Impact of Distribution State Estimation in DMS Operation

Active networks are distribution networks with generators and storage devices and flexible loads subject to control. Distribution Management System (DMS) is necessary to manage and control the system economically and safely, by interacting and coordinating distributed energy resources. The main goal of the DMS is finding the optimal operation point of the network, minimizing the overall costs and keeping the system within the technical constraints. Since measurement system in distribution is constituted by a limited number of measurement devices, the DMS operating has to be based on the estimated status of the network provided by an ad hoc distribution state estimator. The state estimation algorithm, starting from real measurements and historical data, e.g. pseudo-measurements, is able to find the value of the status variables with a prefixed level of quality. The quality of the estimates can seriously affect the system management. This paper presents the evaluation of the uncertainty level introduced by the distribution state estimation in the DMS operating. Examples derived by a representative distribution network are presented.