Smart Grid – An Energizing

Opportunity

March 30, 2011 MTA Conference

Mark J. Mrla, P.E.&

Dean L. Mischke, P.E.Finley Engineering Company, Inc.

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Agenda

What is a Smart Grid Driving Factors Terms Home Networks Utility Company Options How Do We Serve The Power Industry

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"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."--Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943

"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons." --Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949

"Who in their right mind would ever need more than 640k of ram!?"-- Bill Gates, 1981

"But what ... is it good for?" --Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip.

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What is a Smart Grid

What Smart Grid is not!– It is not just smart meters– It is not just green energy– It is not just time-of-use rate structure– It is not just HVAC shedding in the summer– It is not just distribution automation

systems

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What is a Smart Grid

What Smart Grid is!– A smart grid applies technologies, tools and techniques

available now to bring knowledge to power – knowledge capable of making the grid work far more efficiently, reliably...

– Ensuring its reliability to degrees never before possible– Maintaining its affordability– Reinforcing our global competitiveness– Fully accommodating renewable and traditional energy sources– Potentially reducing our carbon footprint– Introducing advancements and efficiencies yet to be envisioned

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According to William Parks from the DOE, a Smart Grid would:

•Accommodate all types of central and distributed electric generation and storage.

•Provide for power quality for a range of needs by all types of consumers.•Optimize asset utilization and operating efficiency of the electric power system.•Anticipate and respond to system disturbances.•Operate resiliently to attacks and natural disasters

•Enable informed participation by consumers in retail and wholesale electricity markets.•Enable new products, services, and markets.

STATEMENT OF WILLIAM PARKS, SPECIAL ASSISTANT AND HAWAII LIAISON FOR ELECTRICITY DELIVERY AND ENERGY RELIABILITYU.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGYBEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONSUNITED STATES SENATE. AUGUST 24, 2009

What is a Smart Grid

Generation

Delivery

Consumer

TransmissionSystem

DistributionSystem

Power Generation

Meters – Residential, Commercial, Industrial

Coal, Nuclear, Wind, Solar, Hydro, Geothermal, Tidal, Natural Gas, etc.

(1) Generation

(2) Delivery

(3) Consumer

Smart Grid Impacts

Economics

Reliability

Environmental

Consumer Involvement

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TransmissionSystem

DistributionSystem

Power Production

Coal, Nuclear, Wind, Solar, Hydro, Geothermal, Tidal, Natural Gas, etc.

Generation

Delivery

Consumer

ImpactsEconomicsReliability

EnvironmentalConsumer Involvement

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Gasoline, Diesel, Ethanol, Propane, Electric, Solar, etc.

Automobile & Electric Power System – Similar Evolutions

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Think About Computers Involved with:Automobile Engines

Emissions SystemsPower Control SystemsTemperature Control SystemsPressure Control SystemsFuel Efficiency Systems

Electric Power Plants

Emissions SystemsPower Control SystemsTemperature Control SystemsPressure Control SystemsFuel Efficiency Systems

Transmission / Drivetrain Transmission / Distribution

Gearbox SystemsTraction Control SystemsAntilock Breaking SystemsRide Control SystemsFuel Efficiency Systems

Ground Fault SystemsBreaker Reclosing SystemsReactive Power Control SystemsFrequency Control SystemsVoltage Control Systems

Driver Info & Involvement Consumer Info & Involvement

Fuel Efficiency FeedbackTire Pressure FeedbackTraction ControlAntilock Breaking System

Time of Day Power UsageAppliance / Load Control SystemsTime of Use Electric Rate StructureFeedback on Outage Time Estimates

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Generation Driving Factors

Time

Peak Power Shaving

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Generation Driving Factors

Prohibitive Cost to Build – $2.3B for Oak Creek New Steam Unit

Environmental Permitting – Tied up in courts (NIMBY) Even “Green” systems are not immune

Carbon and Greenhouse Gas Regulations Mandated Green Energy Creates problems

May not be available when needed Does not eliminate Spinning Reserves

Power Generation

Coal, Nuclear, Wind, Solar, Hydro, Geothermal, Tidal, Natural Gas, etc.

