Developing a benchmark test system for electric power grid cyber-physical reliability studies

Abstract

Reliability test systems are used as a benchmark tool to test and validate probabilistic methods developed for power systems reliability evaluation. The IEEE Reliability Test System (RTS) and the Roy Billinton Test System (RBTS) are the two most widely used test systems for studying new ideas of power system reliability analysis. With the increasing penetration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), modern power system performance is becoming increasingly dependent on cyber infrastructure. To facilitate the development of methods to quantitatively evaluate the impact of cyber failures on power system reliability, it is necessary to develop a reliability test system that incorporates ICT features. This paper proposes the idea of developing a cyber-physical reliability test system. A portion of the IEEE RTS is extended with ICT configurations as an example to illustrate this idea. Technical considerations and challenges in developing a large cyber-physical reliability test system are also discussed with feasible solutions suggested. The purpose of this paper is to propose initial thoughts of developing a benchmark test system for electric power grid cyber-physical reliability studies, based on which a full-fledged system can be established later with cumulative efforts and inputs from both academia and industry.