Software Defined Networks based Smart Grid Communication: A Comprehensive Survey

The current power grid is no longer a feasible solution due to ever-increasing user demand of electricity, old infrastructure, and reliability issues and thus require transformation to a better grid a.k.a., smart grid (SG). The key features that distinguish SG from the conventional electrical power grid are its capability to perform two-way communication, demand side management, and real time pricing. Despite all these advantages that SG will bring, there are certain issues which are specific to SG communication system. For instance, network management of current SG systems is complex, time consuming, and done manually. Moreover, SG communication (SGC) system is built on different vendor specific devices and protocols. Therefore, the current SG systems are not protocol independent, thus leading to interoperability issue. Software defined network (SDN) has been proposed to monitor and manage the communication networks globally. This article serves as a comprehensive survey on SDN-based SGC. In this article, we first discuss taxonomy of advantages of SDNbased SGC.We then discuss SDN-based SGC architectures, along with case studies. Our article provides an in-depth discussion on routing schemes for SDN-based SGC. We also provide detailed survey of security and privacy schemes applied to SDN-based SGC. We furthermore present challenges, open issues, and future research directions related to SDN-based SGC.Comment: Accepte

Evaluation of Time-Critical Communications for IEC 61850-Substation Network Architecture

Present-day developments, in electrical power transmission and distribution, require considerations of the status quo. In other meaning, international regulations enforce increasing of reliability and reducing of environment impact, correspondingly they motivate developing of dependable systems. Power grids especially intelligent (smart grids) ones become industrial solutions that follow standardized development. The International standardization, in the field of power transmission and distribution, improve technology influences. The rise of dedicated standards for SAS (Substation Automation Systems) communications, such as the leading International Electro-technical Commission standard IEC 61850, enforces modern technological trends in this field. Within this standard, a constraint of low ETE (End-to-End) latency should be respected, and time-critical status transmission must be achieved. This experimental study emphasis on IEC 61850 SAS communication standard, e.g. IEC 61850 GOOSE (Generic Object Oriented Substation Events), to implement an investigational method to determine the protection communication delay. This method observes GOOSE behaviour by adopting monitoring and analysis capabilities. It is observed by using network test equipment, i.e. SPAN (Switch Port Analyser) and TAP (Test Access Point) devices, with on-the-shelf available hardware and software solutions

CleanTX Analysis on the Smart Grid

The utility industry in the United States has an opportunity to revolutionize its electric grid system by utilizing emerging software, hardware and wireless technologies and renewable energy sources. As electricity generation in the U.S. increases by over 30% from today’s generation of 4,100 Terawatt hours per year to a production of 5,400 Terawatt hours per year by 2030, a new type of grid is necessary to ensure reliable and quality power. The projected U.S. population increase and economic growth will require a grid that can transmit and distribute significantly more power than it does today. Known as a Smart Grid, this system enables two- way transmission of electrons and information to create a demand-response system that will optimize electricity delivery to consumers. This paper outlines the issues with the current grid infrastructure, discusses the economic advantages of the Smart Grid for both consumers and utilities, and examines the emerging technologies that will enable cleaner, more efficient and cost- effective power transmission and consumption.IC2 Institut

Laboratory testing of the communication based protection relays

The proper operation of control and protection applications in Substation Automation System (SAS) demands very high-speed and reliable communications that has being achieved by using IEC 61850. Moreover, the practical implementation and testing of protection scheme requires a communication system that can be conventional or high-speed peer-to-peer communication. This paper presents the evaluation of the performance advantage of GOOSE (Generic Object Oriented Substation Event) message over its conventional hard-wired counterpart for the same relays protection

Internet of Things-aided Smart Grid: Technologies, Architectures, Applications, Prototypes, and Future Research Directions

Traditional power grids are being transformed into Smart Grids (SGs) to address the issues in existing power system due to uni-directional information flow, energy wastage, growing energy demand, reliability and security. SGs offer bi-directional energy flow between service providers and consumers, involving power generation, transmission, distribution and utilization systems. SGs employ various devices for the monitoring, analysis and control of the grid, deployed at power plants, distribution centers and in consumers' premises in a very large number. Hence, an SG requires connectivity, automation and the tracking of such devices. This is achieved with the help of Internet of Things (IoT). IoT helps SG systems to support various network functions throughout the generation, transmission, distribution and consumption of energy by incorporating IoT devices (such as sensors, actuators and smart meters), as well as by providing the connectivity, automation and tracking for such devices. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive survey on IoT-aided SG systems, which includes the existing architectures, applications and prototypes of IoT-aided SG systems. This survey also highlights the open issues, challenges and future research directions for IoT-aided SG systems

Emerging technologies and future trends in substation automation systems for the protection, monitoring and control of electrical substations

Tese de Mestrado Integrado. Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores (Automação). Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 201

ICT Technologies, Standards and Protocols for Active Distribution Network Automation and Management

The concept of active distribution network (ADN) is evolved to address the high penetration of renewables in the distribution network. To leverage the benefits of ADN, effective communication and information technology is required. Various communication standards to facilitate standard-based communication in distribution network have been proposed in literature. This chapter presents various communication standards and technologies that can be employed in ADN. Among various communication standards, IEC 61850 standard has emerged as the de facto standard for power utility automation. IEC 61850-based information modeling for ADN entities has also been presented in this chapter. To evaluate the performance of ADN communication architecture, performance metrics and performance evaluation tools have also been presented in this chapter

Substation Communication Architecture to Realize the Future Smart Grid

Substation and its communication architecture play an important role in maintaining high reliability, and availability of the power supply. Due to the proliferation of multi-vendor IEDs (Intelligent Electronic Devices) and communication technologies in substation, there seems to be an immediate need to adopt a standard approach for meeting the critical communication demands of Substation Automation System (SAS) and also to be future ready to tackle demand growth and changing scenario due to restructuring and deregulation. This paper presents possible exploitation of the technical features of IEC 61850, the standard for Communication Networks and Systems in Substation, to make the substation communication architecture future ready to accommodate the applications and goals of smart grid. Keywords: Substation Automation, Interoperability, IEC61850, Smart Grid, Distribution Automation

A survey of smart grid architectures, applications, benefits and standardization

The successful transformation of conventional power grids into Smart Grids (SG) will require robust and scalable communication network infrastructure. The SGs will facilitate bidirectional electricity flow, advanced load management, a self-healing protection mechanism and advanced monitoring capabilities to make the power system more energy efficient and reliable. In this paper SG communication network architectures, standardization efforts and details of potential SG applications are identified. The future deployment of real-time or near-real-time SG applications is dependent on the introduction of a SG compatible communication system that includes a communication protocol for cross-domain traffic flows within the SG. This paper identifies the challenges within the cross-functional domains of the power and communication systems that current research aims to overcome. The status of SG related machine to machine communication system design is described and recommendations are provided for diverse new and innovative traffic features