Enhancing smart grid resilience with deep learning anomaly detection prior to state estimation

State estimation is a critical process in modern power system control centers that operate under strict real-time requirements. Among its key post-processing components are bad data detection and identification, with the latter being more complex and potentially compromising the system's real-time performance. This paper proposes a novel component in the state estimation process called Anomaly Detection and Identification Module (ADIM), whose goal is to detect anomalies, or erroneous data points, prior to the state estimation process. Our work presents a deep learning-based method that exhibits a commendable level of accuracy in detecting anomalies within a continuous stream of measurements. ADIM's capabilities are demonstrated through comprehensive experiments on a set of test cases that effectively encompass various network configurations, transformer types, and load scenarios. It is shown that ADIM can detect and identify anomalies effectively, significantly reducing the need for the bad data detection component and improving overall state estimation responsiveness. Our work lays the foundation for developing a detection-and identification-based anomaly system for power system measurements.