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16 UEC Int’l Mini-Conference No.52

Vulnerability of Bus Controller Objectives regarding malicious

Upstream Signal manipulation

Bendeikt OSTENDORF ∗1 and Kiminao KOGISO 2

1 UEC Exchange Study Program (JUSST Program)
2 Dept. of Mechanical and Intelligent Systems Engineering
The University of Electro-Communications, Tokyo, Japan

Abstract

Future power grids will rely on the intense use of Information and Communication Technologies
(ICT). Together, they form a cyber-physical system which is prone to cyber-attacks. Such attacks can
lead to increased operational costs, physical damage to units, or even result in a blackout of the grid.
The success of an attack depends on the algorithms used to operate the grid securely. The Smart
Power Cell (SPC) Concept is a promising control scheme for addressing the challenges of future power
grids. However, the vulnerability to faulty control signals has not been studied. The vulnerability of
the Bus Controller is being investigated due to signal manipulation transmitted by the lower level, the
Distributed Energy Resources (DER) Level. These units will play a major role in future power grids
and rely on the utilized ICT. This paper determines the impact of manipulating the flexibility regions
of DERs and the power measurements at the point of common coupling of the DERs. Furthermore,
a mathematical description of the flexibility region attack is provided.

Keywords: Smart Power Cell, Cyber-Attack, Bus Level Controller, Flexibility Region Attack

1 Introduction To bring this functionality to Distribution Net-
works, the utilization of Information and Com-
The current fashion of operating the power grid munication Technology (ICT) is necessary [16].
cannot ensure the reliable supply of power to Considering the mentioned challenges, a
all customers in grids highly penetrated by Dis- promising approach for controlling DERs in Dis-
tributed Energy Resources (DERs). Further-
tribution Networks is the Smart Power Cell
more, ancillary services must be provided by
(SPC) Concept. The advantages of this concept
DERs, given the decreasing number of steam include the manageable computational complex-
and gas power plants, which have been respon- ity of the SPC from the Transmission System
sible for these services. This shift in operational Operator (TSO) point of view, the ability to
responsibility from a few actors connected to control the interconnection power flows of the
the Transmission Grid to many actors mostly
SPC, and the Voltage/Var Control within the
connected to the Distribution Networks is forc- SPC. The control approach is hierarchical, with
ing formerly passive Distribution Networks to four control layers: i) DER Controller, ii) Bus
become ”active”. A power grid relying on Ac- Controller, iii) Smart Power Cell Controller, and
tive Distribution Networks (ADNs) needs to de- iv) TSO Controller. The Smart Power Cell
velop new control algorithms and more detailed
(SPC) proposes control algorithms for the sec-
monitoring of Distribution Networks. Further-
ond and third layers. However, these controller
more, the assumption of modeling Distribution algorithms have only been studied under the as-
Networks as passive loads is no longer valid.
sumption of perfect signal transmission [10] [4].
∗ The author is supported by JASSO Scholarship. Furthermore, the intense use of ICT to en-