ABSTRACT

Smart grid is the future electrical power grid that integrates ICTs and two-way communications to increase the reliability, security, and efficiency of electrical services while reducing the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the electricity production process [1,2]. Smart grid consists of consumer domain, transmission and distribution (T&D) domain, and power generation domain, which include millions of electromechanical devices. In the traditional power grid, most of those devices do not have the capability of communicating, and the ones that can communicate only provide means for very limited telemetry, mostly using supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA). SCADA enables communications between substations and the utility control center to monitor the equipment in the field by a centralized server. In that sense, primitive M2M communications already exist in the power grid. However, SCADA is based on proprietary technologies. In addition, it does not allow the equipment in the field to communicate among themselves or to interact and self-organize. Usually, SCADA sensors are hardwired, and SCADA mainly serves as a coarse-grained monitoring tool [3]. On the other hand, smart grid calls for communication technologies that will enable applications that involve more than just monitoring. For instance, self-organization of microgrids, remote control of home appliances, interaction of renewable energy generation resources, etc., will be possible in the smart grid.