Network topology determination using least absolute value state estimation

In energy control centers, the estimates of the power system state can often be affected by errors in the assumptions made about the topology of the power network. This paper introduces a technique that avoids making incorrect assumptions about power network status by estimating the status of suspect lines as a part of the state estimation process. This is done by introducing additional variables and measurements in the conventional state estimation problem. The success of the method relies on properties of the least absolute value (LAV) estimator (an estimator that minimizes the l₁ norm of the measurement residuals). The performance of the method is demonstrated on standard test systems