Smart Grid Interrelated Communication Network

Smart Grid relies on a number of interrelated communications capabilities, namely: The ability to transmit and receive electronic signals (messages) between devices on the transmission and distribution grid. The ability to transmit real-time data from meters installed at the customer premises. The ability to control electronic devices installed within the customer’s location. The ability to...

Smart Grid or Smart Meters?

Is Installing Smart Meters Smart? Smart Meter There is tremendous momentum driving the installation of Smart Meters across the U.S. as well as other international markets (e.g. Victoria in Australia, New Zealand and China). State laws (e.g. Pennsylvania Act 129 signed in October 2008) have been enacted to compel electric utilities to develop smart meter based solutions to support energy...

Distribution Substation Automation-Fixing a “Failure to Communicate”

  It is surprising to most people who are not familiar with the details of the electric industry that utilities do not typically have extensive and continuous monitoring of all their critical equipment. While the installation of SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) systems at distribution substations provides some remote monitoring capabilities, many distribution substations have no...

Transitioning from Centralized to Distributed Intelligence

 Maximize the Value of Smart Grid Technology   There remains significant electricity industry emphasis on implementing smart grid technologies. These implementations include the investments necessary to refurbish and/or replace aging electric distribution infrastructure to enable a Smart Grid. As the electric industry succeeds in linking these related aspects of a truly modernized grid, few...

Grid Automation: More Than Smart Meters (AMI or AMR)

keep the air clean for our children Many energy utilities have made a move to develop a power system that combines traditional and cutting-edge technologies to support the ever-increasing array of digital services desired by customers while effectively managing the requisite flow of energy. A number of fully integrated smart grid communities (e.g. Boulder, CO) are being developed, anticipating...

Energy Transmission and Distribution Infrastructure-Cornerstone to an effective Smart Grid Network

Executive and legislative policy makers at national, state, and local levels of government are highly focused on critical infrastructure issues of all types. Their focus encompasses both infrastructure security (which has vastly increased since September 2001 and further since the Minneapolis bridge collapse in 2007) and the role that energy (specifically electricity) plays in the economic...

Service Restoration Impacts

As electric utilities confront the challenge of reducing the duration of service interruptions (measured as “Customer Minutes of Interruptions” or CMI), there are a limited number of factors that are common among poor and marginally performing utilities: Weather is the primary differentiator in electric utilities meeting their reliability targets, particularly when they are in the midst of...

Service Restoration Communication

Electric System Reliability (SAIFI) With the continued focus on electric system reliability, the electric industry as a whole as decreased the number of service interruptions (outages) dramatically. As the figure illustrates, 1st quartile U.S. electric utilities are providing SAIFI performance of slightly less than 1.0 (2005 data). This represents generally a 25 to 35 percent reduction...

Underground Secondary Networks

Secondary networks are commonly used to serve downtown business and mixed residential/commercial districts in an underground urban setting. They are typically made up of ‘square blocks’ requiring highly reliable service using underground facilities from just inside the substation all the way to the meter. The Figure shown to the left is an IEEE diagram that shows a typical secondary grid...

Service Restoration Overview

The service (or outage) restoration process is perhaps the most complicated operational process at any electric utility. It requires coordination and communication across all of the key functions of the distribution business and is implemented in a time-critical environment (often in extreme weather conditions and non-standard working hours). It requires an extraordinary focus on safety while...