AVAIL: Assured Volt-Ampère Information Ledger

Abstract

To address the need for trusted information across bulk power systems, our paper proposes a new type of distributed ledger (or Blockchain), for a shared management of sensitive information in power systems. We call our Blockchain design the Assured Volt Ampere Information Ledger (AVAIL). The AVAIL` abstractions fit data needs of prototypical grid applications in wide area protection and control, energy management systems, and markets. The contribution of this paper is to draw directly from the distinct requirements of these applications and the valid assumptions about the adversaries, to shape the AVAIL abstractions. AVAIL is unique for the following features: 1) Adversarial model: Our design principles consider an adversarial model where attacks affect physical resources; 2) Non-binary validity: in our setting we allow for a spectrum of validity; 3) Validity enforcement: validity in our setting is governed by physical laws.