Intelligent Electricity Networks

Designing and Model Information and Communication Networks

as part of a Cyber-Physical System with Greater use of ICT in a
‘Smart Grid’

Buddhika Samarasekara
B.Sc Eng (Hons),C.Eng., MIE(SL), M(IET),MBA(Commonwealth), PGDipBM(Col)

Mobile: +94718357762
Email: [email protected]
Smart Grid Communication :
• The traditional remote control of the power system is structured in
accordance with the importance of the system components for the
reliability of supply.
• The remote control and supervision function based on communication
facilities covers the transmission grid, the regional distribution (or sub-
transmission) network and the MV busbars in the HV/MV substations
Smart Grid Communication :
• The Smart Grid challenges require a deep paradigm change in the area of
supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) for the electric
networks.
• The communication has to penetrate the distribution level down to the
low voltage network users in order to perform the Smart Distribution.
• Global standard protocols using uniform data models and services have
to be applied to ensure engineering efficiency, interoperability and ‘‘plug
and play’’ capabilities of the intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) from
different vendors, data consistency and information security at all levels
of the electric power system.
• The transmission system operators often use internal communication
networks for their SCADA systems. However, the enhancement of the
distribution network operation may use the existing infrastructures for
communication.
• The distribution network operator (DNO) can either establish its own
communication channels using the power line carrier (PLC) technologies
or contract a communication service provider who is able to ensure the
offer of a separate communication domain with high information security
and performance of the network related SCADA functions.
SMART GRID COMMUNICATION – STANDARDIZATION
Smart Grid Communication :
The prospective uniform communication standard should offer the following
aspects:
• Global acceptance.
• Less engineering by object oriented instruments and models.
• Services ensuring quality, efficiency, accuracy and security of the
information exchange.
• High performance,
• Open for extensions regarding future applications.
• Flexibility in applying prospective innovative communication on the
physical and link layers.
• Application of mature technologies in the all layers.
• Interfaces to other standards and continuity in new standard extensions.

Interoperability allows a network to seamlessly and autonomously integrate

all components of electric power supply, particularly monitoring and
measurement equipment, distribution and substation equipment, and
management and communication equipment. The minimization of human
intervention in this process is an important benefit of this functionality.
 SMART GRID COMMUNICATION - INTEROPERABILITY

• Interoperability—define how basic elements interrelate

• The ability of IED from one or several manufacturers to exchange
information and use that information for their own functions.
• Deployment of the smart grid’s components and interoperability requires a
substantial overhaul of today’s standards and protocols.
• Improving the physical and cyber security of the network, which is
notoriously vulnerable, is a top priority for the new architectural
framework. Today’s power distribution and monitoring are still in the
initial stages of becoming a smart grid, with some substation network
intelligence connected by microwave, power line, and/or fiber optic point
to points.
SMART GRID COMMUNICATION - INTEROPERABILITY

• Although these core network backbones are very basic, they were never
meant to securely connect two - way digital communication devices for
every home, building, and appliance throughout a utility’s service territory.
• The efficiency of the ICT system architecture requires that all modules are
designed in accordance with uniform, open and globally accepted
standards.
• The new standards have to cover the following main functions :
• Online data transfer through communication networks,
• Consistent information management and data exchange between the
data bases of various enterprise management systems,
• Protection against data manipulations and to ensure information
security.
• The Importance of Uniform ICT Standards in Smart Grids

• ISO/OSI (International Organization for Standardization/Open Systems

Interconnection
• The definition of uniform data models of the application layer is the
mandatory pre-requisite of an efficient communication system for Smart
Grids.
SMART GRID COMMUNICATION – DATA MANAGMENT

• Enterprise process management (EPM) systems nowadays are broadly

used to manage all processes of the enterprise based on digital data
bases in an efficient way.
• The enterprises use a wide variety of EPS for the different processes and
such EPM systems are developed and delivered by various vendors.
Consequently, the data formats used in the commercial data bases are
vendor specific.
• The overall enterprise management consists of many components
interacting with each other, and those systems will become more
complex in the future.
• In practice, the same data is often relevant for several EPM systems.
SMART GRID COMMUNICATION – DATA MANAGMENT
SMART GRID COMMUNICATION – DATA MANAGMENT

