Open Access

ARTICLE

Mitigating the Dynamic Load Altering Attack on Load Frequency Control with Network Parameter Regulation

Yunhao Yu¹, Boda Zhang¹, Meiling Dizha¹, Ruibin Wen¹, Fuhua Luo¹, Xiang Guo¹, Zhenyong Zhang^2,*

1 Electric Power Dispatching and Control Center, Guizhou Power Grid Co., Ltd., Guiyang, 550002, China
2 State Key Laboratory of Public Big Data, College of Computer Science and Technology, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China

* Corresponding Author: Zhenyong Zhang. Email:

Computers, Materials & Continua 2026, 86(2), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.32604/cmc.2025.070577

Received 19 July 2025; Accepted 24 September 2025; Issue published 09 December 2025

Abstract

Load frequency control (LFC) is a critical function to balance the power consumption and generation. The grid frequency is a crucial indicator for maintaining balance. However, the widely used information and communication infrastructure for LFC increases the risk of being attacked by malicious actors. The dynamic load altering attack (DLAA) is a typical attack that can destabilize the power system, causing the grid frequency to deviate from its nominal value. Therefore, in this paper, we mathematically analyze the impact of DLAA on the stability of the grid frequency and propose the network parameter regulation (NPR) to mitigate the impact. To begin with, the dynamic LFC model is constructed by highlighting the importance of the network parameter. Then, we model the DLAA and analyze its impact on LFC using the theory of second-order dynamic systems. Finally, we model the NPR and prove its effect in mitigating the DLAA. Besides, we construct a least-effort NPR considering its infrastructure cost and aim to reduce the operation cost. Finally, we carry out extensive simulations to demonstrate the impact of the DLAA and evaluate the mitigation performance of NPR. The proposed cost-benefit NPR approach can not only mitigate the impact of DLAA with 100% and also save 41.18 $/MWh in terms of the operation cost.

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Keywords

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