Term Project Report

Technical Project

on

Big Data and Smart Grid: Scope for Indian power sector

Mentored By:

Dr. Ashutosh Muduli,

Professor

Submitted By:
Shail Modi (20171045)
Shrey Patel (20171047)
Siddharth Dixit (20171048)
Siddharth Shah (20171049)
Snehal Jaiswal (20171050)
Richa Tiwari (20171038)
MBA – E&I (PGP – 17)
 Big Data and Smart Grid: Scope for Indian power sector

Abstract

The Indian power sector is under ever-growing pressure from the exponentially rising demand
for the new necessity in life “electricity”. With the growth in technology and rising capacity of
new power plants and distribution companies, there are opportunities for implementation of
new technologies in sourcing of power such as focus on renewables and digitalization of the
complete system – “Smart Grid”.

We aim to study technological aspects of Smart Grid and Big Data processing under the
digitalized form power distribution. The sector has undergone different technological
upgradation in recent times with smart grid being one of the major changes.

The digital technology that allows for two-way communication between the utility and its
customers, and the sensing along the transmission lines is what makes the grid smart. Like the
Internet, the Smart Grid will consist of controls, computers, automation, and new technologies
and equipment working together, but in this case, these technologies will work with the
electrical grid to respond digitally to our quickly changing electric demand. The smart grid
includes a variety of operational and energy measures including smart meters, smart
appliances, renewable energy resources, and energy efficient resources. Electronic power
conditioning and control of the production and distribution of electricity are important aspects
of the smart grid.

Big data is a term for data sets that are so large or complex that traditional data processing
application software is inadequate to deal with them. Big data challenges include capturing
data, data storage, data analysis, search, sharing, transfer, visualization, querying, updating and
information privacy. The major use of big data is for predictive analytics, user behaviour
analytics, or certain other advanced data analytics methods that extract value from data, and
seldom to a size of data set.

We plan to study and research about the technologies, there scopes in Indian context:
possibilities of implementations, challenges and solutions. We plan to achieve the objective by
studying papers from researchers, insights given by industrial leaders and implemented plans
in different parts of the world.
 CONTENT

• ABSTRACT
• INTRODUCTION
• SMART GRID
• BIG DATA
• SMART GRID AND BIG DATA
• SMART GRID AND INDIA
• CONCLUSION
• REFERENCES
 Introduction

The power gird is a system which connects the consumers of electricity to the generators. This
grid contains a lot of different equipment which enable the transportation of power which we
know as transmission from the site of generation to the point of consumption. This equipment
are usually large transformers, heavy high-tension cables, and different type of safety and
protection devices. India is a power-hungry nation with an ever-growing need for power
consumption. Out of the 1.4 billion people without electricity 300 million are from India. With
such figures the nation is always trying hard for new technologies to achieve a surplus power
generation stage where all its citizen are able to consume electricity as per their needs.

Recently, the electricity consumption has changed in practice and in nature worldwide. The
electricity uses are evolving: positive energy buildings, electric mobility, variable intensity
urban lighting, storage batteries, etc. The electricity production modes are also evolving thanks
to the development of renewable energies and the transformation of the energy mix. The
electrical system must therefore evolve towards greater reliability, efficiency and flexibility in
order to better take into account the development of new uses and to preserve the balance
between consumption and production in a changing energy landscape. Smart grids become a
real solution to these concerns, by introducing Information and Communication Technologies
(ICT) into electricity grids and integrating efficiently the actions of all users (producers and
consumers) to guarantee a sustainable, safe and cost-effective supply of electricity.

Smart grids ensure efficient connection and exploitation of all means of production, provide
automatic and real-time management of the electrical networks, allow better measurement of
consumption, optimize the level of reliability and improve the existing services which in turn
lead to energy savings and lower costs. The implementation of smart grids features leads to a
very large increase in the volume of data to be processed due to the installation of smart meters
and various sensors on the network and the development of customer facilities, etc. For
example, a smart meter could send the consumer energy usage every 15 min, so every million
meters can generate 96 million reads per day instead of one meter reading a month in a
conventional grid. So, in addition to energy management, smart grids require great data
management to be able to deal with high velocity, important storage capacity and advanced
data analytics requirements.
 Smart Grid

We first consider the reasons for development of smart grid and then discuss what is the
innovative solution it provides.

