Fault location in SEC interconnected network based on synchronized phasor measurements

This paper addresses the subject of fault location in interconnected networks using the Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs). As it is not economical to install PMUs in all the network buses, this paper also highlights a PMU placement technique based on the so-called Tree Search Method (TSM) to determine a near-optimal solution for the PMU placement problem. TSM application to IEEE-14 bus, IEEE-57 bus and a 115 kV system selected from the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) network will then be presented. Mathematical formulation to calculate the fault distance will be discussed. Simulation results obtained from both PSCAD/EMTDC and MATLAB to determine the location of different types of faults will be presented and discussed.