Measurement-based estimation of linear sensitivity distribution factors and applications

In this paper, we propose a method to compute linear sensitivity distribution factors (DFs) in near real-time. The method does not rely on the system power flow model. Instead, it uses only high-frequency synchronized data collected from phasor measurement units to estimate the injection shift factors through linear least-squares estimation, after which other DFs can be easily computed. Such a measurement-based approach is desirable since it is adaptive to changes in system operating point and topology. We further improve the adaptability of the proposed approach to such changes by using weighted and recursive least-squares estimation. Through numerical examples, we illustrate the advantages of our proposed DF estimation approach over the conventional model-based one in the context of contingency analysis and generation re-dispatch.