Individual Test 2

EH2741 Communication & Control in Electric Power Systems

Date: 13th December 2017 Time: 13.00 – 15.00

Permitted aids: Calculator

This test forms a part in the complete examination of the course EH2741. The maximum score on
the test is 10 points, these points are cumulative with course points gained from Project Assign-
ments and the second voluntary test, the total amount of points gathered translates into a course
grade.

1. Communication Systems (2p)

True or
False
a) A physical star topology is often configured as a logical bus. True
b) This schematic shows a UDP/IP package sent over an Ethernet False
LAN.

c) IP based communication between Front-end servers and RTUs is False

implemented using the IEC 60870-5-101 protocol.

d) GOOSE uses IP multicast to periodically send updates to sub- False

scribers.

2. SCADA systems (2p)

a) SCADA systems are work in pseudo-steady state. Explain what “pseudo-steady state”
refers to, and why this is the case.
SCADA systems periodically collect (poll) measurements from RTUs, the polling rate is normally 2-5
seconds. This means that the measurements collected to the central system have been taken during an ex-
tended period of time under which the power system may have experienced changes in operating condi-
tions. The impage of the power system that is stored in the SCADA system is therefore only an ap-
proximation of the state of the power system, and if there has been any transients in the power system
during the polling of data, these have not been captured properly. As a consequence, the SCADA sys-
tem is working with a filtered view of the power system, not a real-time image.

Name: ______________________________________ ID # ____________________________

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 3. Cyber Security (3p)
a) List and explain briefly two security threats (general categories) to a well-functioning
SCADA system using a few sentences (how it can be caused by an attacker and how it im-
pacts the SCADA system).
Some examples include Denial of service, integrity breaches and unauthorized access. For a complete list
see section 8 in the paper by Nicholson referenced during lecture on Cybersecurity.

b) List and explain briefly two security flaws (general categories) that can undermine security
of SCADA systems, explain why they are dangerous and how an attacker can use them or
take advantage of them.
Some examples include poorly secured data communications; Unpatched software, Poor administration;,
Vendors not fixing vulnerabilities. For a complete list see section 10 in the paper by Nicholson refer-
enced during lecture on Cybersecurity.

c) List two preventative measures and explain how they make a positive difference against
security attacks.
Some examples include Security systems (firewalls, IDS/IPS, SIEMs...), War games and exercisies;,
Penetration testing and Honeypots/honeynets. For a complete list see section 11 in the paper by Nichol-
son referenced during lecture on Cybersecurity.

Name: ______________________________________ ID # ____________________________

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 4. Energy Management Systems
a) List the four main functions of a Power System State Estimator, and briefly (1-2
sentences) explain the function. Include a diagram of the relation between the
functions, the input and the output of the process. (2p).

Topology processor – converts the bus-breaker model to a bus-brach model by analysing breaker
states.
Observability Analysis – analysis of rank of the gain matrix G or measurement placement and
topology to analyse whether the complete system is observable. If some area is unobservable, pseudo-
measurements or data from other systems can be inserted.
State estimation – determination of Voltage amplitude and phase angle using e.g. Weighted Least
square approximation.
Bad Data detection – analysis of the residuals of measurements to determine whether some values
stand-out which is an indication of measurement error.

b) Explain the process of Contingency analysis(1p).

Contingency analysis involves analysing the resulting stability of a power system under a number of
“what-if” scenarios. A list of scenarios ranked in order of probability and or severity is created and
for each power flow analysis is made to determine if the scenario (contingency) will lead to a severe
problem in the system.

Name: ______________________________________ ID # ____________________________

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