Distributed Communication Architecture for Smart Grid Applications

One big challenge in building a smart grid arises from the fast growing amount of data and limited communication resources. The traditional centralized communication architecture does not scale well with the explosive increase of data and has a high probability of encountering communication bottlenecks due to long communication paths. To address this challenging issue, this article presents a distributed communication architecture that implements smart grid communications in an efficient and cost-effective way. This distributed architecture consists of multiple distributed operation centers, each of which is connected to several data concentrators serving one local area and only sends summary or required integrated information to a central operation center. Using this distributed architecture, communication distance is much shortened, and thus data will be delivered more efficiently and reliably. In addition, such a distributed architecture can manage and analyze data locally, rather than backhauling all raw data to the central operation center, leading to reduced cost and burden on communication resources. Advanced metering infrastructure is chosen as an example to demonstrate benefits of this architecture on improving communication performance. The distributed communication architecture is also readily applicable to other smart grid applications, for example, demand response management systems

An Energy Efficient Architecture for IoT Based Automated Smart Micro-Grid

The concept of smart grid is getting more and more attention for efficient energy generation and distribution. There is a need to reduce the energy consumption by efficiently utilizing the resources. Smart gird originates the research in a number of associated applications. These include energy consumption, minimization, database efficiency and efficient communication infrastructure. In this article, we proposed architecture for optimizing the usage of energy resources by effectively utilizing the Renewable Energy (RE) resources. The proposed architecture utilizes Internet of Things paradigms for collecting the power consumption profile of heterogeneous devices. Based on obtained information, a schedule is generated and distributed by the Micro-Grid for certain devices. The analysis shows the efficiency of proposed architecture by reducing the cost of electricity purchased from the external sources. Finally, the realization of proposed architecture for various robotics applications is explained

Architectures for smart end-user services in the power grid

Abstract-The increase of distributed renewable electricity generators, such as solar cells and wind turbines, requires a new energy management system. These distributed generators introduce bidirectional energy flows in the low-voltage power grid, requiring novel coordination mechanisms to balance local supply and demand. Closed solutions exist for energy management on the level of individual homes. However, no service architectures have been defined that allow the growing number of end-users to interact with the other power consumers and generators and to get involved in more rational energy consumption patterns using intuitive applications. We therefore present a common service architecture that allows houses with renewable energy generation and smart energy devices to plug into a distributed energy management system, integrated with the public power grid. Next to the technical details, we focus on the usability aspects of the end-user applications in order to contribute to high service adoption and optimal user involvement. The presented architecture facilitates end-users to reduce net energy consumption, enables power grid providers to better balance supply and demand, and allows new actors to join with new services. We present a novel simulator that allows to evaluate both the power grid and data communication aspects, and illustrate a 22% reduction of the peak load by deploying a central coordinator inside the home gateway of an end-user

A cloud-based smart metering infrastructure for distribution grid services and automation

© 2017 The Authors The evolution of the power systems towards the smart grid paradigm is strictly dependent on the modernization of distribution grids. To achieve this target, new infrastructures, technologies and applications are increasingly required. This paper presents a smart metering infrastructure that unlocks a large set of possible services aimed at the automation and management of distribution grids. The proposed architecture is based on a cloud solution, which allows the communication with the smart meters from one side and provides the needed interfaces to the distribution grid services on the other one. While a large number of applications can be designed on top of the cloud, in this paper the focus will be on a real-time distributed state estimation algorithm that enables the automatic reconfiguration of the grid. The paper will present the key role of the cloud solution for obtaining scalability, interoperability and flexibility, and for enabling the integration of different services for the automation of the distribution system. The distributed state estimation algorithm and the automatic network reconfiguration will be presented as an example of coordinated operation of different distribution grid services through the cloud

Securing Restricted Publisher-Subscriber Communications in Smart Grid Substations

Smart Grid applications require accurate and correct data transmission from publisher to subscribers with critical communication latency requirements. Since the smart grid is being supported by distributed communication networks, deployed using various wired and wireless technologies, including IP-based networks, securing the communication infrastructure is both critically important and challenging. In this paper, we propose a secure and efficient data delivery scheme, based on a restricted yet dynamic publisher-subscriber architecture, for the published messages from a publisher to the subscribers distributed in the smart grid network. The scheme ensures that the published message is delivered from an authentic publisher to only those authorized subscribers by verifying publisher's signature and access structure of all subscribers. Operation overheads are reduced by performing only one encryption and decryption or hashing per subscriber location using a proxy node as a remote terminal unit. Our analysis shows that the scheme is resistant against replay, man-in-the-middle, and impersonation attacks. Performance evaluation shows that the scheme can support 600 subscribers given the communication latency requirement of 3 ms. We provide the performance of the scheme under different scenarios, and observe that the efficiency of our scheme increases as the ratio of the geographical locations within a substation to the number of subscribers increases

