Evaluation of Communication Delay Based Attack Against the Smart Grid

The smart grid is becoming increasingly reliant on communications systems for measurement and control data. A simple cyber-physical attack on the power grid is to introduce delays in the delivery of these measurement and control messages to the control centers of the grid. This paper investigates the consequences of delay using the IEEE 30 bus standard benchmark. The Power System Simulation software PSCAD is used to model the power system. A case study to introduce delays and line cuts and measure the line voltage is presented. The case study is designed to pinpoint the amount of delay that can be tolerated before the system becomes unstable.