Conventional grid problems:

Presently, the grid is facing a multitude of challenges that can be outlined in four categories.
First there are infrastructural problems since the system is outdated and unfit to deal with
increasing demand. As a result, network congestions are occurring much more frequently
because it does not have the ability to react to such issues in a timely fashion. Ultimately such
imbalances can lead to blackouts which are extremely costly for utilities especially since they
spread rapidly due to the lack of communication between the grid and its control centres. A
second flaw is the need for more information and transparency for customers to make optimal
decisions relative to the market, to reduce their consumption during the most expensive peak
hours. Finally, a third problem is the inflexibility of the current grid, which can’t support the
development of renewable energies or other forms of technologies that would make it more
sustainable. The fact that renewable sources such as wind and solar are intermittent poses a
significant problem for a grid that does not disseminate information to control centres rapidly.
These problems are addressed by the smart grid through improved communications
technology, with numerous benefits for both the supply and demand sides of the electricity
market.

Smart grid is defined as an intelligent network based on new technologies, sensors and
equipment’s to manage wide energy resources and to enhance the reliability, efficiency and
security of the entire energy value chain. The main advantage of smart grids is the ability to
better integrate renewable energy sources into the system and supervise energy consumption
and production thanks to a bidirectional flow of energy and data between power generation,
distribution and consumption. Power generation is the first step in smart grid value chain, it
includes power sources such as nuclear, hydropower and renewable and it relays on wide area
monitoring and control technologies to communicate with the next step called power
distribution. This later, is based on a proximity network that connects consumers with the
electricity grid and transmits data using advanced metering infrastructure. Power consumption
is the last step on smart grid value chain and it involves the users of electricity, both residential
and industrial. It is increasingly common for the consumer to generate electrical energy using
alternative energy production methods and hence it is very important to supervise their
consumption and production to optimize the service.

[Fig.1 Shows a typical Smart Grid infrastructure and the various key components built in it.]
Benefits of Smart Grid

There are various benefits of a smart grid network some of which are:

• Better facilitate the connection and operation of generators of all sizes and technologies.
• Allow consumers to play a part in optimizing the operation of the system
• Provide consumers with greater information and options for choice of supply.
• Significantly reduce the environmental impact of the whole electricity supply system.
• Maintain or even improve the existing high levels of system reliability, quality and
security of
• Supply and Maintain and improve the existing services efficiently and Foster market
integration.
• Reduced operations and management costs for utilities, and ultimately lower power
costs for consumers
• Reduced peak demand, which will also help lower electricity rates
• Increased integration of large-scale renewable energy systems.
Elements of Smart Grid

There are many elements in a smart grid some of which are mentioned below:

• Advanced Meter Infrastructure

Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) facilitates monitoring and measurement

of consumer information and control through Smart Meters installed at customer
premises. It supports bidirectional flow of information between consumer and
utility control centre through communication mode such GPRS / PLC / RF. Smart
meters will also enable Time of Use (TOU) and Critical Peak Pricing (CPP)/Real
Time Pricing (RTP) rate metering for demand response.

• Peak Load Management

The peak load management refers to controlling the demand and matching it to the
available supply at the instant of peak. The peak load management function shall
take inputs from SCADA/EMS regarding power availability and volume of
shortage. Based on the shortage, the peak management function shall run algorithms
considering various constraints and priorities predefined on the basis of customer
profile by System Integrator (SI) in association with Employer/ Utility personnel,
and suggest the recommended options. The approach shall be to avoid tripping of
feeders for load shedding and manage peak load either by load curtailment through
AMI or by price incentives/disincentives in the form of ToU pricing.

