Energy Infrastructure Protocol
"When the Grid Goes Dark, We Need to Know Why"
2021, Texas Blackout. Millions froze as the power system collapsed.
2003, Northeast Blackout. 55 million affected. Economic losses exceeded $6 billion.
Modern power grids are optimized by AI. Demand-supply balancing, renewable energy integration, fault prediction, load distribution. But when AI makes a wrong decision, there's no system to trace its rationale.
EIP cryptographically records all decisions made by AI managing critical infrastructure, enabling root cause analysis and cascade failure tracking when incidents occur.
Current Challenges in Critical Infrastructure
A single failure propagates in a chain reaction. It's impossible to identify which AI decision was the origin point.
When AI decides "prioritize recovery for this area," there's no record of why that decision was made.
When AI behaves abnormally, it's difficult to verify post-incident whether it was a "bug" or an "attack."
Examples of failures that highlight the need for EIP
Reality: Demand surged unexpectedly
Frequency drop → System separation
"Why did AI judge oversupply?"
"Was the input data accurate?"
→ Insufficient evidence, cause unidentifiable
"AI's autonomous decision?"
"External intrusion?"
→ Log integrity not guaranteed, unable to distinguish
Target Systems and Event Types
Demand-supply balancing, renewable integration, load forecasting
Water treatment control, distribution optimization, leak detection
Pressure control, leak detection, emergency shutoff
Traffic management, fault prediction, routing
Anomaly detection, cooling control, emergency shutdown decisions
SCADA/DCS control, process optimization
Data Flow and Event Structure
{
"event_id": "019234ab-7c8d-7def-8123-456789abcdef",
"timestamp_ns": 1734567890123456789,
"event_type": "CONTROL_DECISION",
"facility_id": "SUBSTATION_XXXX",
"provenance": {
"actor": {
"type": "AI_MODEL",
"identifier": "load_balancer_v4.2.1",
"model_hash": "sha256:abc123...",
"deployment_zone": "ZONE_A_CONTROL"
},
"input": {
"sensor_readings": {
"frequency_hz": 59.95,
"voltage_kv": 274.5,
"load_mw": 1250.3,
"renewable_output_mw": 320.0
},
"input_hash": "sha256:def456..."
},
"action": {
"decision": "LOAD_SHED_ZONE_C",
"confidence": 0.92,
"rationale": {
"primary_factor": "FREQUENCY_DEVIATION",
"alternatives_considered": [
{"action": "IMPORT_FROM_REGION_B", "rejected_reason": "TIE_LINE_CONGESTED"}
]
},
"expected_impact": {
"load_reduction_mw": 150,
"affected_customers": 12500
}
}
},
"prev_hash": "sha256:789xyz...",
"signature": "ed25519:..."
}International Standards and Regulations
| Regulation | Jurisdiction | Requirements | EIP Support |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU NIS2 Directive | EU | Critical infrastructure cybersecurity, incident reporting | Full Support |
| NERC CIP Standards | North America | Power system cybersecurity, audit trails | Full Support |
| EU AI Act Annex III | EU | Energy management AI classified as high-risk | Full Support |
| IEC 62443 | International | Industrial control system security | Complementary |
| NIST Cybersecurity Framework | USA | Critical infrastructure protection framework | Aligned |
Designed for Operational Technology Constraints
Offline sign/verify
Async logging
Fail-safe design
Sidecar approach
20-40 year retention
Async processing
How EIP Transforms Incident Response
| Phase | Without EIP | With EIP |
|---|---|---|
| Blackout Occurs | Multiple systems collapse simultaneously | Same |
| Initial Investigation | "Don't know where it started" | Identify first event by timestamp |
| Causal Tracing | "Log formats differ across systems" | Trace chain with unified format |
| AI Decision Verification | "Unknown if AI input was correct" | Verify with input data hash |
| Cause Identification | Speculation-based report | Prove "System A AI used incorrect topology" |
| Prevention | Vague improvements | Specific model/data quality fixes |
Fulfill Transparent Accountability
Key Technical Parameters
μsec
IEEE 1588 PTP
10K/sec
Max Rate
SHA-256
Cryptographic
Ed25519
+Dilithium PQC
Air-Gap
Offline OK
20-40Y
Regulatory
Fail-Safe
Control OK
Zero
Async
EIP Development Timeline
EIP Draft Specification v0.1 Release
Technical Validation with Utilities
NERC/FERC (NA), ENTSO-E (EU) Briefing
EIP v1.0 Official Release
IEC TC 57 Collaboration Start
IEEE/IEC Standardization Activities
Framework Hierarchy
Verifiable AI Provenance
Universal Framework for All Domains
VeritasChain Standards Organization
Standards Body
Finance
v1.0 Released
Automotive
Planned
Medical
Planned
Energy
In Development
Public Sector
Planned
Integration with Existing Standards
| Standard | Role | EIP Relationship |
|---|---|---|
| IEC 61850 | Substation Automation Communication | EIP complements AI decision layer |
| IEC 61968/61970 (CIM) | Power System Information Model | EIP events reference CIM objects |
| DNP3 / Modbus | SCADA Communication Protocols | EIP operates above protocol layer |
| OPC UA | Industrial Communication Standard | Integrates as EIP event source |
| IEEE C37.118 | Synchrophasor Measurement | PMU data recorded as EIP input |
EIP is currently under development. We welcome participation and feedback from utilities, regulators, and infrastructure operators.
"When the power grid collapses, the question isn't 'whose fault is it?' — it's 'why did it happen?'"— VeritasChain Standards Organization
"The grid never forgets. Neither should our audit trails."
This work is licensed under CC BY 4.0 International