Patent ID: 8810251

Claim:
A method for locating faults on an electrical distribution network, the method comprising: monitoring, by one or more smart meters, a plurality of voltage values associated with the electrical distribution network; detecting transient under voltage conditions associated with a power system fault by measuring and computing RMS or phasor magnitude of a fundamental voltage component once every cycle; when one or more of the plurality of monitored voltage values indicate a power system fault: storing at least a portion of monitored line voltage values; formatting a fault voltage profile; indicating a detected fault by transmitting one or more last gasp messages with a fault voltage profile immediately prior to loss of power from the one or more smart meters or line sensors to a central station receiver, wherein the one or more last gasp messages comprise the monitored and stored line voltage values and line current values; receiving transmitted messages at the central station receiver; determining the last gasp messages with the fault voltage profile; sequencing the received last gasp messages with the fault voltage profile in order of electrical connectivity; assigning a node that is closest to a distribution substation as an original root node; inspecting the line voltage values from all the meters that are electrically adjacent to the original root node; determining an electrically adjacent meter that has the lowest line voltage value; promoting the electrically adjacent meter to a new root node; continue promoting, by an iterative process, the meter that has the lowest line voltage value that is electrically adjacent to the new root node until a new root node cannot be found; and determining a fault location to be between a last determined root node and a next electrically adjacent meter.