Projects:2017s1-167c Smart Grid Security
Contents
Project Team
Juin Hao Yau
Supervisor
Dr Matthew Sorell
Introduction
As our technology advances forward at a rapid rate, the current power grid use today has not been significantly modified or improved. The current power grid is not reliable and has been causing blackouts, voltage sags and other numerous problems over the years. A similar but better electric grid called smart grids are replacing the standard electric infrastructure but at a very slow pace. What differs from a smart grid and the standard electric grid is that a smart grid is more reliable, manageable, scalable, cost efficient and has two-way communication between the utility operator and the consumer.
A smart grid consists of different entities connected by multiple systems. Advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) is a system component within the smart grid which connects smart meters from the consumers to the operators and vice versa. However, smart grids are vulnerable to cyber security attacks because of its large use of communication technology. This cyber security issues are also present in the AMI. If the cyber security issues are not addressed well, it could cause the AMI to be vulnerable to cyber threats and have serious consequences. AMI system plays an important role in the smart grid and with its weak cyber security protocols, it naturally becomes attackers first target. This research will cover the issues of cyber security in AMI, determine the requirements to mitigate the issues, discuss about the cyber threats resulting from the issues and to finally draw a conclusion by giving recommendations.
Motivation
South Australia has been recently facing with energy crisis. Approximately 50% of South Australias energy comes from gas, 45% from wind energy and the remaining from solar, diesel and brown coal from Victoria. Wind energy has been proved to be not very reliable during the blackout on September 2016 and due to the closure of a few coal plants in Victoria, the demand for gas energy increases. One solution proposed was to use battery storage as a short-term fix. However, the upfront cost for battery storage is too expensive and is not as efficient compared to other methods.
A long-term solution for the energy crisis is to convert the traditional standard grid into a smart grid. By doing so, the operators and consumers are able to communicate with each other and control the energy flow during high demand. AMI plays an important role in assisting the smart grid to connect the operators and consumers. Other than that, a smart grid can recover from a blackout by rerouting another transmission line.
Furthermore, smart grids can help reduce energy cost for the consumers as the smart meters installed at the end user allows the consumer to monitor energy prices in near real time. With the AMI implemented, the utility provider no longer needs to send out the meter man to measure the energy usage once every few months, instead they can bill the consumers directly and more efficiently. For the utility provider, this saves cost on fuel for sending out a meter man, and for the consumer, they no longer need to worry about estimated billing when the meter man has no access to the meter.
Purpose of the project
The purpose of this project is to carry out an extensive research, discuss and provide an overall view on the Cyber Security Issues in AMI and can then be used as a general reference for future work. The aim is to first identify the current issues and causes from past research, discuss about the issues, list out the regulatory requirements and the cyber security requirements. This research will also include ways an attacker can exploit the AMI and the recommended resolutions.
Background
What is a Smart Grid?
Over the years the term smart grid has went through numerous changes, but in general it is used to describe power grids with enhanced communication and sensing system which improves the overall reliability. According to Liu et al. a smart grid is capable of analysing power usage information in real time [1]. What makes a smart grid more reliable than the standard power grid is that any outage in an area due to bad weather can be automatically rerouted from another working distribution line. This feature is called distribution intelligence. A smart grid is also capable of integrating different energy sources. This allows renewable and non-renewable energy to work well together.
One important feature of a smart grid is the two-way communication between the consumer and the operator unlike the standard grid which only flows one way. What this means is that electricity is not only flowing from the operator to the consumer but information from the consumer is also flowing back to the operator. This two-way communication allows the operator to adjust the energy according to the consumer needs.
