State Estimation in Power Distribution Network

Career overview

Bikash Pal is a Professor of Power Systems at Imperial College London, actively engaged in research on power system stability, control, and computation. His research is supported by various organisations including EPSRC, National Grid, GE, ABB, SIEMENS, and UK Power Networks. He led a six-university UK-China research consortium from 2020 to 2023 focused on Sustainable Energy Networks. Previously, he directed an eight-university UK-India research consortium from 2013 to 2017 on Smart Grid and Storage, and another six-university UK-China consortium from 2014 to 2017 on Smart Grid and Control. Collaborating with SIEMENS R&D, he developed fast power flow and volt-var control tools for Spectrum Power, which are now operational in distribution control centres across Colombia, Bosnia, Norway, and Azerbaijan, serving approximately 15 million customers. From 2013 to 2019, he worked with GE on projects addressing wind farm HVDC grid interaction issues. His research group received the 2016 President Award for Outstanding Research. Pal has graduated 35 PhD students and has published around 160 technical papers in IEEE Transactions and IET journals, co-authoring four books and two award-winning IEEE Task Force/Working Group reports. He served as Vice President of Publication for the Power and Energy Society (PES) of IEEE from 2019 to 2023, where he led initiatives to enhance quality and revenue, and was involved in approving new periodicals as a member of the IEEE Periodical committee. He has chaired an IEEE Working Group on state estimation for power distribution applications and has been an IEEE Distinguished Lecturer since 2008, delivering lectures and tutorials on power system control and computation. Pal was Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy and Series Editor for an Elsevier series on Sustainable Energies. He is a Fellow of IEEE, recognised for his contributions to power system stability and control, and has received the 2025 IEEE PES Prabha S. Kundur Power System Dynamics and Control Award. Additionally, he is a Fellow of The Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK, acknowledged for the industrial impact of his research in power network control. He held the title of Otto Monsted International Professor at Denmark Technical University (DTU) in 2019 and was a Mercator Professor at the University of Duisburg-Essen in 2011. He has also been honoured as a Distinguished Visiting Professor at North China Electric Power University and Tsinghua University in China. Beyond his academic career, Pal founded and manages the KAJALBABU MEMORIAL TRUST, an educational charity in India aimed at mentoring children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Research interests

Professor Bikash Pal''s research focuses on power system stability, control, and computation. He has been actively involved in various research projects sponsored by organisations such as EPSRC, National Grid, GE, ABB, SIEMENS, and UK Power Networks. His notable contributions include leading a six-university UK-China research consortium on Sustainable Energy Networks from 2020 to 2023, as well as previous collaborations on Smart Grid and Storage and Smart Grid and Control with multiple universities. His work with SIEMENS R&D led to the development of fast power flow and volt-var control tools, which are now implemented in distribution control centres across several countries, serving millions of customers. He has also conducted projects analysing wind farm HVDC grid interactions. Professor Pal''s research group has received the 2016 President Award for Outstanding Research, and he has graduated 35 PhD students while publishing approximately 160 technical papers in IEEE Transactions and IET journals. He has co-authored four books and contributed to two award-winning IEEE Task Force/Working Group reports. His research interests encompass dynamics, stability, control, state estimation, volt-var control, fault analysis, and protection in power systems. He has served in various leadership roles within the IEEE Power and Energy Society, including Vice President of Publication and Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy. He is recognised as a Fellow of IEEE and The Royal Academy of Engineering for his contributions to the field.