• Power Quality Management

Power Quality Management addresses events like voltage flickering (Sags/Swells),

unbalanced phases voltages and harmonic distorted supply, etc. This will facilitate
efficient and reliable operation of the power system, reduce losses, improve
customer satisfaction and minimize equipment (utility/consumer) failures. Power
Quality management shall include voltage/VAR control, load balancing, harmonics
control etc.

• Outage Management

Outage Management System (OMS) manages unscheduled distribution

infrastructure like Distribution Transformers (DTs), HT/LT feeders etc. It collects
and coordinates information about outages including customer calls and report the
 operator for taking corrective actions through crew management and remote control
enabling customer satisfaction, improves system availability and reliability.

• Micro-grids
A Micro-grid is an integrated energy and communication system consisting of
interconnected loads and Distributed Energy Resources (DER), which mainly
operates in standalone mode or in parallel with the grid (macro grid) in case of
emergency. Micro-grid generation resources include micro turbines, wind,
solar, fuel cells or other energy sources. Ability of the micro-grid to isolate from
a larger network provides highly reliable electric power to its consumers.
• Distributed Generation
Development and implementation of new and innovative technologies for
distributed generation including technologies and solutions related to PHEV/EV
(Plug-in Hybrid and/or Electric Vehicles), wind, photovoltaic and other
distributed generation technologies, systems and solutions supporting flexibility
of interaction with customers, energy usage/exchange, demand and loss
management, management of transactions, pricing and billing.

Big Data
"Big Data" tends to refer to the use of predictive analytics, user behaviour analytics, or certain
other advanced data analysis methods that extract value from data, and seldom to a size of data
set. Big data is data sets that are so voluminous and complex that traditional data processing
application software is inadequate to deal with them. There are three dimensions to big data
known as Volume, Variety, and Velocity. Big data challenges include capturing data, data
storage, data analysis, search, sharing, transfer, visualization, querying, updating and
information privacy. Analysis of data sets can find new correlations to spot business trends,
prevent diseases, combat crime and so on. Scientists, business executives, practitioners of
medicine, advertising and governments alike regularly meet difficulties with large data-sets in
areas including Internet search, urban informatics, and business informatics. For some
organizations, facing hundreds of gigabytes of data for the first time may trigger a need to
reconsider data management options. For others, it may take tens or hundreds of terabytes
before data size becomes a significant consideration. Big data uses inductive statistics and
concepts from nonlinear system identification to infer laws (regressions, nonlinear
relationships, and causal effects) from large sets of data with low information density to reveal
relationships and dependencies, or to perform predictions of outcomes and behaviours. Big
data has four characteristics these are also knows as “4Vs” of that make any data ‘big data’.
These are Volume, Variety, Velocity and Veracity.

• Volume – it is the huge amount of data that must be processed to do valuable analysis.
• Variety – it is the different data types present in the data pool to be processed.
• Velocity – the speed at which new data is being generated.
• Veracity – Uncertainty of data i.e. whether the data coming is reliable or not.

Smart Grid and Big Data

Big data can be used in smart grid for many different analysis. We can analyse the consumption
patterns in an area to determine there daily peak load. We can analyse the quality of power
being generated from different sources and make an optimised mix which is high on reliability,
etc. The generators can analyse how much they will be able to sell on a given day and take
managerial decisions on the basis of data. Now we look into how big data and smart grid can
be integrated.

Big data analysis needs data sources for continuous flow of data into the system. There are
distinct data classes according to the type of extracted values: (i) Operational data which is the
electrical data of the grid that represent real and reactive power flows, demand response
capacity, voltage etc. (ii) Non-operational data is not related to grid power but it refers to master
data, data on power quality and reliability etc. (iii) Meter usage data is another kind of data
associated to power usage and demand values such as average, peak and time of the day etc.
(iv) Event message data comes from smart grid devices events like voltage loss/restoration,
fault detection event etc. Finally, (v) Metadata, which is used to organize and interpret all the
other kind of data. All these data are collected from several sources such as meters, sensors,
devices, substations, mobile data terminals, control devices, intelligent electronic devices,
distributed energy resources, customer devices and historical data.

