ABSTRACT
A smart grid (SG) is the next generation of power grid, where transmission, distribution, power generation, utilization, and management are fully upgraded to improve efficiency, agility, environmental friendliness, economy, security, and reliability. Since SG consists of many different applications with different communication and quality of service requirements, it involves heterogeneous communication technologies based on a multitier communication infrastructure. Cognitive radio (CR) is a revolutionary technology that allows for opportunistic use of unused spectrum frequencies to increase communication capabilities and improve overall system performance. Channel selection strategy is very important for cognitive radio networking’s performance because its efficiency can play a very important role in the dissemination of information inside a CR-based SG network. A neighborhood area network (NAN) is the second tier in the multitier communication architecture for CR in an SG. NANs are deployed over urban, suburban, and rural environments and are supported by advanced metering infrastructure deployments, which use various communication technologies according to the SG application served.
