Recent experience with a hybrid SCADA/PMU on-line state estimator

PMU devices are expected to grow in number from a few to several hundreds in the next five years. Some relays are already global positioning system-capable and could provide the same type of data as any PMU. This introduces a new paradigm of very fast accurate synchrophasor measurements from across the grid in real-time that augment and parallel existing slower SCADA measurements. Control center applications will benefit from this PMU data; for example, use of PMU data in state estimation is expected to improve accuracy and robustness, which in turn will result in more timely and accurate N-1 security analysis, resulting in an overall improvement of grid system reliability and security. This paper describes results from a recent implementation of this technology, the benefits and future work.