Power Consumption Profiling Using Energy Time-Frequency Distributions in Smart Grids

Smart grids are power distribution networks that include a significant communication infrastructure, which is used to collect usage data and monitor the operational status of the grid. As a consequence of this additional infrastructure, power networks are at an increased risk of cyber-attacks. In this letter, we address the problem of detecting and attributing anomalies that occur in the sub-meter power consumption measurements of a smart grid, which could be indicative of malicious behavior. We achieve this by clustering a set of statistical features of power measurements that are determined using the Smoothed Pseudo Wigner Ville (SPWV) energy Time-Frequency (TF) distribution. We show how this approach is able to more accurately distinguish clusters of energy consumption than simply using raw power measurements. Our ultimate goal is to apply the principles of profiling power consumption measurements as part of an enhanced anomaly detection system for smart grids.