Quickest Line Outage Detection and Identification

A method is proposed to detect and identify power system transmission line outages in near real-time. The method exploits the statistical properties of the small random fluctuations in electricity generation and demand that a power system is subject to as time evolves. To detect and identify transmission line outages, a linearized incremental small-signal power system model is used in conjunction with high-speed synchronized voltage phase angle measurements obtained from phasor measurement units. By monitoring the statistical properties of voltage phase angle time-series, line outages are detected and identified using techniques borrowed from the theory of quickest change detection. As illustrated through case studies, the proposed method is effective in detecting and identifying single- and double-line outages in an accurate and timely fashion.