Challenges and Opportunities in Cyber-Physical Security of Highly DER-Penetrated Power Systems

With the high penetration of distributed energy resources (DERs), active distribution systems requires advanced information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) systems to provide data acquisition and communication, real-time monitoring and control, and distributed operation of grid-edge devices. The new development and advancement from grid modernization efforts has introduced new vulnerabilities and risks to the integrated cyber-physical system (CPS). The main focus of this paper is to review the advanced modeling of CPS and distributed operation and control, reveal the new vulnerabilities of distributed architecture in IT and OT systems, summarize the sophisticated and coordinated cyber-physical attacks, investigate new risks and attacks, and introduce the co-simulation platform for vulnerability assessment and impact analysis. The outcome of this paper is to raise the awareness of both challenges and opportunities in the secure and resilient operation of the modern cyber-physical power systems with high DER penetration.

I. Introduction

With the increasing penetration of distributed energy resources (DERs), active distribution systems are facing up with challenges of bidirectional power flow, aggravated fault levels and protection degradation, reliability and stability issues, operational uncertainties due to variable load demand and renewable energy generation. Moreover, for reliable operation and control, power systems are dependent on cyber systems which could introduce vulnerabilities for potential cyber security risks. With power system automation, the interaction between power physical and cyber networks is becoming more complex, and cyber-physical security is playing an important role in secure and resilient operation of power systems.