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Transmission Driving Factors

Prohibitive Cost to Build $3M/mile - Madison to La

Crosse $7M/mile for 6 miles in

Kenosha County Green Power exists in low

population areas Environmental Permitting –

Tied up in courts (NIMBY) Superior to Wausau

http://www.ilbinc.com/Services/OverheadTransmission.aspx

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Distribution Driving Factors

Lack of Monitoring Power Companies do not

find out a local branch is down until someone complains

The local distribution network covers a very large geographical area

Old Equipment

http://craigsland.com/Plot.aspx?plotID=32

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Consumer Driving Factors

Power Company Viewpoint: Lack of Monitoring

Power Companies do not find out a customer is down until someone complains

Unable to detect quality issues until something is damaged

Desire to find ways to encourage consumers to shift loads to off-peak

Consumer Viewpoint: Want to manage cost Make changes remotely

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Reliability – A Central Focus

Outage Management System (OMS)

Meter Data Management System

(MDMS)Distribution Systems

Supervisory Control & Data Acquisition

(SCADA)

Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI)

Customer Information System

(CIS)

Interactive Voice Response System

(IVR)

Transmission Systems

Generation Systems

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Reliability – A Central Focus

Outage Management System (OMS)

Meter Data Management System

(MDMS)Distribution Systems

Supervisory Control & Data Acquisition

(SCADA)

Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI)

Customer Information System

(CIS)

Interactive Voice Response System

(IVR)

Transmission Systems

Generation Systems

Possible Data Communications

Opportunities

Some Consumer-End Smart Grid Terms

PCT (programmable communicating thermostats)

IHD (in-home display)

LCM (load control module)

HAN (home area network)

PLC/BPL/DLC (power line carrier, broadband over power line, distribution line carrier)

AMI (advanced metering infrastructure)

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Home Automation Standards Examples

ZigBee– 2.4GHz Wireless Mesh– Based on IEEE 802.15.4 (wireless communications used in

home, building and industrial controls) Z-Wave 900 MHz Wireless Mesh

– 160 Manufacturers– Proprietary– Low Power

HomePlug Command and Control– Based on IEEE 1901 Broadband over Power Line Networks– 1901.2 for Home Networks for Smart Grid operates in the 500

kHz range and has a throughput of 500 kbps– Operates on lines with voltages up to 1000 V at ranges up to

several kilometers

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Consumer Communications Example

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ZigBee Specification - Suite of high level communication protocols

• Low cost

• Low power

• 2-way communications

• Used typically for homes, buildings, controls/sensors

• Range of 50 meters, but varies greatly

• Based around IEEE 802.15.4 wireless standards

Consumer Communications Examples

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Home Area Network• ZigBee• Wi-Fi (802.11)

RF (towers, wireless mesh,....)Telecom Facilities (fiber, copper, wireless)PLC / BPL / DLC

With a smart meter

present

Utility Office

HAN Communications Example

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Home Area Network (HAN)• ZigBee• Wi-Fi (802.11)

RF (towers, wireless mesh,....)Telecom Facilities (fiber, copper, wireless)PLC / BPL / DLC

Smart Meter

ThermostatIHD

LCM

Home Device

With a smart meter

present

Utility Office

Thermostats and In-Home Displays

Examples of vendors/products on the market:

– ICM Controls (SimpleComfort)

– Honeywell (Prestige HD Thermostats)

– HAI – Home Automation, Inc. (Omnistat2)

– Tendril (Set Point)

– ecobee (ecobee Smart Thermostat)

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AMI / Smart Meter System Suppliers

Examples of vendors with systems on the market:

− Elster - GE

− Sensus - Echelon

− ITRON - Silver Spring Networks

− Landis+Gyr

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Utility Communications Examples

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Home Area Network

Paging Network

Cell Phone Network

Internet

Thermostat / IHD

LCM

Home Device

Without a smart meter

present

Utility Office

Utility Communications Examples

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Home Area Network

RF/Wireless (towers, mesh network,....)

Telecom Facilities (fiber, copper, wireless)

PLC / BPL / DLC

SmartMeter

Thermostat / IHD

LCM

Home Device

With a smart meter

present

Utility Office

Communications Infrastructure

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Utility New Investment

RF/Wireless (towers, mesh networks,....)

PLC / BPL / DLC

Fiber

Telecom Existing Investment

Fiber, Copper, WirelessUtility Office

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What are Power Utilities Looking for in a Data Network?

Security– The system must not be capable of being hacked

Ubiquitous Coverage– The Utility typically covers a much larger service

area than the communications providers Reliability

– An outage may cause significant equipment damage and may be a hazard to life

Low Cost– The system needs to cost less than their designated

recovery threshold Very Low Bit Rates

– 100s of bps but from lots of devices

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What are their Options?

