On the Rising Interdependency between the Power Grid, ICT Network, and E-Mobility: Modeling and Analysis

Ahmed Ali A Mohamed

doi:10.3390/en12101874

Abstract

Boosting critical infrastructures’ (CIs) preparedness to threats, including natural disasters and manmade attacks, is a global imperative. The intrinsic dependencies and interdependencies between CIs hinder their resiliency. Moreover, the evolution of CIs is, in many cases, en routè to tighten those interdependencies. The goal of this paper is to uncover and analyze the rising interdependency between the electric power grid, information and communication technology (ICT) networks, and transportation systems that are heavily reliant on electric-power drivetrains, collectively referred to hereafter as electro-mobility (e-mobility). E-mobility includes electric vehicles (EVs) and electric railway systems. A new influence graph-based model is introduced, as a promising approach to model operational interdependencies between CIs. Each of the links of the influence graph represents the probability of failure of the sink node following a failure of the source node. A futuristic scenario has been analyzed assuming increased dependency of the power grid on ICT for monitoring and control, and high penetration levels of EVs and distributed energy resources (DERs) in an urban region. Inspecting the influence graph shows that the impact of interdependency between the power grid, the ICT network, and the transportation network, for the case study analyzed in this paper, does not lead to failures during normal operation with proper design; however, it is severe during emergency conditions since it leads to failure propagation among the three CIs. This paper sets the stage for more research on this topic, and calls for more attention to interdependency analysis.

Highlights

An infrastructure, according to the US President’s Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection, is “a network of independent, mostly privately-owned, man-made systems and processes that function collaboratively and synergistically to produce essential goods and services.” Among those infrastructures, eight are considered critical
Critical infrastructures (CIs) are interdependent, e.g., the power grid depends on the information and communication technology (ICT) network for monitoring and control while the ICT network depends on the power
This paper focuses on the rising interdependencies between the power grid, the ICT network, and e-mobility

Summary

Introduction

An infrastructure, according to the US President’s Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection, is “a network of independent, mostly privately-owned, man-made systems and processes that function collaboratively and synergistically to produce essential goods and services.” Among those infrastructures, eight are considered critical. A new hybrid case study test system that combines a power distribution grid, an ICT network, and a standard transportation test network, which can be used for further analysis and research that integrate these three CIs. The rest of the paper is organized as follows: in Section 2, the structural and topological interdependencies between the power grid, the ICT network and e-mobility will be modeled; in Section 3, the operational interdependencies will be modeled and the proposed operational influence graph will be presented; in Section 4, a new case study combining the IEEE 30-bus standard distribution network, the 24-node Sioux Falls transportation test network, and an ICT network will be described; in Section 5, results of the case study along with a discussion on the results will be presented; and some of the conclusions that can be derived from this study are summarized The rest of the paper is organized as follows: in Section 2, the structural and topological interdependencies between the power grid, the ICT network and e-mobility will be modeled; in Section 3, the operational interdependencies will be modeled and the proposed operational influence graph will be presented; in Section 4, a new case study combining the IEEE 30-bus standard distribution network, the 24-node Sioux Falls transportation test network, and an ICT network will be described; in Section 5, results of the case study along with a discussion on the results will be presented; and in Section 6, some of the conclusions that can be derived from this study are summarized

Modeling Structural Interdependencies

Interdependency Influence Graphs

Nomenclature

Conclusions

Scenario I

Scenario II