White Paper Smart Grid

8/13/2019 White Paper Smart Grid

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WhitePaperbyViolaSystemsOyJanuary2010

Towards a Smarter Grid: Why

Bridging the Communications

Gap is Key


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DRIVERSBEHINDTHESMARTGRID.................................................................................................................................................1

THEARCHITECTURALLAYERSOFTHESMARTGRID............................................................................................................................2

THEAPPLICATIONSLAYER:CUSTOMERSIDEAPPLICATIONAREASANDBENEFITSOFSMARTGRID

..............................................................

3

GridoptimizationorDistributionautomation(DA):.........................................................................................................3

Advancedmeteringinfrastructure(AMI):.........................................................................................................................4

Demand/response(D/R):..................................................................................................................................................4

EnergyStorage:.................................................................................................................................................................4

MeterDataManagement(MDM):...................................................................................................................................4

CHALLENGESRELATEDTOSMARTGRID..........................................................................................................................................4

WHYISTHECOMMUNICATIONSLAYERAPRIORITY?..........................................................................................................................5

LayingtheGroundworkFirst.............................................................................................................................................5

AppliancesareReliantonCommunicationsandConnectivity..........................................................................................5

InternalImprovementsofGridaLogicalStartingPoint....................................................................................................5

KEYCUSTOMERCHALLENGESINCONNECTIVITY................................................................................................................................

5

LargeNumberofNodesbeyondPrimarySubstations......................................................................................................6

Interoperability.................................................................................................................................................................6

Reliability..........................................................................................................................................................................7

FutureProofingSystemsArchitecture...............................................................................................................................7

Security..............................................................................................................................................................................7

DESCRIPTIONOFVIOLASSOLUTION...............................................................................................................................................8

EndtoEndCommunication..............................................................................................................................................8

TechnologyAgnostic.........................................................................................................................................................8

FlexibleIntegration...........................................................................................................................................................9

TwoWayCommunication.................................................................................................................................................9

RealTime,AlwaysOnCommunication.............................................................................................................................9

ProtocolConversion..........................................................................................................................................................9

BuiltwithanOpenArchitecture........................................................................................................................................9

KEYBENEFITSOFVIOLASSOLUTION............................................................................................................................................10

CostEfficient...................................................................................................................................................................10

Reliable............................................................................................................................................................................10

Secure..............................................................................................................................................................................11

Scalable...........................................................................................................................................................................11

FutureProof....................................................................................................................................................................11

Flexible............................................................................................................................................................................11

BASICELEMENTSOFANELECTRICGRID........................................................................................................................................12

Substations......................................................................................................................................................................12

Reclosers.........................................................................................................................................................................12

CapacitorBank................................................................................................................................................................12

VoltageRegulators..........................................................................................................................................................12

Disconnectors..................................................................................................................................................................12

DistributionTransformers(DT).......................................................................................................................................12

RingMainUnits(RMU)...................................................................................................................................................12

APPLICATIONSOFSMARTGRIDCOMMUNICATION..........................................................................................................................13

BUSINESSCASEEXAMPLE:OUTAGEMANAGEMENT........................................................................................................................14


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TOWARDSASMARTERGRID:WHYBRIDGINGTHECOMMUNICATIONSGAPISKEY 1

INTRODUCTIONTO THEPOWERGRIDOF THEFUTURE:THE SMARTGRID

In recent years, regulators, politician and energy companies have been pushing the development of a

phenomenon

called

the

Smart

Grid.

In

principle,

the

Smart

Grid

is

an

upgrade

of

the

20th

century

power

gridswhichgenerally"broadcast"powerfromafewcentralpowergeneratorstoalargenumberofusers.Now

theconvergenceofthreeindustries;energy,telecommunicationsandIT,areturningthetraditionalpowergrid

into an intelligent utility network of the 21st century, capable of routing power in more optimal ways to

respond to the changing requirements of todays energy sector. Fundamentally, the traditional strictly

hierarchicalgridwillbecomeamorecomplexdynamicnetworkconsistingofmutuallyinteractingislands.

Smart Grid technology is sometimes referred to as the Internet for power due to its potential to

fundamentallyshiftthewaywethinkaboutelectricityproduction,distributionandconsumption.Whereasthe

Internetchangedthe informationparadigmfromaonetomanytoamanytomanyview,theSmartGridhas

thepotentialtoachieveasimilarchangeinthewayelectricityflows.Theresultwillbeamoreflexiblepower

gridwhich

is

largely

automated,

will

draw

on

intelligent

monitoring

and

control

mechanisms,

and

allow

for

twowaycommunicationbetweendifferentnodesinthenetwork.Theshiftfromthetraditionalpowergridto

theSmartGridisillustratedinFigure1.

Figure1:IllustrationofthetraditionalpowergridandtheSmartGridThe Smart Grid will be more responsive, transparent and reliable, and better equipped to answer to the

demandsof

the

future.

The

key

differences

between

the

traditional

power

grid

and

the

Smart

Grid

are

summarizedinTable1.