Self-organising smart grid architectures for cyber-security

PhD ThesisCurrent conventional power systems consist of large-scale centralised generation and unidirectional power flow from generation to demand. This vision for power system design is being challenged by the need to satisfy the energy trilemma, as the system is required to be sustainable, available and secure. Emerging technologies are restructuring the power system; the addition of distributed generation, energy storage and active participation of customers are changing the roles and requirements of the distribution network. Increased controllability and monitoring requirements combined with an increase in controllable technologies has played a pivotal role in the transition towards smart grids. The smart grid concept features a large amount of sensing and monitoring equipment sharing large volumes of information. This increased reliance on the ICT infrastructure, raises the importance of cyber-security due to the number of vulnerabilities which can be exploited by an adversary. The aim of this research was to address the issue of cyber-security within a smart grid context through the application of self-organising communication architectures. The work examined the relevance and potential for self-organisation when performing voltage control in the presence of a denial of service attack event. The devised self-organising architecture used techniques adapted from a range of research domains including underwater sensor networks, wireless communications and smart-vehicle tracking applications. These components were redesigned for a smart grid application and supported by the development of a fuzzy based decision making engine. A multi-agent system was selected as the source platform for delivering the self-organising architecture The application of self-organisation for cyber-security within a smart grid context is a novel research area and one which presents a wide range of potential benefits for a future power system. The results indicated that the developed self-organising architecture was able to avoid control deterioration during an attack event involving up to 24% of the customer population. Furthermore, the system also reduces the communication load on the agents involved in the architecture and demonstrated wider reaching benefits beyond performing voltage control

Evaluation of IEEE 802.1 Time Sensitive Networking Performance for Microgrid and Smart Grid Power System Applications

Proliferation of distributed energy resources and the importance of smart energy management has led to increased interest in microgrids. A microgrid is an area of the grid that can be disconnected and operated independently from the main grid when required and can generate some or all of its own energy needs with distributed energy resources and battery storage. This allows for the microgrid area to continue operating even when the main grid is unavailable. In addition, often a microgrid can utilize waste heat from energy generation to drive thermal loads, further improving energy utilization. This leads to increased reliability and overall efficiency in the microgrid area.As microgrids (and by extension the smart grid) become more widespread, new methods of communication and control are required to aid in management of many different distributed entities. One such communication architecture that may prove useful is the set of IEEE 802.1 Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) standards. These standards specify improvements and new capabilities for LAN based communication networks that previously made them unsuitable for widespread deployment in a power system setting. These standards include specifications for low latency guarantees, clock synchronization, data frame redundancy, and centralized system administration. These capabilities were previously available on proprietary or application specific solutions. However, they will now be available as part of the Ethernet standard, enabling backwards compatibility with existing network architecture and support with future advances.Two of the featured standards, IEEE 802.1AS (governing time-synchronization) and IEEE 802.1Qbv (governing time aware traffic shaping), will be tested and evaluated for their potential utility in power systems and microgrid applications. These tests will measure the latency achievable using TSN over a network at various levels of congestion and compare these results with UDP and TCP protocols. In addition, the ability to use synchronized clocks to generate waveforms for microgrid inverter synchronization will be explored

A survey on smart grid potential applications and communication requirements

Information and communication technologies (ICT) represent a fundamental element in the growth and performance of smart grids. A sophisticated, reliable and fast communication infrastructure is, in fact, necessary for the connection among the huge amount of distributed elements, such as generators, substations, energy storage systems and users, enabling a real time exchange of data and information necessary for the management of the system and for ensuring improvements in terms of efficiency, reliability, flexibility and investment return for all those involved in a smart grid: producers, operators and customers. This paper overviews the issues related to the smart grid architecture from the perspective of potential applications and the communications requirements needed for ensuring performance, flexible operation, reliability and economics.http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=9424hb2016Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineerin

WSN based power monitoring in smart grids

Smart grid technology is one of the recent developments in the area of electric power systems that aid the use of non-conventional sources of energy in parallel with the conventional sources of energy. Monitoring and control of smart grids is essential for its efficient and effective functioning. In this paper, we propose an architecture for monitoring power in smart grid applications using wireless sensor network (WSN) technology. A prototype power sensing module is designed and developed to calculate the power for any kind of loads. Using WSN technology, the monitored power is communicated to the sink at periodic intervals. Multi hop wireless mesh network is set up using IRIS motes to enhance the communication between the power sensing nodes and the sink. The data collected is a rich source of repository for data analysis and modelling. A number of smart actions and applications, such as power theft detection, energy efficient building design, smart automation systems and smart metering can evolve out of the proposed model. A novel Power theft detection algorithm is proposed and simulated in this paper. The system is also scaled using GSM technology to extend the range of communication. Load monitoring can aid distributed architecture in smart grids with automated technology to switch between the non-conventional source of energy and the grid