Power system topological observability analysis including switching branches

The conventional topological observability analysis based on the network representation at the bus-branch level is generalized to include the explicit modeling of circuit breakers and switches. This generalization is motivated by the present trend toward a more detailed representation (at the substation level) of the power network in state estimation studies. After developing the topological representation of switching branches according to their current status, it is shown that existing algorithms for observability and criticality analysis can be adapted to solve the extended problem. Results of the proposed approach for generalized observability and criticality analysis are validated by checking their consistency with numerical state estimation results.