An entropy-based metric to quantify the robustness of power grids against cascading failures

The cascading failure phenomenon in a power grid is related to both the structural aspects (number and types of buses, density of transmission lines and interconnection of components), and the operative state (flow distribution and demand level). Existing studies most often focus on structural aspects, and not on operative states. This paper proposes a new metric to assess power network robustness with respect to cascading failures, in particular for cascading effects due to line overloads under targeted attacks. The metric takes both the effect of structural aspects and the effect of the operative state on network robustness into account, using an entropy-based approach. IEEE test systems and real world UCTE networks are used to demonstrate the applicability of this robustness metric. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

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