DriversbehindtheSmartGrid

Thereareseveralmajorongoingtrendsthatdrivethedevelopmentofamoreintelligentutilitynetwork:

Needtorundistributiongridsmoreefficiently Growingneedfordistributedgenerationofelectricity,e.g.fromrenewablesources Customerparticipation inenergyconsumptionboth intermsofconsumerswantingtocontroltheir

energyconsumptionandutilitieswishingtocutpeakpowerdemand

Traditional

Power Grid

Smart Grid


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Growingdemandforenergy,andespeciallyelectricity Governmentsincreasinglywanttoensureenergyindependenceandgridsecurity Regulatorypressurefore.g.environmentalsustainabilityandqualityofservice

Table1:SummaryofdifferencesbetweenthetraditionalgridandtheSmartGridTraditionalPowerGrid SmartGrid

Communication Noneoronewayonly,notrealtime Twoway,realtimeinformation

PowerGeneration CentralizedgenerationBothcentralizedanddistributedpowergeneration

Intermittentanddecentralizedgenerationfrom

renewablesources

Possibleforconsumerstoparticipateinthemarket

Operationalinformation Operationsbasedonhistoricaldata OperationsbasedonrealtimedataReliability Receptivetofailures Automaticandproactiveprotection,remoterestorationwhenneededFaultrestoration Manualrestoration,reactivemaintenance Remoterestoration,correctivemaintenancereduces

outages

Systemstructure Hierarchical,strictlyonewaypowerflow Networklike,multiplepathsforpowerflow

Efficiency isoneoftheleadingdriversoftheSmartGrid.Eveninmodernsystemstheelectricitylostbetween

powerplants and the customer canbe in the rangeof 820%.Thusefficiency improvements through grid

optimization canhave a considerable impactbothon the costofelectricityaswellason theenvironment.

Investmentingridoptimizationhasevenbeensaidtorepresentoneofthemostlucrativeinvestmentsintothe

reductionof

CO2

emissions.1

If,

for

example,

the

U.S.

could

improve

grid

efficiency

by

only

5%

(which

is

consideredfeasible)theycouldpermanentlyeliminatetheequivalenceoffuelandgreenhousegasemissionsof

53 million cars2. Another noteworthy driver of the Smart Grid is the growing supply of renewable energy

sourcesthatcurrentlyfaceconsiderableoperationalchallengesinthetraditionalgridduetotheirintermittent

and distributed nature. Without Smart Grid infrastructure these energy sources will remain niche as they

cannotbelinkedtothegridinanefficientway.

RegulatoryandpoliticalsupportforSmartGridinitiativeshasbeenconsiderable.BoththeUSgovernmentand

theEuropeanCommissionhavesetinvestmentsinSmartGridtechnologyasatoppriorityforupcomingyears,

andPresidentBarackObamaemphasizedtheneedforatransformationinthepowermarketinFebruary2009:

Today,theelectricityweuseiscarriedalongagridoflinesandwiresthatdatesbacktoThomasEdisonagrid

thatcantsupportthedemandsofcleanenergy.Thismeanswereusing19thand20thcenturytechnologiesto

battle21stcenturyproblemslikeclimatechangeandenergysecurity.

TheArchitecturalLayersoftheSmartGrid

Contrary towhat itmay seem, the SmartGrid will not be a revolution over night, and the entire existing

physical power transmission and distribution network will not need to be replaced. The intelligent utility

networkwill largelyuseexisting infrastructure,andnewtechnologywillbeaddedgraduallyovertheyearsto

1TheSmartGridin2010:MarketSegments,ApplicationsandIndustryPlayersGTMResearch,July2009

2TheSmartGrid:AnIntroduction,U.S.DepartmentofEnergy


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incorporatemoreintelligentandeffectivefunctionalities.TheSmartGridcanbeviewedascomprisingofthree

architectural layers (seeFigure2): thephysicalpower layer including transmissionanddistribution; thedata

transport and control layer (or communications layer); and the application layer, i.e. the applications and

servicesthegridperforms.

The physical layer is already largely existent and only needs minormodifications, and the applications are

alreadybeingdevelopedoratleastenvisioned.Thecommunicationslayeriscurrentlybeingenhancedbymany

utilitycompanies,butnotveryrapidlyconsideringthatallapplicationsandservicesareheavilyreliantonthe

existenceofanendtoend, twowaycommunications layer.Thecommunications layer isthegluethatholds

thephysicalpowerlayerandtheapplicationstogether,andmakestheSmartGridfunctionalitiespossible.

Figure2:ThethreearchitecturallayersoftheSmartGridThe firststep inmovingtowardsasmartergrid iseffectivecommunications infrastructureconnectingallthe

elements inthegrid.Violasbusiness is focusedonexactlythisbuildingupcommunicationstoenablegrid

enhancingapplications.The transition from theelectricgridof today to theSmartGridof tomorrowwillbe

profoundbutforallbenefitstomaterializeitfirstandforemostneedsaneffectivecommunicationsystem.

TheApplicationsLayer:Customer-SideApplicationAreasandBenefitsofSmartGrid

TheSmartGridchangesthewayenergyisdistributed,purchasedandused.Addingintelligencethroughoutthe

gridchallengesthestatusquoforeachstakeholderinthemarketthecustomercanparticipateintheenergy

market,SCADA can remotelycontrolgriddevicesandenergycompaniescanadoptnewpricingmodelsand

services. These functionalities rely on the development of Smart Grid applications. Utility companies are

alreadydevelopingarangeofdifferentapplicationsandservicesfortheSmartGrid:

Grid optimization or Distribution automation (DA): Grid optimization includes a broad range of

improvements that energy companies can implement to turn their old grid into a dynamic SmartGrid. By

addingIT,communicationandadvancedtechnologyutilitieswillbeabletoe.g.remotelyoperatefielddevices,

drawmore information fromthefieldandquickly locateand isolateoutages inthenetwork (knownasFault

PHYSICALPOWER LAYER

LAN WAN FAN

3G Satellite

WiMax

RFMeshM2M

Private

APPLICATION LAYER

COMMUNICATION LAYER

AMI DR

MDMDA

FLISR

Billing

SCADA


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Detection, Isolation andRestoration,FDIR), thusoptimizing theuseof theexisting infrastructure. Since the

benefits tobehad fromgridoptimizationdonotdependonchangingcustomerbehavior, these returnsare

regardedasmorepredictableandcertainthanthereturnsfromotherapplications,makinginvestmentingrid

optimizationveryattractive.The focalpointofViolasoffering lies largely ingridoptimizationandViolahas

specializedinoperationssuchasassetmanagement,faultisolationandrestoration,andfeederautomation.