Broadband over Power Lines (BPL)– Troublesome, low throughput, transformers,

someone will figure it out Cellular Wireless

– Near universal availability, relatively expensive per node,

WiFi– Only works in urban areas, used in conjunction with

BPL Data Network Provider

– Power Utilities are just now starting to investigate this option

Telecom Infrastructure

Rapid growth in consumer bandwidth requirements

Rapid replacement/upgrade of telecom infrastructure

Higher bandwidth requirements are driving increased use of fiber

With fiber, future bandwidth increase requires only new electronics

Fiber as medium for many purposes – voice, data, video, etc.

Nearly all facilities with an electric meter, also contain telecom infrastructure29

Where Are We Now?

Technology exists in Telecommunications to service most all diversities of Smart Grid platforms. (Bandwidth requirements)

– However – At what cost?

– Can a Normal Business Model sustain the needed infrastructure?

– Are “Our” customers on board?

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Where Are We Now?

On the Power side of Smart Grid advancement. Extensive advancement in Electronically Mapped Distribution technologies and numerous Automatic Meter Reading installs have set the stage for upcoming Smart Grid projects.

– However, at what cost?

– Back to the Business Model----Sorry.

– What about Distributed Generation, Wind Power etc…

– How would a Federally Mandated RPS help promote Smart Grid?

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Data Circuits of Old – Special equipment – Added expense– Regulated – NECA Tariffed rates

High Cost

– Few circuits were deployed – Staff had little experience with the equipment

– Long copper loops – Difficult to troubleshoot

– When they worked, they were very stable

– Special Circuits

How Do We Serve the Power Industry

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Data Circuits Today – Broadband The Primary Circuit of Today– Data is what we do – Voice is the declining

market 90% of recent investment revolves around data

– 8kFt DSL Loops– Wireless– FTTH

Redundancy is now standard in IP network designs – five 9s (351.36 seconds of outage per year)

How Do We Serve the Power Industry

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Data Circuits Today – Broadband The Primary Circuit of Today– Data is what we do – Voice is the declining

market IPTV has been the driving factor in data network

improvements– Video is watched closely – Disturbances to video circuits very noticeable

Staffing has been concentrated around IP experience/training

– Traditional CO staff is extensively IP focused– IP experience is provided all the way to the house

How Do We Serve the Power Industry

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DSL Circuits– Advantages:

Relatively Low Cost – Works on existing copper Mature Technology – Know how to make it work Long reach at low bandwidth – 50kbps at 18kft Point-to-Point

– Disadvantages: Data rates hindered by noise, especially at

longer distances Less reliable than fiber services

How Do We Serve the Power Industry

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FTTH Circuits– Advantages:

Mature Technology – Know how to make it work

Long reach at any bandwidth – 100Mbps at 40km

Point-to-Point is very secure GPON is also secure Very high service reliability

– Disadvantages: Very High Cost – Typically requires all new

facilities

How Do We Serve the Power Industry

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Central Office

VoIP, Data to remote customers

BidirectionalOptical Node

700 MHz, Cellular, WiFi, etc.Transmitter

• Wireless Networks– Bandwidth

dependant on range

– Transmitter nodes are typically fiber fed

How Do We Serve the Power Industry

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Wireless Circuits– Advantages:

Fast to deploy Long reach at low bandwidth Can be low cost if the infrastructure is in place

– Disadvantages: Limited range depending on frequency, Line-

of-Sight Growth of wireless data networks has pushed

up costs Reliability can be a factor

How Do We Serve the Power Industry

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Conclusions– Communication Company Broadband Advantages:

Gain access to a trained work force that already works in the home

The network may already exist all the way to the homeCan be low cost if the infrastructure is in place

– Communication Company Broadband Disadvantages:100% broadband coverage does not exist todayReturn on Investment for Communications Company

may be limitedThe need for the Power Utility to deal with a third

party

How Do We Serve the Power Industry

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Conclusions– Pick the low hanging fruit first

Look to serve the Substations– There are not very many Substations– Many local Power Utilities are not ready to collect very much

information from the consumer yet

Look to serve the larger Commercial Clients– Most likely, you are already there– They can actually affect the Utility’s usage and save

money

– Form partnerships to create a group that can cover substantial portions of the Power Utility’s service area

How Do We Serve the Power Industry

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We need Partnership Now

Our paths have now converged – Power—Telecom

– Not just servicing each other as in the past.

– While Technologies have, and continue to advance – Has the Level of Cooperation to package our capabilities moved at the same pace?

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Thank You!!

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