YA N et al.: A SURVEY ON SMART GRID COMMUNICATION INFRASTRUCTURES: MOTIVATIONS, REQUIREMENTS AND CHALLENGES 3
power transmission and/or distribution infrastructure resources
(i.e., power lines) to meet these requirements. In [16] the
authors give an overview of DLC+VIT4IP (Distribution Line
Carrier: Verification, Integration and Test of PLC Technologies
and IP Communication for Utilities), a EU funded project
under the 7th Framework Programme (FP7) that aims to
extend the existing PLC technologies by developing efficient
transport of IPv6 protocol, automatic measurement, configu-
ration and management, and security. In addition, the p roject
DLC+VIT4IP also exploits frequency ranges up to 500 kHz,
to support systems serving larger smart grid applications.
B. Distributed Energy Resources
The legacy power generation and transmission concept is
converting to a massively distributed energy generation land-
scape integrating an extensive number of variable and small
renewable energy resources (DERs) such as wind [17]–[19],
solar [20]–[22] installations with all their challenging effects
on the smart grid.MetaPV [23] is a project demonstrated the
provision of electrical benefits from photovoltaics (PV) on a
large scale, showing the way toward cities powered by renew-
able energy sources. The project also demonstrates enhanced
control capacities implemented into PV inverters, includ ing
active voltage control, low-voltage ride-through capability,
autonomous grid operation, and interaction of distribution
system control with PV systems. Smart control should enable
an increase of the PV penetration in existing power grids and
promote the use of more renewable energy sour ces in cities
and industries at minimum additional investment costs. The
MetaPV project is funded by the European Commission in
the 7th Framework Programme, which consists of six partners
from four EU countries.
New stakeholders (e.g. energy resource aggregators), more
flexibility for the consumers ( energy market place), and totally
new concepts (loading of Electric Vehicles (EVs), usage of
EVs as flexible power storage) have to be respected. Innovative
monitoring and control concepts are required to operate these
distributed energy resources in a reliable and safe way, so the
communication technologies must support it. A key require-
ment for facilitating the distributed production of future grids
is that communication and information are standardized to
ensure interoperability. For example, the IEC 61850 standard,
which was origin ally aimed at substation automation, has been
expanded to cover the monitoring and control of DERs. By
having a consistent and well-defined data model the standard
enables a DER aggregator, such as a Virtual Power Plant
(VPP), in communicating with a broad array of DERs. If
the data model of IEC 61850 is combined with a set of
contemporary web protocols, it can result in a major shift
in how DERs can be accessed and coordinated. [24] describes
how IEC 61850 can benefit from the REpresentational State
Transfer (REST) service concept and how a server using these
technologies can be used to interface with DERs as diverse as
EVs and micro Combined Heat and Power (µCHP) units.
There are some works (e.g., [25]–[27]) in integrating DER
generation into the traditional centralized carbon fuel based
generation power grid. These energy sources include biomass
etc. A key observation made in [25] is that existing power
grids were designed in a one-direction radial mode without
considering the communication with the emerging distributed
renewable resource generation. In [26] it discussed the broader
implications of the social acceptance of these new energy gen-
eration technologies, as they represent a significant departure
from incumbent approach of trad itional monolithic large scale
energy generation. In addition, the implications of regulatory
and economic factors also contribute to potential take-up and
various deployment models to increase the adoption of these
distributed renewable resource generators [27].
Every DER includes an Electronic Power Processor (EPP)
to govern the power exchange with the smar t grid and
Switching Power Interface (SPI) to control the currents drawn
from the smart grid. Such distributed EPPs and SPIs should
perform cooperatively to take full advantage of smart grid
potentiality ( exploitation of renewable energy sources, power
quality and transmission efficiency). To achieve this goal dif-
ferent approaches can be adopted, depending on the available
communication capability. In [28] it discussed various co ntrol
solutions applicable in absence of supervisory control, e.g.,
in residential micro-grids, where communication is possible
between neighbor units only (surround control) or is not
available at all (plug & play control). In micro-grids, where
number and type of DERs and loads is unpredictable and may
vary during time, cooperative operation can be achieved by
simple cross-communication among neighbor EPPs, without
centralized supervisor. In [29], it describes principles of co-
operative operations with existing information and communi-
cation architectures, which allows exploitation of micro-grid
capabilities without additional infrastructure investments.
C. Smart Metering
The Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) is a key factor
in the smart grid which is the architecture for autom a ted,
tw
o-way communications between a smart utility meter and a
utility company. A smart meter is an advanced meter which
identifies power consumption in much more detail than a con-
ventional m eter and communicates the collected infor mation
back to the utility for load monitoring and billing purposes.
Consumers can be informed of how much power they are
using so that they could control their power consumption
and the consequent carbon dioxide emission. By managing
the peak load through consumer participation, the utility will
likely provide electricity at lower and even rates for all.
AMI has already gained great attraction within the industry,
with the advantages in accuracy and process improvement of
on-line meter reading and control. In [30], additional benefits
are suggested to be gained in managing power quality and
asset management with AMI. This paper also discussed how
reliability, operational efficiency, and customer satisfaction can
be addressed with an AMI deployment. However, the benefits
of AMI are countered by increasing cyber security issues [31].
The technologies require a communication infrastructure to
provide interconnectivity. Hence, the vulnerabilities that ex-
pose other internetworking systems will ultimately lead to
security threats to AMI systems.
This article has been accepted for inclusion in a future issue of this journal. Content is final as presented, with the exception of pagination.