Assessing the effect of failures in the information and communication infrastructure on power system reliability

Due to the increased complexity of the power infrastructure and its growing dependence on information and communication technologies (ICT), the requirement to meet a high level of power system security has become a challenging issue. The heavy reliance on the ICT systems renders the entire infrastructure more vulnerable to information failures and malicious attacks. This paper analyses the impact of ICT systems on power system operation and security. The main categories of ICT systems and the effect of possible information failures on the power system state estimation are described. It also proposes a reliability assessment methodology that takes into consideration the failures in the ICT infrastructure and examines their impact on the probability of catastrophic blackouts. A Sequential Monte Carlo Simulation (SMCS) is used to illustrate the effect of ICT failures on load curtailments. Test results obtained using a small-scale power system are presented.