ABSTRACT
Information and communication technology is an essential component that facilitates bi-directional message flow in smart microgrid enabling affordable, quality, reliable, and efficient delivery of electric power. Smart microgrid realizes its functions through various applications, all of which have real time and distributed sensing, processing and actuation requirements and all use communication networks that support heterogeneity and interoperability as the backbone. The seamless integration of communication technology and power system for realizing smart grid needs thorough knowledge of the specific requirements of the various smart grid applications which are specified in the respective standards that govern the implementation and execution of these applications. This chapter discusses the capabilities of various wired and wireless communication technologies specified in the respective standards for selecting the best suited technology for an application. A review of standards for various communication technologies and smart grid applications is also included. The communication architecture that defines the roles and functionalities of the member nodes of the network as well as the network used for realizing the communication needs is another topic of discussion here. The quality of service parameters and performance metrics used for performance analysis of the communication network are also presented.