• The exchange of data between the data bases is complicated because of

the various data formats. Each data exchange procedure needs a
conversion from one into the other format.
• Data changes have to be performed in all data bases where the data are
used. Otherwise, the consistency of the EPM systems will be lost.
• The need for a common data repository arises which can be used to
maintain all the data bases by using a common information model, since
the number of adapters between the components grows if proprietary
data formats are used.
• When applying a common information model, there is only the need for
one adapter between the relevant data bases and the common data
repository.
SMART GRID COMMUNICATION – INFORMATION SECURITY
• Electricity networks belong to the critical infrastructure systems. The
remote control and supervision of electric networks are vulnerable to
several security threats like:
• External attacks
• Internal attacks,
• Natural disasters
• Equipment failures
• Carelessness
• Data manipulation
• Loss of data
• The reactions to the threats can physically damage the network assets
and have tremendous legal, social, and financial consequences.
Evolution of Digital Communication Protocols
• The first published international standard IEC 60870-5-101 is a standard for
power system monitoring, control and associated telecommunications for
electric power systems.
IEC 61850 Architecture
• IEC 61850 is a standard for communication network and systems in smart
substation which supports interoperability among IEDS from different
manufacturers and integrated substation automation systems(SAS)
functions for data communications using common engineering models,
communication protocols and data formats
• IEC 61850 defines an abstract object model for substations and methods to
access these objects on a network and it is identified by National Institute of
Standard and Technology for field device communication and general device
object data modeling. Typical features of IEC 61850 are listed below:
I. Interoperability: Different vendors are permitted to provide complete
incorporation of monitoring, protection and control functions within one-
or two IEDS.
II. Free configuration: Any possible number of substation protection and
control functions can be incorporated at bay level IED
III. Simple architecture: Ethernet based communication links are employed in
place of point-to-point. Additionally, enhanced communication
performance for time critical applications is provided by functional
hierarchy architecture.
IV. Overall cost saving: Conventional communication link using copper wiring
is replaced by high speed digital communication at process level, which
saves cost for SAS and lot of effort.
Structure of IEC 61850
• The standard series IEC 61850 offers more than just the definition of the
communication protocol. The foundation of the requested flexibility was laid with the
development of the reference model of the standard.
• The main idea is to separate the solutions with features of long term stability on one
side and the fast changing communication technologies on the other side. The basic
applications of the network operations will be kept stable in the future but may
request extensions.
• The standard series IEC 61850 supports a general system approach by linking the
practice of electric network operations with the communication architecture.
Structure of IEC 61850
• The following aspects are considered and defined in the separate parts of
the standard:
• the system aspects and management in general
• the advanced communication services
• the generic data models
• the mapping to real communication networks
• the engineering process
• the conformance and commissioning testing

• Each intelligent electronic device (IED) serving as a component of the

substation automation system has to provide interoperability based on:
• an accessible data model corresponding with the parts 7-1, 7-3 and 7-4
• the principles of data exchange in accordance with the parts 7-1 and 7-2
• the relevant specific communication service mappings with the parts 8-1
and 9-2
Protocol Interoperability of IEC 61850
• One objective of the standard IEC 61850 is the simplification of engineering and the
opportunity to support a vendor independent engineering process.
Key Standards for Smart Grids
Key Standards for Smart Grids
SMART GRID COMMUNICATION
QUALITY of SERVICE (QoS) Requirements for Smart Grids
• SG applications result in increased data, these applications have
different QoS requirements.
• Secure bi-directional communication that satisfies the different
SG applications’ QoS requirements is essential.
• Control, management, and automation applications such as
demand response (DR) and substation automation require low
latency and high reliability to ensure grid operation.
• Other applications such as meter readings can tolerate a higher
latency, but still require high reliability.
Local Area Network (LAN)
• LAN is a shared access technology, meaning that all of the attached devices share a
common medium of communication such as coaxial, twisted pair, or fiber optics
cable.
• A physical connection device, the Network Interface Card (NIC), connects to the
network. The network software manages communication between stations on the
system.
• LAN topologies define how network devices are organized. The four most common
architectural structures are:
1.Bus topology: linear LAN architecture in which transmission from network
station propagates the length of the medium and is received by all other stations
connected to it
2.Ring bus topology: a series of devices connected to one another by unidirectional
transmission links to form a single closed loop
3.Star topology: the end points on a network are connected to a common central
hub or switch by dedicated links
4.Tree topology: identical to the bus topology except that branches with multiple
nodes are also possible
Local Area Network (LAN)
IDAPS: Intelligent Distributed Autonomous
Power Systems
• Distributed
• Loosely connected APSs
• Autonomous
• Can perform automatic control without human
intervention, such as fault isolation
• Intelligent
• Demand-side management
• Securing critical loads

