2,477 research outputs found

    Smart Grid Technologies in Europe: An Overview

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    The old electricity network infrastructure has proven to be inadequate, with respect to modern challenges such as alternative energy sources, electricity demand and energy saving policies. Moreover, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) seem to have reached an adequate level of reliability and flexibility in order to support a new concept of electricity network—the smart grid. In this work, we will analyse the state-of-the-art of smart grids, in their technical, management, security, and optimization aspects. We will also provide a brief overview of the regulatory aspects involved in the development of a smart grid, mainly from the viewpoint of the European Unio

    The Impact of Load Altering Attacks on Distribution Systems with ZIP Loads

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    Load-altering attacks (LAAs) pose a significant threat to power systems with Internet of Things (IoT)-controllable load devices. This research examines the detrimental impact of LAAs on the voltage profile of distribution systems, taking into account the realistic load model with constant impedance Z, constant current I, and constant power P (ZIP). We derive closed-form expressions for computing the voltages of buses following LAA by making approximations to the power flow as well as the load model. We also characterize the minimum number of devices to be manipulated in order to cause voltage safety violations in the system. We conduct extensive simulations using the IEEE-33 bus system to verify the accuracy of the proposed approximations and highlight the difference between the attack impacts while considering constant power and the ZIP load model (which is more representative of real-world loads)

    Artificial Intelligence Techniques to Prevent Cyber Attacks on Smart Grids

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    Energy is one of the main elements that allows society to maintain its living standards and continue as usual. For this reason, the energy distribution is both one of the most important and targeted by attacks Critical Infrastructure. Many of the other Critical Infrastructures rely on energy to work reliably. Some states are particularly interested in getting stealth access to -and take control of- energy production and distribution of other Nations. This way they can create huge disruption and get a significant advantage in case of conflict. In the recent past, we could observe some real-life demonstrations of this fact. The introduction of smart grids and ICT in the management of energy infrastructures has great benefits but also introduces new attack surfaces and ways for attackers to gain control. As a benefit, we can also collect more data and metrics to better understand the state of the grid. New techniques based on Artificial Intelligence and machine learning can take advantage of the available data to help the protection of the infrastructures and detect ongoing threats. Smart Meters which are connected intelligent devices spread over the grid and the geographical distribution of the population. For this reason, they can be very useful data collection assets but also a target for attack. In this paper, the authors consider and analyze various innovative techniques that can be used to enhance the security and reliability of Smart Grids.</p

    Cyber Switching Attacks on Smart Grids

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    As we live in smart grid revolution, the conventional power systems turn into a fast pace toward smart grids, this transition creates new and significant challenges on the electrical network security level; In addition to the important features of the smart grids, cyber security transpire to be a serious issue due to connecting all the loads, generation units, renewable resources, substations and switches via communication network. Cyber-physical attacks are classified as the major threatening of smart grids security, this attacks may lead to a many severe repercussions in the smart grid such as large blackout and destruction of infrastructures. Switching attack is one of the most serious cyber-physical attacks on smart grids because it is direct, fast, and effective in destabilizing the grids. We start the thesis by introducing a state-of-the-art on cyber attacks from the power layer point of view i.e. the cyber attacks that affect the smart grid stability and what are the power system based solutions have been done so far to prevent or reduce the cyber attacks severity .As we focus on cyber switching attack and the method of preventing it, firstly a study on the attack principles and effects is introduced, we construct the attack on a single machine connected to an infinite bus through a transmission line. The attack on the target generator implemented by modeling the system using swing equation on Matlab platform, then we verified the result by implementing the same attack on Simulink Platform. Finally we present a novel solution to mitigate such type of attacks by using Thyristor-Controlled Braking Resistor (TCBR).The suggested solution is able to recapture the machine stability directly after the attack

    On the optimization of energy storage system placement for protecting power transmission grids against dynamic load altering attacks

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    In this paper a power system protection scheme based on energy storage system placement against closed-loop dynamic load altering attacks is proposed. The protection design consists in formulating a non-convex optimization problem, subject to a Lyapunov stability constraint and solved using a two-step iterative procedure. Simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the approach and the potential relevance of using energy storage systems in support of primary frequency regulation services
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