Advancedmetering infrastructure (AMI):AMI refers to the replacementofoldmechanicalmeterswith

advanced smart digital meters. These smart meters allow for twoway communication, but require a

communications infrastructure to transfer the data. Endtoend connectivity between the utility and the

customerislikelytobringaboutlargechangesinanindustrywheredirectcustomercontacthasbeenlimited.

Demand/response(D/R):D/Rreferstoinvolvingthecustomerdirectlyinlevelingoutdemandforelectricity.

Customers are provided with incentives through e.g. pricing schemes to reduce their power consumption

during peak hours of demand, which allows for the utility to handle more customers with the same

infrastructure,avoidingthebuildingofunnecessary,expensiveandlessenvironmentallyfriendlyextracapacity.

Thelast5%ofenergyproductioncapacity,i.e.peakdemand,isbyfarthemostexpensivecapacitysinceitstays

idlemostofthetime.Soifpeakenergycouldbereducedevenslightly,thefinancialresultwouldbesignificant.

EnergyStorage: Historically, power grids have had effectively no storage capacity, and in developing a

modern,more intelligentgridenergy storagehasemergedasanecessarycomponentof the future.Energy

storagenotonlyreducesdemandfornewpowerplantsandtransmissionlines,butalsosolvestheoperational

problemrenewableenergysourceshavebeendealingwithduetotheirintermittentnature.

MeterDataManagement(MDM):MDMquite literally involvesthemanagementofthedatasmartmeters

produce,be itdataprocessing,analyticsorstorage.Sincemostofthe largeplayersofferingsmartmetersdo

nothistoricallyhavemuchexperienceinhandlinglargeamountsofdata,thisisamarketsegmentwherealot

ofsmall

start

up

companies

have

been

gaining

market

share.

ChallengesRelatedtoSmartGrid

Beforetheseapplicationscanbecomeoperational,SmartGridimplementationholdsseveralcriticalchallenges.

GreentechMedia(GTM)ResearchsummarizedthethreemainSmartGridchallengesasfollows:

Interoperability standardsAn intelligentgrid requires that amultitudeof independent actorsareable to operate and communicate with each other. If technologies and systems are created

incompatiblealargepartofthepromisedbenefitswillnevermaterialize.

Futureproofing As utilities (and governments) are investing astronomical sums into Smart Gridinitiatives,akeyrequirementisthatthesystemarchitecture(andespeciallycommunications)isbuiltto

bescalableandmodifiableinthefuture.

Redefining business models and incentives With the rules of the game changing in the energymarket, regulationsandbusinessesneed tochange relatively fast toprovide the right incentives for

eachactorinthesystemtoengageinrealizingthebenefitsattainablefromanintelligentutilitygrid.

Wehavepreviouslyconcludedthataneffectivecommunicationslayerliesasavitalintermediarybetweenthe

physicalpowergridand theenvisionedSmartGridapplications.Wecannowalsoseethattwoofthemajor

challengesrelatedtoSmartGridarecloselyconnectedtoanddependentonthecommunicationslayer.Endto

endconnectivityandcommunicationsthusemergesasthekeyareafordevelopinganintelligentpowergrid.


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CONNECTIVITYANDCOMMUNICATIONS:THE FOUNDATIONSFORTHESMARTGRID

It is hardly uncommon for mankind to plunge head first into new ideas and visions. People have the

unfortunate

tendency

to

jump

at

a

bold

plan,

only

to

realize

later

that

poor

planning

and

badly

laid

groundwork

forces them to start from the beginning, often at a much higher cost. The same applies to Smart Grid

applications;e.g.smartmetersarerevolutionarybutrequireanendtoendcommunicationsanddatatransfer

network tomake the informationaccessible,anddemand/responseholdsgreatpotentialbut theutilitywill

needtohavebettercontroloveralldevicesinthenetworktomakeithappen.

ConnectivityandcommunicationintheSmartGridreferstoanetworkwhereeachnodeislinkedtoacentral

system,andwhere informationcanflowfreelybetweenthedifferentparts.Violascompetence liesprecisely

here: in creating an extensive communications layer that enables contact to even the most remote field

devices.

Why

is

the

Communications

Layer

a

priority?

Utilitiesshouldprioritizeinvestmentsinthecommunicationslayerforanumberofdifferentreasons:

LayingtheGroundworkFirst

FredButler,ChairmanoftheNationalAssociationofRegulatoryUtilityCommissioners(NARUC,anassociation

comprisedof the commissioners forutility regulation fromeachU.S. state)haspinpointed thisproblemby

warningutilitiesofprioritizingwronglyandstartingbyinvestinginAMI.Instead,utilitiesareadvisedtostartby

investinginthedistributioncommunicationsnetwork,andfocusondesigningittosupportfutureapplications.

This represents not only a smaller upfront investment but is also much more likely to create immediate

benefits.

Appliancesare

Reliant

on

Communications

and

Connectivity

ForallSmartGridservicesandappliancesonecomponent isessential:communicationsandconnectivity.To

enabletheapplicationsandahigherdegreeofservice,movinglargeamountsofdatafromonepartofthegrid

toanother isvital.This iseasilyvisualized inthethreearchitectural layersoftheSmartGrid (see[Figure2]),

where the communications layerconnects thephysicalpower layerand theapplications.Connectivity toall

partsofthenetworkandcommunicationbetweentheseisthecornerstoneofSmartGridappliances.