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 APS: Autonomous Power System
• A localized group of electricity sources and loads
• Locally utilizing natural gas or renewable energy
• Reducing the waste during transmission
• Using Combined Heat and Power (CHP)

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 Multi-Agent Control System
• Control agent:
responsibilities include :
monitoring system voltage and frequency to detect contingency
situations or grid failures
sending signals to the main circuit breaker to isolate the IDAPS
microgrid from the utility when an upstream outage is detected,
which may be obtained from AMI, and publishing them to the
IDAPS entities.
• DER agent:
responsibilities include :
storing associated DER information, monitoring and controlling
DER power levels and connect/disconnect status.
DER information to be stored may include DER identification
number, type (solar cells, microturbines, fuel cells), power rating
(kW), local fuel availability, cost function or price at which users
agree to sell, DER availability, that is, planned maintenance
schedule.
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 Multi-Agent Control System
• User agent:
acts as a customer gateway that makes features of an IDAPS
microgrid accessible to users;
responsibilities include :
providing users with real - time information on entities residing
in the IDAPS system;
monitors electricity consumption by each critical and noncritical
load;
allows users to control the status of loads based on user’s
predefined priority.
• Database agent:
serves as a data access point for other agents as well as users;
responsibilities include:
storing system information, recording messages and data shared
among agents.
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 Multi-Agent Control System
Multiagent Technique:
An agent of a MAS may be defined as an entity with
attributes considered useful in a particular domain. In this
framework, an agent is an information processor that
performs autonomous actions based on information.
Common agent attributes include:
• Autonomy: goal - directedness, proactive and self - starting
behavior
• Collaborative behavior: the ability to work with other
agents to achieve a common goal
• Knowledge-level communication ability: the ability to
communicate with other agents with language resembling
human speech acts rather than typical symbol - level
program - to - program protocols
• Reactivity: the ability to selectively sense and act
• Temporal continuity: persistence of identity and state over
long periods
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IDAPS Agent Technology
SMART GRID CYBER SECURITY
Cyber security is a concept that has become increasingly prevalent
with the development of the smart grid technology with the increased
use of :
• digital information and controls technology to improve
reliability
• security, efficiency of the electric grid and the deployment of
smart technologies (real - time, automated, interactive
technologies that optimize the physical operation of appliances
and consumer devices) for metering
• communications concerning grid operations and status
• distribution automation.
SMART GRID CYBER SECURITY
• The interaction of the power, communication, and information
networks are critical to facilitate resiliency and sustainability of
the infrastructures which further enhance the provision of adequate
power and support economic and social growth of the nation.
• Technologies and protocols are developed for the maintenance of
system, network, data, and SCADA security while conducting :
• Vulnerability assessment
• Incident recognition
• Recording
• Reporting
• Recovery.
• Protection of network data as well as web - based or stored data is
conducted.
SMART GRID CYBER SECURITY
Security requires many different solutions and is not relegated
to encryption and password protection. Facets of the cyber
security include:
• Security assessment and hardening of the existing systems
• Vulnerability assessment
• Disaster recovery
• Intrusion detection incident response
• Event logging, aggregation, and correlation
ACHIEVING SMART GRID CYBER SECURITY
• Should be so designed with comprising of the following :
• Requirements of the system
• Plans that could be formulated and implemented.
• Risks involved in maintaining the security systems and smart
methods to eradicate the risks.
• Strategy to be evolved.
• Study and analyze for future improvement .
• Reviewing the proposed security architecture that is designed to
meet the requirements
• Procuring a system that is designed to meet the specified
security requirements and includes the capability to be
upgraded to meet evolving security standards
ACHIEVING SMART GRID CYBER SECURITY
• Testing the security controls during the test and installation
phase
• Obtaining an independent assessment of the security posture
before deployment
• Developing a remediation plan to mitigate the risks for identifi
ed vulnerabilities
• Installing a system with built - in management, operational, and
security controls
• Monitoring and periodically assessing the effectiveness of
security controls
• Migrating to appropriate security upgrades as security standards
and products mature
• Monitoring of communication channels
ACHIEVING SMART GRID CYBER SECURITY
• Monitoring spike in usage (meter reading) to detect possible
failures or tampering with the devices
• Making sure devices synchronize with the network within a
given time frame to detect tampering, potential problems, and
device failures.
• Penetration testing will be performed using the latest hacking
techniques, to attempt to break into the systems, identifying
possible vulnerabilities, and remotely validating the authenticity
of the software running in the meters.
THANK YOU