normal or contingency conditions. Optimal placement of PMUs is very important to minimize the number of costly and unnecessary PMU installations at different buses. In this study, we merged the abilities of particle swarm optimization (PSO) in exploitation and gravitational search algorithm (GSA) in exploration to offer a high-speed hybrid PSO–GSA algorithm for optimal placement of PMU units. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm has been compared to the prevailing techniques.