In this paper the seven-decade historical dataset of the Hungarian power system is used to perform vulnerability assessment applying a complex network approach.
In modern power grids, a local failure or attack can trigger catastrophic cascading failures, which make it challenging to assess the attack vulnerability of power grids. In this Brief, we define the $K$-link attack problem and study the attack vulnerability of power grids under cascading failures. Particularly, we propose a link centrality measure based on both topological and electrical properties of power grids. According to this centrality, we propose a greedy attack algorithm and an optimal attack algorithm. Simulation results on standard IEEE bus test data show that the optimal attack is…
Social Networks (SNs) have been gradually applied by utility companies as an addition to smart grid and are proved to be helpful in smoothing load curves and reducing energy usage. However, SNs also bring in new threats to smart grid: misinformation in SNs may cause smart grid users to alter their demand, resulting in transmission line overloading and in turn leading to catastrophic impact to the grid. In this paper, we discuss the interdependency in the social network coupled smart grid and focus on its vulnerability. That is, how much can the smart grid be damaged when misinformation related…
Structural Vulnerability Assessment of Electric Power Grids
Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology(代尔夫特理工大学技术、政策与管理学院);Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science, Delft University of Technology(代尔夫特理工大学电气、数学与计算机科学学院);TNO (Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research)(荷兰应用科学研究组织)
A novel metric that describes the vulnerability of the measurements in power systems to data integrity attacks is proposed. The new metric, coined vulnerability index (VuIx), leverages information theoretic measures to assess the attack effect on the fundamental limits of the disruption and detection tradeoff. The result of computing the VuIx of the measurements in the system yields an ordering of their vulnerability based on the level of exposure to data integrity attacks. This new framework is used to assess the measurement vulnerability of IEEE 9-bus and 30-bus test systems and it is observ…
With improvement in smart grids through two-way communication, demand response (DR) has gained significant attention due to the inherent flexibility provided by shifting non-critical loads from peak periods to off-peak periods, which can greatly improve grid reliability and reduce cost of energy. Operators utilize DR to enhance operational flexibility and alleviate network congestion. However, the intelligent two-way communication is susceptible to cyber-attacks. This paper studies the benefits of DR in security-constrained economic dispatch (SCED) and then the vulnerability of the system to l…
We investigate the vulnerability of a power transmission grid to load oscillation attacks. We demonstrate that an adversary with a relatively small amount of resources can launch a successful load oscillation attack to destabilize the grid. The adversary is assumed to be able to compromise smart meters at a subset of load buses and control their switches. In the studied attack scenarios the adversary estimates the line flow sensitivity factors (LFSFs) associated with the monitored tie lines by perturbing a small amount of load at compromised buses and observing the monitored lines flow changes…
Time-synchronization attacks on phasor measurement units (PMU) pose a real threat to smart grids; it was shown that they are feasible in practice and that they can have a non-negligible negative impact on the state estimation, without triggering the bad-data detection mechanisms. Previous works identified vulnerability conditions when targeted PMUs measure a single phasor. Yet, PMUs are capable of measuring several quantities. We present novel vulnerability conditions in the general case where PMUs measure any number of phasors and can share the same time reference. One is a sufficient conditi…
The increasing need for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the drive for green cities have promoted the use of electric vehicles due to their environmental benefits. In fact, countries have set their own targets and are offering incentives for people to purchase EVs as opposed to traditional gasoline-powered cars. Manufacturers have been hastily deploying charging stations to meet the charging requirements of the EVs on the road. This rapid deployment has contributed to the EV ecosystem's lack of proper security measures, raising multiple questions related to the power grid security and vul…
This work studies the potential vulnerability of distributed control schemes in smart grids. To this end, we consider an optimal inverter VAR control problem within a PV-integrated distribution network. First, we formulate the centralized optimization problem considering the reactive power priority and further reformulate the problem into a distributed framework by an accelerated proximal projection method. The inverter controller can curtail the PV output of each user by clamping the reactive power. To illustrate the studied distributed control scheme that may be vulnerable due to the two-hop…
Decisions related to electric power systems planning and operations rely on assumptions and insights informed by historic weather data and records of past performance. Evolving climate trends are, however, changing the energy use patterns and operating conditions of grid assets, thus altering the nature and severity of risks the system faces. Because grid assets remain in operation for decades, planning for evolving risks will require incorporating climate projections into grid infrastructure planning processes. The current work traces a pathway for climate-aware decision-making in the electri…
The increased penetration of Electric Vehicles (EVs) in the transportation sector has increased the requirement of Fast Charging Direct Current (FCDC) stations to meet customer's speedy charging requirements. However, both charging stations and EVs connection to the communication infrastructure as well as the power grid makes it vulnerable to cyber attacks. In this paper, the vulnerability of the EV charging process is initially studied. We then show how a botnet of compromised EVs and FCDC stations can be utilized to launch cyber attacks on the power grid resulting in an increase in the load …
The frequent occurrences of cascading failures in power grids have been receiving continuous attention in recent years. An urgent task for us is to understand the cascading failure vulnerability of power grids against various kinds of attacks. We consider a cost restrained hybrid attack problem in power grids, in which both nodes and links are targeted with a limited total attack cost. We propose an attack centrality metric for a component (node or link) based on the consequence and cost of the removal of the component. Depending on the width of cascading failures considered, the attack centra…
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted our society by forcing shutdowns and shifting the way people interacted worldwide. In relation to the impacts on the electric grid, it created a significant decrease in energy demands across the globe. Recent studies have shown that the low demand conditions caused by COVID-19 lockdowns combined with large renewable generation have resulted in extremely low-inertia grid conditions. In this work, we examine how an attacker could exploit these {scenarios} to cause unsafe grid operating conditions by executing load-altering attacks (LAAs) targeted at compromisin…
Forschungszentrum Jülich(于利希研究中心);University of Cologne(科隆大学)
A reliable supply with electric power is vital for our society. Transmission line failures are among the biggest threats for power grid stability as they may lead to a splitting of the grid into mutual asynchronous fragments. New conceptual methods are needed to assess system stability that complement existing simulation models. In this article we propose a combination of network science metrics and machine learning models to predict the risk of desynchronisation events. Network science provides metrics for essential properties of transmission lines such as their redundancy or centrality. Mach…
The urgent need for the decarbonization of power girds has accelerated the integration of renewable energy. Concurrently the increasing distributed energy resources (DER) and advanced metering infrastructures (AMI) have transformed the power grids into a more sophisticated cyber-physical system with numerous communication devices. While these transitions provide economic and environmental value, they also impose increased risk of cyber attacks and operational challenges. This paper investigates the vulnerability of the power grids with high renewable penetration against an intraday false data …