ACTA-10-014R1
Smart Grid Communications Overview
Trone Bishop
Service Provider Representative
(Verizon)
September 9, 2010
1
What is the Smart Grid?
According to the United States Department of Energy
[1], a modern smart grid must:
- Be able to heal itself
- Motivate consumers to actively manage usage
- Resist attack
- Provide higher quality power
- Accommodate all generation and storage options
- Enable electricity markets to flourish
- Run more efficiently
- Enable intermittent power generation sources
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Smart Grid Applications
•
Advanced metering infrastructure (AMI): Establish two-way
communications between advanced meters and utility business systems.
•
Cyber security: Ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the
electronic information.
Demand response and consumer energy efficiency: Provide
mechanisms and incentives for customers to cut energy use during times
of peak demand.
Distribution grid management: Maximize the performance of feeders,
transformers, and other components of distribution systems.
Electric transportation: Enable large-scale integration of plug-in electric
vehicles.
Energy storage: Provide the means to store energy.
Network communications: Identify performance metrics and core
operational requirements of various Smart Grid applications.
Wide-area situational awareness: Monitoring and display of powersystem components over large geographic areas in near real time to
optimize management of grid components and performance and respond
to problems before disruptions arise.
•
•
•
•
•
•
[3]
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U.S. Electric Power Transmission Grid
[2]
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Basic Power Grid
Generation
Power
Plant
Coal 45%
Natural Gas 23%
Nuclear 20%
Hydro 7%
Other 5%
Transmission
HV lines
750, 500, 345, 230,
and 138 kV
Distribution
Substation
HV to MV
Step down
transformer
MV to LV
Transformer
69, 26, 13 & 4kV
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Customer Premises
Meter
120 & 240V
Loads
Smart Grid Needs Secure Communications
[3]
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Smart Grid Needs Broadband
Nick Sinai (FCC) believes that electric utilities will need broadband to manage
the Smart Grid.[4]
• Advanced sensors, which sample the state of the power transmission
system 30 times per second, will help grid operators prevent blackouts.
Deployments of these sensors require the high speed and low latency of
broadband networks.[4]
• Utilities will need more information about how the energy flows in the
distribution grid. Putting more broadband connected sensors in
substations and in transformers can improve the quality and reliability of
the power and help grid operators more efficiently deliver power. [4]
• Broadband is also important in connecting smart meters. Many utilities
are using 3G cellular connections. Utilities are looking at LTE and WiMax
solutions for their wide area connectivity needs. Advanced metering is
one of many applications that a utility could run over a 4G wireless
network. [4]
• Broadband is also important to mobile workforces. Utility crews need
updated information about the state of the grid, especially with electricity
flowing both ways in the distribution grid. [4]
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Electric Utility Communications Architecture
Control/Operations Centers
Communications Networks
Generation
Transmission
Power
Plant
Field
Devices
Distribution
Field
Devices
Field
Devices
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Customer Premises
Meter
Loads
No Single Broadband Solution
1. The Smart Grid will not use just one type of communications network.[4]
2. There is not a single solution or a representative network for the Smart
Grid.[4]
3. There are over 3,000 electric utilities across the country, with different
topographies, regulatory regimes, and legacy communications systems.[4]
4. Today, U.S. electric utilities use a variety of communications networks,
including wired and wireless, licensed and unlicensed, private and
commercial, fixed and mobile, narrowband and broadband. [4]
5. Utilities will use a wide variety of communications networks as they evolve the
basic power grid into a Smart Grid.[4]
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Electric Utility Communications Architecture
Control/Operations Centers
Communications Networks
Regional
Interconnection
Wide
Area
Network
3rd Party
Services
Distribution
Access
Point
Backhaul/WAN
Public
Networks
Field
Area
Network
Neighborhood
Area Network
Workforce
Mobile
Network
Home Area
Network
Energy
Management
System
Power
Plant
Grid
Energy
Resources
Generation
Field
Devices
Transmission
Field
Devices
Field
Devices
Field
Devices
Distribution
[5]
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Smart
Meter
Consumer
Electric
Products
Customer Premises
Electric Utility Communications Architecture
Control/Operations Centers
Communications Networks
Regional
Interconnection
Wide
Area
Network
3rd Party
Services
Distribution
Access
Point
Backhaul/WAN
Public
Networks
Field
Area
Network
Neighborhood
Area Network
Workforce
Mobile
Network
Home Area
Network
Energy
Management
System
Power
Plant
Other
Energy
Resources
Generation
[5]
Field
Devices
Transmission
Field
Devices
Field
Devices
Field
Devices
Distribution
Smart
Meter
Consumer
Electric
Products
Customer Premises
Potential application for Power Line Carrier technology *
* Equipment connecting directly to the power grid using PLC or connecting directly to utility-owned wireline facilities does not fall under Part 68.
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Is Part 68 Applicable to the Smart Grid?
When electric utilities use wireline carrier
networks for Smart Grid applications, will the
equipment utilities connect to wireline carrier
networks need to comply with 47 C.F.R. Part 68 of
the FCC’s rules and regulations?
Answer: Yes, under certain conditions specified in
47 C.F.R. Part 68.
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When is Part 68 Applicable?
Part 68 compliance is required when and if:
(a) The equipment can be connected directly (i.e.,
it has a physical connection) to a wireline carrier
network.
(b) The equipment has certain FCC-regulated
features.
[6]
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What are FCC-Regulated Features?
Part 68 requires terminal equipment to provide equal access to common
carriers.
Telephones must be compatible with hearing aids.
Part 68 places limits on equipment with automatic dialing capability.
Part 68 places limits on automatic telephone dialing systems.
Telephone facsimile machines must clearly mark identifying information on
each transmitted message.
If any of the requirements in 68.318 are applicable to the equipment, then
the equipment needs to comply.
[6]
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Conclusions
1. Utilities will use a wide variety of broadband communications systems as they
evolve the current U.S. power grid into a Smart Grid. [4]
2. Smart Grid communications will use a variety of facilities, including Power Line
Carrier (PLC), utility-owned wireless and wireline facilities, leased wireline
facilities, and commercial wireless networks. [3][4]
3. Electric utilities using leased wireline carrier services, such as DS1, for Smart
Grid applications must connect equipment that is approved according to Part
68. [6]
4. The FCC does not treat electric utilities as wireline carriers when they use PLC
technology or their own wireline facilties for Smart Grid communications.
Thus, TE connecting directly to the power grid using PLC or connecting directly
to utility-owned wireline facilities does not fall under Part 68.
5. Allowing consumers to connect any thermostat, any appliance, and any new
device to their new smart meter -- as long as it doesn’t do harm to the smart
grid -- is FCC’s vision for the future. [4] Whether they codify that vision
remains to be seen.
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Bibliography
[1] National Energy Technology Laboratory, A Vision for the Modern
Grid; United States Department of Energy. July 27, 2007. (pdf).
[2] Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); image of United
States transmission grid.
[3] National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST Framework and
Roadmap for Smart Grid Interoperability Standards, Release 1.0.
[4] Sinai, Nick (FCC Energy and Environment Director); speech at
Broadband Breakfast Club, Washington D.C., July 20, 2010.
[5] Diagram based on Figure 16 of IEEE P2030 Smart Grid Architectural
Reference Model. 2030-10-0297-00-0015-ieee-scc21-p2030-draft-30.doc
[6] 47 C.F.R. Part 68.
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