InternalImprovementsofGridaLogicalStartingPoint

EarlierweidentifiedthattheSmartGridwillimplyarevolutionintheenergymarket.Changeswilltakeplacein

regulations,companiesbusinessmodels,intheconsumermarketandinpowergeneration.Whilenotall,alot

ofthe

changes

are

external

that

is,

not

directly

dependent

on

the

actual

infrastructure.

The

infrastructure

is,

however, the starting point for efficient energy distribution, and internal improvements should thus be a

priorityforenergycompanies.Withwellmanaged internaloperations,facingtheexternalchangeswillresult

easier. Internal improvements will happen through grid optimization, a market segment that is especially

reliantonendtoendcommunicationsandconnectivitytoallpartsofthenetwork.

KeyCustomerChallengesinConnectivity

To gain control over an entire distribution grid involves many challenges for utilities, and due to the

intermediate nature of the communications layer between the infrastructure and the applications, these


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challenges areespecially important to tackle and solve.A summaryof the central connectivityproblems is

presentedinTable2.

LargeNumberofNodesbeyondPrimarySubstations

Traditionally,utilities

have

had

internal

systems

for

transporting

data

within

the

company

and

to

and

from

the

primary substation level. The missing links, however, have been firstly the connection to devices beyond

primary substations, toe.g. reclosersanddisconnectors,and secondly, the connection to theenduser.The

numberofnodesgrows,however,drasticallyaftertheprimarysubstationlevelforonesubstationtherecan

be23reclosers,50distributiontransformers,andthousandsofcustomers.InFigure3asmallpartoftheUS

electric grid illustrates clearly the highly complex and networked structure of the grid. Building a

communicationslayertocoverallthesenodesisthusnotasmallproject,andsetsstrictrequirementsonthe

technologyusedaswellasonthe installationprocess.Utilitiesmayaskthemselves:Howcanweachievecost

efficiencyandfastinstallationinaprojectencompassingtens(orhundreds)ofthousandsofnodes?

Figure3:AsmallpartoftheUSelectricgrid.Source:NewYorkTimesInteroperability

The challenge of interoperability can be tackled on two levels: internal interoperability (compatibility of

existinggriddevices)andexternalinteroperability(gridcompatibilitywithothersystems,e.g.regulators).

INTERNAL INTEROPERABILITY The total asset base ofmostutility companies has been developed over a

longerperiodoftime,and largeutilitieshaveoftenbeen formedbymergingmanysmallerutilities intoone.

Thishasmoreoftenthannotresultedintheutilityassetsofonecompanycomprisingofaveryfragmentedset

ofdifferenttechnologiesandstandards.Thismixtureofoldandnewtechnologyfromamultitudeofvendors

leadstodeviceshavingtheirownphysicalandlogicalinterfaces,makingitveryhardtofindauniversalwayto

connect thedevices.Moreover, communication is inhibitedby the fact thatdevices tend to speakdifferent

languageswithoutawaytoconvertbetweenprotocolsdevicesarenotabletocommunicateeven ifthey

areconnected.Thechallengeis:Howcandistributiongriddeviceswithheterogeneousinterfacesbeconnected

centrally?

Anadditionalhindranceisbroughtaboutbytheabundanceofproprietarysystemsthatpersistintheindustry.

Thesesystemsareseldomeasilycompatiblewithothertechnologiesandsimplydonotprovidetheflexibility

anintelligentgridneeds.


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EXTERNAL INTEROPERABILITYMovingbeyondonecompanysassetsand lookingfarther intothefuturewe

encounterthechallengeofgettingamultitudeofactors intheenergymarket to fluentlycommunicatewith

eachotheracrossgridborders.Inessence,thegrid isnotparticularlysmart ifallmajorplayersdeveloptheir

systems and technologies independently, resulting in poorly compatible interfaces. We are faced with the

following problem: How can we make sure that the technology of different actors and stakeholders

communicateseamlesslywitheachother?

Themissinglinkhereisuniversalstandards.Somestandards,liketheopencommunicationIEC61850standard,

havereceivedwidesupport,butduetothebroadfieldSmartGridencompasses,itwillbeverydifficulttofind

commonstandardsforenergydistributors,consumers,applicationmanufacturersandregulatorsalike.

Table2:SummaryofkeychallengesrelatedtoSmartGridconnectivityLargenumberofnodes Howcanweachievecostefficiencyandfast installation inaprojectencompassingtens

(orhundreds)ofthousandsofnodes?Internalinteroperability Howcandistributiongriddeviceswithheterogeneousinterfacesbeconnectedcentrally?Externalinteroperability How can we make sure that the technology of different actors and stakeholders

communicateseamlesslywitheachother?Reliability How can we reduce network downtime in terms of occurrence, duration, extent and

economicimpact?Futureproofingsystemsarchitecture How canwe obtain a system that is flexible and scalable enough tomeet any futureneeds?Security Howcanweprotectthesystemfrombeinghackedbyunauthorizedpeople?Reliability

People,businesses

and

communities

have

become

highly

dependent

on

reliable

power

supply,

and

are

growing

moredependentonitbythedayjustimaginethedevastationofablackoutine.g.ahospitaloracellphone

network.Regulationsonacceptablenetworkdowntimearealsotightening,andthepenaltiesforblackoutsare

immediately felt in utilities financial results. Reliability of the power grid refers to eliminating faults and

minimizing theeffectofanydisruption in thedistributionsystem.Utilitiesare thus facedwith theproblem:

Howcanwereducenetworkdowntimeintermsofoccurrence,duration,extentandeconomicimpact?

FutureProofingSystemsArchitecture

As mentioned earlier, Smart Grid is not an overnight revolution, but a gradual evolution with continuous

upgrades.Thus,utilitycompaniesnotonlyneedtodevelopcommunicationstosupportpresentneeds,butalso

futureones.