The grid collects data from different sources and stores it as a huge quantity of dataset that
should be easily consumable for analytics. Analytics has a critical role to make the grid more
intelligent, efficient and gainful. Various kind of analytics in smart grids are: (i) signal analytics
which is based on signal processing, (ii) event analytics which focuses on events, (iii) state
analytics which help to have a vision about the state of the grid, (iv) engineering operations
analytics which is responsible of the grid operating side, and (v) customer analytics which
process customer data.
There are several models that can combine the various kind of the previous analytics classes
such as descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive models. Each model describes an
operation side of the grid. Descriptive models are used to describe customers behaviours in
demand response programs and provide a basic understanding of their practices. After
customers description, diagnostic models come to understand customers behaviours and
analyse their decisions. All these previous models are useful to make predictive models to
predict customers decisions in the future. Finally, there is prescriptive models which are the
high level of analytics in smart grid, because they affect marketing, engagement strategies and
the decisions to make.

Customer analysis can reveal their demand profiles, demand response, diversion analytics
and customer segmentation. Event analytics can tell us where an event occurred or will occur,
its classification and correlation with other stakeholders and hardware. Engineering operation
analytics will give operational effectiveness, system performance and load trends & forecasts.
The engineering analysis is most useful for power generators.

[Fig. 2 Customer data analytics structure and what all methods will be used for it.]

Big Data processing can be done in two manners: The first is batch processing, which process
data in a period and is used for data processing without high requirements on response time.
The second, is stream processing and is used for real-time applications. This kind of
processing requires a very low latency of response.
 Smart Grid and INDIA

Indian power sector is under great pressure from all its stakeholders be it regulators,
consumers, generators or distributors (DissComs). The regulators want to build up higher
capacity of environmental friendly non-conventional power sources. The consumers wants
better quality of power and in many places even the basic that is a power connection. The
generators are unable to make profits from there investments due to the inefficient operations
of there plants. The distributors are the ones in most loss as Indian power transmission
companies make more than 30% transmission losses. The companies want to reduce these
losses, provide customer better services and earn profits. As the country is going towards
digitalization of many industries the power industry is one which is being left behind. Smart
grid can be of great use as it would be able to provide solution for many different problems
which the industry is facing.

Benefits of smart grid possible in India:

The business cases in Indian smart grids are present in various forms, such as:

• Accurate and well-timed meter reading enables an intervention for loss reduction.
• Remote connection disconnection of consumer load.
• Accurate temper alert such as sanctioned load violation, DT overloading
• Rooftop solar power speeds up a shift to green energy and produces consumer cost
savings in the long run.
• Time-based pricing (Time-of-Use Tariff) signals the consumer to be more dynamic.
The Indian Electric Vehicle (EV) rollout requires a functional charging infrastructure –
and its management.
• Distribution Companies (DISCOMs) provide the anchor infrastructure for smart grids
and cities creating a need for value added services and new business models. However,
there is critical need to establish business cases for self-finance of these investments.

The efforts for the development and deployment of Smart Grids in India were being carried out
through India Smart Grid Task Force (ISGTF) and India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF) since 2010
under the aegis of Ministry of Power (MoP). During the implementation of 14 Smart Grid Pilot
projects in State utilities, it was felt that smart grid efforts required urgent concerted focus for
which it was necessary to create a comprehensive institutional arrangement capable of
dedicating the manpower, resources and organizational attention needed to take it forward. A
Smart Grid Vision and Roadmap for India was approved by the Ministry of Power in August
2013 which also envisaged the launch of a National Smart Grid Mission (NSGM) having its
own resources, authority, functional & financial autonomy to plan and monitor implementation
of the policies and programmes prescribed in the roadmap. The current pilot projects are going
on in Karnataka, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Tripura, Haryana, Assam,
Telangana, Puducherry, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Chandigarh. The
total number of consumers covered under this pilot project are 10,27,313 (Ten Lakh Twenty-
Seven Thousand Three Hundred Thirteen). Most of these projects are under the control of
POWERGRID corporation of India a government organisation.

