In multi-area interconnected power systems (MAIPS), the measurement of all system states is difficult due to the lack of a sensor or the fact that it is expensive to measure. In order to solve this limitation, a new load frequency controller based on the second-order sliding mode is designed for MAIPS where the estimated state variable is used fully in the sliding surface and controller. Firstly, a model of MAIPS integrated with disturbance is introduced. Secondly, an observer has been designed and used to estimate the unmeasured variables with disturbance. Thirdly, a new second-order sliding mode control (SOSMC) law is used to reduce the chattering in the system dynamics where slide surface and sliding mode controller are designed based on system states observer. The stability of the whole system is guaranteed via the Lyapunov theory. Even though state variables are not measured, the experimental simulation results show that the frequency remains in the nominal range under load disturbances, matched and mismatched uncertainties of the MAIPS. A comparison to other controllers illustrates the superiority of the highlighted controller designed in this paper.