Developing

ascalable

and

flexible

communications

platform

to

adapt

to

any

future

need

is

thus

vital inorder to avoidhaving to redo todays investments in the future.Thechallenge ispinpointed in the

question:Howcanweobtainasystemthatisflexibleandscalableenoughtomeetanyfutureneeds?

Security

Despitethesound logicbehindopencommunicationsanduseofcommonstandards,theopenapproachhas

itsdrawbacks.Previously,whencommunicationssystemswerepredominatedbyproprietary,closedsystemsit

wasalmostimpossibleforanoutsidertopenetratethesystemandcauseasecuritythreat.Nowasconnectivity

is increasing dramatically and the data is (literally and metaphorically) flying through the air, the security

questionismoretopicalthanever:Howcanweprotectthesystemfrombeinghackedbyunauthorizedpeople?


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VIOLASSOLUTION TO CUSTOMERCHALLENGES

Violaoffersacomplete connectivity solution forelectricitydistribution companies that tacklesprecisely the

problems

described

above.

Here

we

will

present

the

basic

features

and

the

benefits

of

Violas

solution.

DescriptionofViolasSolution

ThebasicfunctionalityofViolasConnectsolutionconcept isoutlined inFigure4,and isinfactverysimple.

Eachfielddevicethecustomerwantstohaveundercentralmonitoringandcontrolisequippedwithawireless

router, most often from the Arctic product family. These routers are then wirelessly connected to and

integratedbyagatewaylocatedintheutilitycompany,whichconnectstotheutilitysapplications,e.g.billing

or SCADA. In the solution, Viola delivers on its value proposition Any device can be connected via any

networktoanycustomerapplication.

Figure4:BasicfunctionalityofViola'sConnectsolutionThemainfeaturesofViolaConnectareaccountedforbelow.

End-to-End Communication Viola offers a complete endtoend connectivity solution for distribution

companies,withthe intentionofextendingcommunicationbeyondthesubstation level.Violasbusiness isto

wirelessly connect geographically dispersed devices and sites, which provides for a complete endtoend

system. As Violas products are small, costefficient and easy to install, equipping a large number of field

devicestothecommunicationssystemisnolongeraproblem.

TechnologyAgnosticViolastrivestonotlimititsproductstoanyonetechnologyorplatform,andthusleaves

the door open for different options. Customer critical decisions, such as deciding on the communications

Substation Recloser Disconnector RMU

ViolaM2MGateway

Network

Billing Customer

Care EnergyAudit

Distribution

Automation

DistributionTransformer

CUSTOMERAPPLICATIONS


11/18


technology or network is considered casebycase, and any alternative the customer decides upon can be

implementedwiththeViolacommunicationsolution.

FlexibleIntegrationOneofthefirstchallengesanyutilityplanningtobuildouttheircommunications layer

stumblesupon

is

the

diversity

of

the

assets

base

and

the

heterogeneous

interfaces

of

different

devices.

Violas

productsare,however,designedtoprovideasmooth interfacetoANYavailable fielddevice,nomatterwho

themanufacturer.Anydistributiongriddevicethecustomerhas,Violahasthemeanstoconnectit.

Two-Way Communication The Viola M2M Gateway provides field devices with static IP addresses that

enabletwowaycommunicationandasecureconnectionthroughaVPNtunnel.Violasproductsthusestablish

atwowaycommunicationrelationshipbetweentheutilityandthefielddevices,meaningthatnotonlycanthe

field devices collect and send information about events in the field, but the devices can also be remotely

controlledbytheutility.

Real-Time,Always-OnCommunicationViolas communication solution leveragespublicmobilenetworks

whenpossible,

which

means

that

the

connection

is

always

on

and

real

time,

which

enables

very

fast

and

effectiveremotecontrolandmonitoringofthedistributiongrid.Allfieldcommunicationishandledwirelessly,

whichincomparisontotraditionalmodembasedconnectivity increasesthedatatransfercapacityimmensely

anddoesnotrequirecontinuousreestablishingoftheconnection(andthusinducedelays)asmodemsdid.In

termsofgridoptimizationactivities,thischaracteristicisvitalforincreasingtheefficiencyofthegrid.

ProtocolConversionFielddevicestypicallyuseoldserialprotocolssuchasIEC101,DNP,ModbusorSPAfor

communications.WhenusingGPRSandTCP/IP technologies, so calledpacketbasedcommunications, these

protocolsno longerwork. Communication in thismanner has thus previously not been possiblewithout a

separateprotocolconverter.TocircumventthisobstacleViolasproductshavebeenequippedwithaninternal

protocol conversion functionality, serving as a builtin multilingual translator between devices and

technologyusing

different

protocols,

e.g.

converting

between

IEC

101

and

IEC

104.

Builtwith an OpenArchitecture Historically, many communication networks in utilities were based on

proprietary systems.Notonlydid these systems result costly, theywere also rigid,difficult to scaleup and

impossibleto integratewithothersystems.Themantratoday istouseopenstandardsand leverageexisting

communications technology.Viola does exactly this Violas solution isbuilt on an open architecture, and

leveragesthemassive investmentsput intoTCP/IPInternet.Theproductsarethereforeeasilyconnectableto

othersystemsanddevices,makingitflexibleandveryeasilyscalableforfutureneeds.

Figure5:MainfeaturesofViolaConnectsolution

EndtoEnd

Communication

Technology

Agnosticism

Flexible

Integration

RealTime

TwoWay

Communication

AlwaysOn

Connection

Protocol

Conversion

Open

Architecture

Viola'sConnect

SolutionFeatures


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KeyBenefitsofViolasSolution

Violassolutionholdsmanybenefitscomparedtocompetitorsandalternativetechnologies.Thebenefitsare

summarizedinError!Referencesourcenotfound.andexplainedbelow.

