Blockchain in the Energy Sector

In this report, we analyse from a technical and legislative point of view the most promising applications of Distributed Ledger Technology to the electrical energy sector, as they were selected from the previous work performed in the AA between DG ENER and DG JRC, called Enerchain. Namely these use cases are smart metering, energy communities, flexibility services, certification of origin, and electro mobility. The outcome of the analysis is a short-list of conceptual applications of DLT to various trending topics and research areas in the energy sector. In this report we also describe the related energy regulatory packages, and ICT regulatory framework and discuss our blockchain considerations.JRC.E.3 - Cyber and Digital Citizens' Securit

Blockchain solutions for the energy transition, Experimental evidence and policy recommendations

This report summarises the main outcomes of several experimental studies carried out by the Joint Research Centre on blockchain solutions for energy systems. It presents considerations and recommendations for European policymakers regarding blockchain deployment across the energy value chain. The outcomes of this report come from a multi-year project funded through an explicit request of the European Parliament to the European Commission, with experiments conducted in the Joint Research Centre smart grids and cybersecurity laboratories.JRC.E.3 - Cyber and Digital Citizens' Securit

Cyber-Physical Testbed - the impact of cyber attacks and the human factor

The case of Critical Infrastructures (CIs), and es pecially Cyber-Physical CIs, which nowadays rely on computers and the Internet for their operation, is an important research area. Decentralized Critical Infrastructure management systems play a key role in reducing costs and improving the quality of service of industrial processes, such as electricity production. In this paper, we focus on the implementation of a Cyber-Physical testbed which includes physical equipment and the cyber security issues on the communication channel between the CIs, such as a power grid, a transportation infrastructure (railway) and the energy market. We simulate the energy (spot) market auctions and the power grid network, but we emulate the ICT information part which is the focus of our work. We set in motion a well-known attack, Denial-of-Service (DoS), in Cyber-Physical systems and we are able to identify the consequences not only in power distribution network but also in financial and transportation area.JRC.E.2-Technology Innovation in Securit

Cyber attacks in Power Grid ICT systems leading to financial disturbance

Decentralized Critical infrastructure management systems will play a key role in reducing costs and improving the quality of service of industrial processes, such as electricity production. In this paper, we focus on the security issues on the communication channel between the main entities of a smart grid , like generators, consumers and transmission/distribution operators and the energy market . We simulate the energy (spot) market auctions and the power grid network, but we emulate the ICT information part which is the focus of our work. We set in motion a well-known attack, Denial-of-Service (DoS), in Cyber-Physical systems and we are able to identify the consequences not only in power distribution network but also in financial area.JRC.E.2 - Technology Innovation in Securit

Demonstrating Cyber-attacks impact on Cyber-Physical simulated environment

Critical Infrastructures (CIs), such as a smart grid, relay extensively on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) nowadays. In this demonstration, we exhibit a real-time simulation of a smart grid infrastructure and the impact of specific cyber-attacks on it.JRC.G.5-Security technology assessmen

Experimental Platform for Internet Contingencies

Decentralized Critical infrastructure management systems will play a key role in reducing costs and improving the quality of service of industrial processes, such as electricity production and transportation. The recent malwares (e.g. Stuxnet) revealed several vulnerabilities in today's Distributed Control systems (DCS), but most importantly they highlighted the lack of an efficient scientific approach to conduct experiments that measure the impact of cyber threats on both the physical and the cyber parts of Networked Critical Infrastructures (NCIs). In this paper we present our novel cyber physical testbed, "Experimental Platform for Internet Contingencies" (EPIC), which can provide accurate assessments of the effects that cyber-attacks may have on the cyber and physical dimensions of NCIs.JRC.E.2-Technology Innovation in Securit

Cyber Security Impact on Power Grid Including Nuclear Plant

Decentralized Critical infrastructure management systems will play a key role in reducing costs and improving the quality of service of industrial processes, such as electricity production. The recent malwares (e.g. Stuxnet) revealed several vulnerabilities in today's Distributed Control Systems (DCS), but most importantly they highlighted the lack of an efficient scientific approach to conduct experiments that measure the impact of cyber threats on both the physical and the cyber parts of Networked Critical Infrastructures (NCIs). The study of those complex systems, either physical or cyber, could be carried out by experimenting with real systems, software simulators or emulators. Experimentation with production systems suffers from the inability to control the experiment environment. On the other hand the development of a dedicated experimentation infrastructure with real components is often economically prohibitive and disruptive experiments on top of it could be a risk to safety. In this paper, we focus on the implementation of a Cyber-Physical (CP) testbed which includes physical equipment. We illustrate and the cyber security issues on the communication channel between the CIs, such as a power grid, a nuclear plant and the energy market. We simulate the power grid network (including nuclear plant), but we emulate the ICT information part which is the focus of our work. Within this context we assume that we are able to implement scenarios, which produce consequences on the normal operation of the power power grid and the financial area.JRC.E.2-Technology Innovation in Securit

Faults and Cyber Attacks Detection in Critical Infrastructures

The explosive growth of the Internet has introduced advanced services facilitating our every day life. On the other hand it created increased dependence on computer systems which may be seen as an additional source of vulnerability to disruption scenarios due to both physical and cyber-based incidents. In this paper we study the case of Critical Infrastructures (CIs), and especially power grid systems, which is one of the variety of services that nowadays relies on computers and the Internet for its operation. We design an experimental platform consisting of a power grid simulator and a cyber network emulator. This paper proposes a combinatorial method for automatic detection and classification of faults and cyber-attacks occurring on the power grid system when there is limited data from the power grid nodes due to cyber implications. The efficiency of the proposed method is demonstrated via an extensive experimental phase measuring the false positive rate, false negative rate and the delay of the detections.JRC.E.2-Technology Innovation in Securit

A DSM test case applied on an end-to-end system, from consumer to energy provider

Current decarbonisation goals have, in recent years, led to a tremendous increase in electricity production generated from intermittent Renewable Energy Sources. Despite their contribution to reducing society’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions they have been responsible for numerous challenges that the current electricity grid has to cope with. Flexibility has become a key mechanism to help in mitigating them. Real-time informed consumers can offer the needed flexibility through modifying their behaviour or by engaging with Demand Side Management (DSM) programs. The latter requires the intervention of several actors and levels of communication management which makes this task difficult from an implementation perspective. With this aim we built and tested a small scale system in our lab which represents a real end-to-end system from the consumer to the energy provider. We programmed the system according to the Object Identification System (OBIS) specification to obtain consumers’ consumption through smart meters with high frequency (one minute). This allows remote control of their appliances in order to reduce the total neighbourhood consumption during critical time periods of the day (peak time). These results and the realisation of a realistic end-to-end system open the way to more complex tests and particularly to the possibility of benchmarking them with other lab tests.JRC.C.3-Energy Security, Distribution and Market