PMU placement considering data uncertainty and redundancy

The increasing adoption of Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs, also known as synchrophasors) in the recent acceleration of smart grid technology has posed many interesting questions. One of the main problems that has been explored in many angles has been the PMU placement challenge: On which nodes of a system should the synchrophasors be installed to maximize observability and reliability and reduce costs? Because they are a relatively new addition to the grid, there does not exist much data to establish the reliability values of these components. This is where fuzzy probability theory comes in to introduce a method of dealing with this data uncertainty. This paper aims to build upon an effective PMU placement solution and merge it with fuzzy models for the reliability of the PMUs to explore how the placement decisions are affected. Additionally it will be seen how redundant placements of PMUs on certain critical nodes can improve the system observable reliability compared to isolated placements.