Figure6:SummaryofsolutionbenefitsCostEfficient

Violas communications solution lowers capital expenditure by leveraging existing technology, so the

technology does not need to be tailored for a specific customer. As the network can be operated more

efficiently investment in new capacity are deferred or even completely eliminated. Operating costs are

reducedthrough lowermaintenanceand installationcosts,andreducedregulatorypenaltiespaidoutdueto

outages.Whenapplicable,theuseofpublicmobilenetworksalsoimpliescostsavingsnoinstallationcharges

areneeded,andevenwithlargeamountsofdatatransfer,thecommunicationcostsdonotskyrocketsuchas

withradio

modems.

Thus,

the

total

cost

of

ownership

in

the

long

term

will

be

smaller.

To

quantify

these

benefits, theElectric PowerResearch Institute (EPRI)has estimated that SmartGrid initiativeshave a cost

benefitratiobetween4:1and5:13.

Reliable

Autilityneedstobecertainthatoncethousandsofroutersareinstalledinremotelocations,theproductswill

workanddonotneedtobeserviced.Sendingamaintenanceguytoaremotelocationtoclimbupapolejust

topress a resetbutton is a timeconsuming and costlyprocedure and shouldbe avoided at all cost.A key

benefitofViolassolutionis itsreliability.Theproductshavebeendesignedtobeinherentlyrugged,andthe

solutionhasbeenfieldproven inmanycustomerprojects Violasproductsare thus reliablebyexperience.

The

products

also

have

several

functionalities

designed

to

support

mission

critical

applications;

the

devices

monitorsthemselvesinordertopreventproblemsandarecapableofperformingcorrectiveprocedurestostay

functional,inadditiontothepossibilityofremotecontroltofixproblems.

Violasproductshavealsodeliveredontheirpromiseofreliability.In2005adistributionnetworkprojectwas

carriedoutdelivering1000routerstoautility.Tothisdate,notasinglecommunicationfailurehasoccurred.

3TowardaSmarterGridABBsVisionforthePowerSystemoftheFuture,ABB,July2009

Reliable

Scalable

Secure

BENEFITS OF VIOLA'S COMMUNICATIONS SOLUTION

CostEfficient

FlexibleFutureProof


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Secure

Violaleveragesarangeofdifferentdatasecuritytoolstoimprovethesecurityofthecommunicationssystem.

AllViolaproductsareequippedwithaninternalfirewallandallinformationsenttoandfromthedistribution

gridisencryptedandcomplieswithInternetsecuritystandards.TheViolaM2MGatewayusedtointegratethe

products inthefieldprovidestheproductswithasecureVPNtunnelforsecurecommunication.Thesecurity

systemiscapableofsupportinghighlysensitive,missioncriticalapplications,andtraceability isakeyelement

ofthesystem.

Scalable

AsViolassolution leveragesexisting,widelyusedtechnologiessuchasGPRSandTCP/IP,thesystem iseasily

scalable for future needs. The solution is architectedfor awidely dispersed network, and Violas solution

supportsapartial,aphasedorafullblown implementationof the communications system,basedon the

customersneed.

FutureProof

Violas solution is, above all,open.Violas solution relieson anopenarchitecture and commonly accepted

standards,andViolashunsaway from limiting theproducts toanyparticular technologyorapplication. It is

thusveryeasytointegratethesystemwithothernetworksortechnologiesinthefuture,andthefunctionality

oftheproductsisextensibletosupportfuturerequirementsandbuilduponthesysteminthefuture.

Flexible

Violas solution is designed to be as flexible as the customer needs, and Viola aims to support a healthy

technology agnosticism. All customer grid devices can be connected through Violas solution, any

communicationstechnologyornetworkmaybeusedandthecommunicationmaybedirectedtoanycustomer

applicationavailable.HenceViolasvalueproposition:Anydevice,anynetwork,anyapplication.

How Violas communications solution answers to and solves the central customer challenged related to

connectivityaspresentedinKeyCustomerChallengesinConnectivityissummarizedinTable3.

Table3:SummaryofcustomerconnectivitychallengesandViolasolutioncharacteristicsHighlevel

challengeLargenumberofnodes Internalinteroperability External

interoperability Reliability Futureproofing SecurityOperational

challenge

Cost

efficiency

Installation

time

Differing

interfaces

Differing

protocols

External

communications

Network

downtimeFlexibility

Future

threats

Viola

solution

character

istics

Usesexisting

infrastructure

Pre

configuration

ofproducts

Analogand

digitalI/Os

Protocol

conversionOpenarchitecture

Connection

monitoring

Any

network

SecureVPN

tunnel

Open

architecture

Remote

configuration

Serialand

Ethernet

interfaces

Usescommon

standards

Internal

watchdog

features

Anyphysical

device

interface

Builtin

firewall

Usespublic

networks

when

applicable

Installation

support

throughlocal

partners

Endtoend

Interoperability

testing with

majorplayers

Rugged

design

Anylogical

device

protocol


14/18


CONNECTIVITYANDCOMMUNICATION APPLICATIONS IN ADISTRIBUTIONGRID

WehavenowpresentedViolassolutiontotheSmartGridconnectivityproblemonahigh level.Next,wewill

takeastep

down

the

abstraction

level

and

focus

on

the

actual

grass

root

level

solutions,

i.e.

the

customer

applicationsthatareenabledthankstoaneffectivecommunicationslayer.Next,theelectricalcomponentsof

thedistributiongridthatcanbenefitfromhavingtwoway,realtimecommunicationarepresented.

