Topology Error Identification for the NEPTUNE Power System

The goal of the North Eastern Pacific Time-Series Undersea Networked Experiment (NEPTUNE) is to provide the infrastructure necessary for scientific exploration and investigation on the floor of the Pacific Ocean in an area encompassing the Juan de Fuca Tectonic Plate. In order to achieve this goal, the power delivery capabilities of the terrestrial distribution system will be extended into the Pacific Ocean. The power system associated with the proposed observatory is unlike conventional terrestrial power systems due to the unique under ocean operating conditions. The operating requirements of the system dictate hardware and software applications that are not found in terrestrial power systems. This paper describes a method for topology error identification in the presence of various forms of measurement errors for NEPTUNE, a highly interconnected DC power system. Hardware and reliability requirements have led to a power system configuration that includes a large number of unmeasured sections. Using previously developed state estimation algorithms as a starting point, a methodology for system topology identification is proposed in this paper.