An Energy Storage Inverter-based Robust Strategy to Mitigate Load Altering Attacks

Load Alteration Attack (LAA) remotely manipulates controllable loads, exacerbating voltage fluctuations and posing a significant threat to grid stability. The primary challenge in defending against LAAs lies in ensuring the robustness of defense strategies while effectively managing implementation costs. This paper proposes a two-level Stackelberg game optimization framework that integrates the optimal operation and real-time control strategies of Energy Storage Inverters (ESIs) to effectively mitigate the impact of LAAs. Specifically, in the lower-level optimization, the attacker adjusts the target node’s load to maximize the voltage deviation, while in the upper-level optimization, the defender optimizes the operation of ESIs to minimize voltage fluctuations. Furthermore, ESIs are deployed effectively over time through continuous adjustments and optimization strategies spanning multiple time intervals. To address the uncertainty in the attacker’s behavior, a robust optimization method based on optimal distance matching is proposed, ensuring defense effectiveness under worst-case scenarios. Experimental results in the IEEE 33, 69, and 118-bus test systems validate the effectiveness of the proposed framework, demonstrating its capability to mitigate the impact of LAAs on the distribution network with high robustness and reliability under uncertain conditions.