BasicElementsofanElectricGrid

SubstationsDistribution level substations (orprimary substations,henceforthonly

substations)serveasaconnectionbetweentransmissionanddistribution.Themain

functionofadistributionsubstation isto lower thevoltageof theelectricity tosuit

thedistributionnetwork.Mostsubstationscontaintransformers,switchesandcircuit

breakerstocontroltheflowofelectricityandprotectthenetworkfromfaults.

ReclosersReclosers

are

atype

of

circuit

breakers

located

in

pole

tops.

Reclosers

are

usedonfeederlinestoisolateasectionofthefeederintheeventofafault,inorder

toreducethenumberofendcustomers leftwithoutpower.Reclosersalsohavethe

abilitytorestorepowerintemporaryfaultsituationsbyreclosingthecircuit.

Capacitor Bank Capacitors help adjust the power factor and voltage and allow

electricity tobedistributedmoreefficiently.Theycanoftenberemotelycontrolled

andswitched intoandoutofthesystemasneeded,orautomatedtoturnonoroff

accordingtotemperatureortimeofday.

VoltageRegulatorsVoltageregulatorshelpmaintainaconstantvoltagelevelalong

theentirefeeder.Theyraiseorlowerthevoltageonthedistributionlinetoprovidea

moreor

less

constant

voltage

as

the

amount

of

load

on

the

line

changes.

Voltage

regulatorsautomaticallyadjusttolowandhighloadsituationstoassureallcustomers

havepropervoltagetoruntheirelectricalequipment.

DisconnectorsA disconnector is a type of switch that can be found in poletops

alonga feeder.Disconnectors areused toopenanelectric circuit,but canonlybe

usedwhenthereisnocurrentrunningthroughit.Disconnectorsareusedforexample

toisolateapartoftheelectricgridtoensuresafeconditionsformaintenancestaff.

Distribution Transformers (DT) Distribution transformers operate like large

substation transformersthey reduce thevoltage from thedistribution level to the

voltagerequiredbythecustomer.Thesetransformersarethus locatedclose tothe

endcustomer

and

are

sized

to

meet

the

needs

of

all

customers

connected

to

it.

Distributiontransformerscaneitherbelocatedoverheadaspoletoptransformersor

onthegroundaspadmounttransformers.

Ring Main Units (RMU) Distribution networks are normally structured using a

numberofinterconnectedringshapedgrids.Distributiontransformersareconnected

tothesystembyTshapeddistributionlines,Toffs.ThecomponentsrequiredforaT

off are integrated in a device called a ringmain unit (RMU), often comprising of

switchesandfusesinordertoprovideprotectiontodistributiontransformers.RMUs

areespeciallyused in compactplaceswith largeelectricityneeds such as airports,

hospitalsandsmallindustries,andarenormallyrelatedtoundergroundcables.


15/18


ApplicationsofSmartGridCommunication

Asnotedearlier,utilitieshavehistoricallynothadcommunicationorcontrolcontactbeyondsubstations.Smart

Gridcommunicationstechnologyextendsthereachtosecondarysubstationsandotherdevicesintheelectric

grid,allowing

for

many

Smart

Grid

applications

and

operational

improvements

to

be

implemented.

OUTAGEMANAGEMENT

With realtimedataonall relevantevents in thegridand thepower tocontrol reclosers,disconnectorsand

RMUs,utilitiescannowmanageoutagesinthenetworkmuchmoreefficiently:

Reduced total outage time Realtime information facilitates more rapid location of the fault, andremotecontrolwillallowforfastisolationandrestorationoffaults

ReducednumberofoutagesFieldinformationallowsforbettermaintenancetoavoidoutages ReducedmaintenanceRemotecontrolimpliesthatoftennomaintenancecrewsareneededatthesite

ASSETMANAGEMENT

Withacommunications

layer

employed

in

large

parts

of

the

network,

utilities

will

be

able

to

obtain

huge

amountsofdatafromtheirfieldassets,openingupawholenewworldofimprovementpossibilities:

Continuous monitoring of the condition of network components, allowing for replacementinvestmentstobetimedoptimallyandoutagesprevented.

The ability to optimize corrective maintenance based on the actual condition of the equipment,insteadofonaprescheduledplan.

REACTIVEPOWER ANDVOLTAGEMANAGEMENT

By remotely controlling, automating and centralizing the information from capacitor banks and voltage

regulators,utilitiescanimproveefficiencythroughsocalledvolt/VArOptimization.

Reducingtheamountofreactivepower(thatonlyheatsupconductors)inthewires,infavorofactivepower(thatdoestheactualwork).4

Keepingvoltageattherightlevelinordertoavoidenergylossesthatarisefromtoohighvoltage.LOADMANAGEMENT

Load management practices are important tools for energy companies in markets where demand often

exceedssupply,leadingtocustomersbeingleftwithoutelectricity.Thisphenomenonespeciallyvisibleinfast

growingemergingcountriessuchasIndiaorChina.Loadmanagementcanbeimplementedby:

Collecting informationonelectricity flows indifferentpartsofthenetwork todeterminewhereandwhenelectricityismostneededinordertosatisfyallcustomersandavoidoutages.

Addingswitchestothenetwork,whichcanturnpowersupplyonoroffaccordingtoneed.ADVANCEDMETERING

Advancedmetering is an important tool in engaging the consumer to takepart in the energymarket. The

followingbenefitscanbeattained:

Sophisticated pricing and billing as meters can be used to introduce a connection between theconsumerandtheutility.