Challenges linked to Smart Grid in India:

• Security Threat:

As the complete system is online and connected by internet and communication

networks it is easy to be prone to security threats. The Threats include cyber-attack,
losing control to hackers and blackout of complete system or a specific region.

• Connectivity:

India is exponentially developing its mobile connectivity network. This

communication network is key to the Smart Grid for controlling and data
processing. The unavailability of such network in rural or remote parts of India will
cause delay in implementation of such a program.

• Cost:

Upgradation to a smarter grid will require high capital expenditure from all stake
holder customer, distributor or generator. Every stake holder in the supply chain
will have to bare the cost of such a system and this is not possible in the current
situation of India. The consumer will not be ready to pay for upgrades, the
distributors which are already under great cash crunch cannot afford such an
investment to upgrade their system without monetary aid from government.
 Conclusion

Smart Grids are most comprehensive technology during recent years and it has been grown
rapidly because of its benefits. It has many features and the transition to a fully implemented
smart grid brings a host of benefits in an often-symbiotic relationship: GRID OPERATORS
will enjoy a quantum improvement in monitoring and control capabilities that will in turn
enable them to deliver a higher level of system reliability even in the face of ever-growing
demand. UTILITIES will experience lower distribution losses, deferred capital expenditures
and reduced maintenance costs. CONSUMERS will gain greater control over their energy
costs, including generating their own power, while realizing the benefits of a more reliable
grid. THE ENVIRONMENT will benefit from reductions in peak demand, the proliferation of
renewable power sources, and a corresponding reduction in emissions of CO2 as well as
pollutants such as mercury. “Smart grid” enabled distribution could reduce electrical energy
consumption by 5-10%, carbon dioxide emissions by 13-25%, and the cost of power-related
disturbances to business by 87%. (Source: The Electric Power Research Institute). Smart grid
enabled energy management systems to have proven in pilots to be able to reduce electricity
usage by 10–15%, and up to 43% of critical peak loads. (Source: The Brattle Group, SMUD
and PNNL.) The Smart Grid vision generally describes a power system that is more intelligent,
more decentralized and resilient, more controllable, and better protected than today’s grid.

With India looking forward to a centralized grid and increase its production through renewable
power utilities the need for a robust distribution system is seen. Smart grid can provide solution
to this, implementation of such a technology will be easier when the nation is in process to
upgrade its current user on digital meters. The country is still behind in providing a power to
every citizen and hence concept such as micro-grid can be tested with controlling through
smart-grid.
 References

• “Smart Grid Project Status Report” October 2017 By National Smart Grid Mission
(MoP)
• “Smart Grid in India” by Navneet Gupta and Apurva Jain under the Ministry of New
and Renewable Energy (GoI)- August, 2011
• “Smart Grid Handbook for Regulators and Policy Makers” by Indian Smart Grid
Foundation
• “Big Data management in smart grid: concepts, requirements and implementation” by
Houda Daki, Asmaa El Hannani, Abdelhak Aqqal, Abdelfattah Haidine and Aziz
Dahbi published in Journal of Big data on 17th March, 2017.
• https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/can-smart-grid-help-india
• http://www.nsgm.gov.in/en/nsgm
• http://dst.gov.in/sites/default/files/India%20Country%20Report%20on%20Smart%20
Grids.pdf
• http://www.indiasmartgrid.org/reports/Context%20of%20Smart%20Grids%20in%20I
ndia%20-
%20Knowledge%20Paper%20of%20India%20Smart%20Grid%20Day%202013.pdf
• https://www.ijareeie.com/upload/2014/may/20H_SmartGridTechnology.pdf
• https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/oil-and-gas/our-insights/renewable-energy-
evolution-not-revolution
• http://mnre.gov.in/file-manager/akshay-urja/july-august-
2011/EN/Smart%20Grid%20in%20India.pdf
• http://www.whatissmartgrid.org/featured-article/is-a-prepay-electricity-plan-a-good-
fit-for-you
• https://www.powergridindia.com/smart-grid
• http://www.nsgm.gov.in/sites/default/files/SG%20Projects%20Status%20-
%20November%202017.pdf