Using AMR data for load estimation for distribution system analysis

With the development of distribution automation (DA) and other advanced applications in distribution systems, the real-time monitoring and control of distribution systems becomes possible. Now there are only a limited number of real-time measurements on the distribution systems. The load monitoring and estimation of customers can be an important source of information used by the distribution analysis applications. In recent years, an increasing number of automated meter reading (AMR) systems have been installed. AMR can provide customer consumption information and other data such as confirmations for outages and restoration. In this paper, a load estimation algorithm is discussed. The proposed algorithm makes use of the above information that AMR provides as its input. It also incorporates time series forecasting method and the use of the customer load curves to improve the accuracy of individual customer real-time load estimates. This method with the use of AMR data has excellent load estimation results. This method demonstrates how AMR data can be used for other functions besides billing.