Reductionofpeakdemandascustomersareprovidedwithincentivestoconsumeelectricityoffpeak.4ASmartGridisanOptimizedGrid,ABB,September2009


16/18


BusinessCaseExample:OutageManagementIntheend,efficiency increases isabout improvingoperationsandcuttingcosts.Todemonstratethefinancial

benefits of automation and communication in the electric grid, we will quantify the impact of outage

managementto

reduce

the

regulatory

penalties

distribution

companies

incur.

Consider

atypical

feeder

design

beyond the substation level we position a recloser halfway

alongthefeeder line,andtwodisconnectorsat25%and75%of

thefeeder(seeFigure7).

Due tonetworkoperatorsholdingaspecialposition inanatural

monopoly,utilitiesarepenalizedbyregulatorsforoutages.Inour

caseweapplyFinnishregulatorypenaltiesforunplannedoutages:

Theinstancebasedfeeis1,10/kW Thetimebasedfeeis11/kWh

Additionally,we

make

the

following

assumptions:

Thefeederlinehasacapacityof5000kW Thefeederhasonaverageonefaultperyear Theremotelycontrolledreclosersanddisconnectorscan

bequicklyusedto isolatethefaulttothecorrect25%of

thefeeder

Asaresult,weconservativelyassumethatthetotalrestorationtimeforthefaultisreducedtohalfofwhatitwaspreviously,i.e.from3hoursto1,5hours.

Before automation of the recloser and disconnectors the annual penalty paid for this type of feeder was

170500.

With

the

reclosers

and

disconnectors

locating

and

isolating

the

fault

the

total

penalty

for

the

same

feederis26125,areductionof85%.Thereductioninpenaltyarisesfromtwosources:

1. from the faultbeing isolated to 25%of the feeder, reducing the affected capacity from 5000 kW to1250kW,and

2. fromthereductionofmaintenancetimetohalfoftheprevious.Now, if we consider the investment cost of the reclosers and the disconnectors, as well as the cost of the

communicationdevicesthatmakeremotecontrolpossible,wearriveatatotalinvestmentof540005.Thus,

the investment paybackof the complete system when only consideringoneyearofoperation is a mere 4,5

months.Herewehaventconsideredinstallationcosts,butneitherhaveweconsideredthesavingsattainedin

furtheroperational

years,

so

all

in

all,

equipping

pole

tops

with

communication

and

remote

control

proves

to

beaverylucrativeinvestment.

5Energiamarkkinavirasto,Finland:Bookvalueofarecloser21000,bookvalueofadisconnector15000.Viola:costofone

communicationdeviceapproximately1000.

Substation

R

C

D

C

D

C

D

C

Recloser

Disconnector

25%

25%

25%

25% RC

Figure7:Examplefeederdesign


17/18


Figure8:Savingsinregulatorypenaltiesofoneautomatedfeeder

Additionalcostreductionsincurredfromoutagemanagementnotconsideredinthisexample:

Reduction inmaintenancecostsasfaultscanbe locatedand isolatedremotely,thusreducingmanualmaintenancetime.

Reducedpenalties thatdistribution companiesareobligated topaydirectly to consumers inoutagesituations that exceed a certain time limit. E.g. in Finland this time limit is 12 hours, but some

distributioncompaniespayvoluntarycompensationcostsalreadyafter6hours.

Thepenaltiesdistributioncompaniesneedtopaydirectlytocustomerscanbesignificant.In2008anelectricity

distributioncompany inFinlandwitharound90000customershad topayoutpenaltiesof0,5million for

outagesfollowingastorm.

5500 5500

165 000

20625 0

40000

80000

120 000

160000

200 000

Noautomated

devices

Automation:One

recloser,two

disconnectors

BusinessCaseofOneAutomatedFeeder

Penalty(time

based)

Penalty(instance

based)


18/18


SUMMARY

In theenergy industry,efficiency involvesgettingasmuchenergyaspossible frompowergeneration to the

end

customer.

Even

in

the

most

modern

systems

today

around

6

8%

of

electricity

is

lost

on

its

way

from

the

powerplantstotheconsumer,andalargepartofthislossisduetoinadequateinfrastructureandoperations.

Thetraditionalelectricitygridwehave inusetodayno longerhastheneeded functionalitiestosupport21st

century power generation and the modern power consumer. The Smart Grid is supposed to update our

traditionalgridtobecomeamoreefficient,transparentandflexiblegridofthefuture.

SmartGrid servicesandapplicationshavebeenenvisioned in largequantities, ranging fromactivecustomer

participationintheenergymarkettoanintelligentdistributionnetworkwithselfhealingabilities.Thephysical

powergridandtheseapplicationsare,however,separatedbyalayerofcommunicationanddatatransferthat

isneeded tomake the visions andbenefits SmartGrid initiatives arepromising real.Utilities thusneed to

prioritizetheireffortofbuildingacomprehensivecommunicationssystemuponwhichallfutureapplications

canbe

built.

Violaisaforerunnerindevelopingwirelesscommunicationsolutionsforelectricutilities,inordertobringreal

time visibility and control into every cornerof distribution grids.Violas Connect solution answers to the

customersconnectivitychallengesbyofferingacostefficient,twowayandrealtimecommunicationssolution

thatstandsthetestoftimetoprovidesecurity,flexibilityandscalabilitynotonlytodaybutalsointhefuture.

By being able to connect any customer device independent of age or manufacturer, through any wireless

networktoanycustomerapplicationthatneedsrealtimefieldinformation,Violastandsbyitsvalueproposal:

Anydevice,anynetwork,anyapplication.

Figure9:Anydevice,anynetwork,anyapplication

VIOLA PROVIDES

THE

COMMUNICATION

ANYDEVICE

LAN WAN FAN

3G Satellite

WiMax

RF Mesh

M2M

Private

ANYAPPLICATION

ANYNETWORK

AMI DR

MDMDA

FLISR

Billing

SCADA

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