On the robustness of power systems: Optimal load-capacity distributions and hardness of attacking

Abstract

We consider a power system with N transmission lines whose initial loads (i.e., power flows) L 1 ,…, L N and capacities C1,…, C N are independent and identically distributed with the joint distribution P LC (x, y) = P [L ≤ x, C ≤ y]; the capacity C i defines the maximum flow allowed on line i. We survey some results on the robustness of this power system against random attacks (or, failures) that target a p-fraction of the lines, under a democratic fiber bundle-like model. Namely, when a line fails, the load it was carrying is redistributed equally among the remaining lines. We then consider the case where an adversary can launch a targeted attack, and present several results on the hardness of attacking optimally.