Testing low voltage network state estimation in RTDS environment

The low voltage network operating environment is going through changes. The simultaneous introduction of intermittent renewable energy production and customer requirements for increased power quality and supply reliability are forcing utilities to rethink the role of low voltage networks. With recent advances in smart grid technology, low voltage network automation is emerging as a viable option to traditional network investments. Congestion management and demand response, for example, can be used to keep the network currents and voltages within acceptable limits. In order to control the network, we must first have a comprehensive view on the state of the network. In this paper, the low voltage network monitoring concept proposed by the FP7 European project INTEGRIS is tested. Real-Time Digital Simulator (RTDS) is used to test how well the measurements from secondary substations and smart meters can be combined in a state estimator to get a real-time view of the network state.