Electric Power Grids

Layer-2 domain pack: descriptive invariants about control feedback, coupling, protection thresholds, and cascades.

Layer-2 descriptive grounded

L2-GRID-01 — Grid Stability Is a Dynamic Feedback Condition

Statement

Grid stability is maintained through continuous feedback control responding to deviations in system variables (e.g., frequency/voltage).

Primitives

P6 P10 P9

Composites

C9

Notes

Small deviations can amplify if feedback is delayed or insufficient.

L2-GRID-02 — Coupling Across Network Boundaries Enables Fast Propagation

Statement

Interconnected topology couples regions such that local disturbances can propagate across boundaries faster than governance responses.

Primitives

P1 P6 P9

Composites

C1 C10

Notes

Tight coupling increases disturbance gain across the network.

L2-GRID-03 — Protection Thresholds Act as Constitutional Comparators in Operation

Statement

Protection thresholds function as guarded comparators that trigger discrete state changes (trips, shedding) when limits are exceeded.

Primitives

P10 P9 P8

Composites

C4 C12

Notes

Threshold crossings convert analog drift into binary transitions; cascade risk rises near limits.

L2-GRID-04 — Local Optimization Can Induce System-Level Instability

Statement

Local control actions that optimize subsystem objectives can shift system-level behavior due to coupling and delayed feedback.

Primitives

P6 P7 P10 P1

Composites

C10 C9

Notes

A locally correct action can reinforce an instability mode at scale.

L2-GRID-05 — System State Contains Nonlinear Threshold Regions

Statement

Grid behavior includes regions where incremental changes produce disproportionate state transitions.

Primitives

P6 P10 P8 P1

Composites

C12 C9

Notes

This is leverage: small ∆input → large ∆state near thresholds.

L2-GRID-06 — Observability Limits Constrain Control Quality

Statement

Control effectiveness is bounded by observability: what system state can be measured and interpreted at operational timescales.

Primitives

P4 P6 P10 P5

Composites

C3 C8

Notes

State estimation errors degrade feedback response quality.

L2-GRID-07 — Reversibility Is Bounded and Time-Dependent

Statement

Interventions have reversibility constraints that vary by action type and timing.

Primitives

P8 P9 P6

Composites

C9

Notes

Trips and black-start processes make reversal costly or slow.

Use this pack to map real artifacts (policies, configs, incidents) into the spine. Then run a gap-check: what grounding effects are missing?