eng Science and Education Publishing American Journal of Electrical and Electronic Engineering 2328-7357 2017-07-03 5 4 120 125 10.12691/ajeee-5-4-1 AJEEE2017541 article Emmanuel U. Oleka eoleka@aggies.ncat.edu 1 Evelyn R. Sowells 2 Gary L. Lebby 2 Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro NC 27411 Department of Computer Systems Technology, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro NC 27411 Synchrophasor technology is receiving a global acceptance for electric power grid Wide Area Measurement System, (WAMS), an important function in a smart power transmission grid. A critical challenge in the synchrophasor technology deployment is the optimal choice of Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU) locations on the power grid. Researchers have proposed several techniques and algorithms in this respect. This work evaluated some of the major techniques and established that the available techniques and the factors they considered are not sufficient for a real-life optimal PMU placement (OPP). It also pointed to a method that could be applied to achieve a practical and robust solution for effective PMU placement for synchrophasor applications in a real-life electric power grid. It, therefore, calls for a shift in paradigm in the studies for the optimal PMU placement locations. http://pubs.sciepub.com/ajeee/5/4/1/ajeee-5-4-1.pdf optimal PMU placement placement considerations synchrophasor system deployment synchrophasor applications