Itron’s OpenWay®: Utilities can Benefit from its Standards-Based Approach

Date of Tech Take: April 9, 2008

 

In SGN's Tech Take articles, power engineer and architect Erich Gunther evaluates actual products and services against the SGN Smart Grid Scorecard. Unless disclosed explicitly at the beginning of the article, neither SGN nor Erich Gunther has received any compensation from the vendor nor do they own stock in the company.

 

This article examines the OpenWay® system, a collection of products from Itron, Inc. that creates a network infrastructure for advanced metering and Smart Grid applications. Although it may have its shortcomings, I believe the OpenWay® system could become the first example of an open, standards-based premise to utility systems. To understand my evaluation, you need to grasp three essential elements:

·         The role of the SGN Scorecard

·         The purpose and components of an advanced metering and network infrastructure, including the metering and networking equipment

·         How the OpenWay® solution measures up

The role and importance of the SGN Scorecard

The SGN Scorecard was developed for a very important reason: most of today's products do not adhere to Smart Grid principles. They do not support the requirements envisioned by Smart Grid researchers such as EPRI, the California Energy Commission's Public Interest Energy Research program, the Modern Grid Initiative and DOE's GridWise program. Nor do they adhere to the mandates in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. 

 

In particular, several elements of the EPRI IntelliGrid Architecture are critical to implementing a Smart Grid:

·         Proven, Internet-derived communication technologies

·         Service-based architecture at the enterprise level

·         Self-healing technology

·         Well defined interfaces and points of interoperability

·         Application of industry and international standards

·         Built-in security and network management

 

As a result of their failure to meet the basic principles, most of today's communication networks -- whether for automatic meter reading (AMR) or for advanced meter infrastructure (AMI) -- are inadequate. They may support "least common denominator" Smart Grid applications such as meter reading. But they are not adequate for distribution automation, plug in hybrid electric vehicle management, microgrids, demand response and many other future applications.

 

SGN Warning: To avoid buying dead-end products, utilities must provide their vendors with a comprehensive and prioritized list of requirements covering current and future functionality. And then they must get written assurances from vendors that their products meet those requirements.

 

The SGN Scorecard is a checklist that measures whether products meet minimum standards for a Smart Grid. We will use it as the benchmark for all Tech Take reviews. We invite you to use it free of charge for your own evaluations. For a further explanation and a blank version you can copy freely, download the PDF version of the Scorecard (see link below).

 

The purpose of an advanced metering and network infrastructure

In an advanced metering and network infrastructure, multiple components form the backbone. That backbone provides core functions, while other products build on top of that backbone to create applications. The basic components of a network infrastructure are:

·         The end points that connect to devices such as meters, sensors and thermostats

·         The access points that (i) link together to create a neighborhood network, and (ii) talk to the backhaul network

·         The network operating system and network management software

·         The backhaul communications that carries data to and from the control center

 

Typically, the first three components are provided by one vendor.  However, if physical, electrical and application interfaces are standardized for the components, a multi-vendor solution is possible. Ideally, those first three components will be able to use any of several different backhaul network technologies, wired and wireless. Indeed, one of the hallmarks of any good advanced metering system is to be "communications agnostic" -- that is, to use any of several different systems to get the data back to the utility's enterprise software.

 

Itron's product lineup

The Itron OpenWay® system consists of components that, taken together, provide end-to-end connectivity from the devices located at and within a customer premise (such as meters and thermostats) all the way to the utility enterprise (for example, CIS). Those components include:

·         OpenWay Gas Module -- a gas meter module with a ZigBee chip, compatible with (the information is read by) the OpenWay CENTRON® electricity meter

·         OpenWay CENTRON® -- electricity meters incorporating ZigBee and LAN wireless communications, able to form an adaptive tree network through the OpenWay Cell Relays

·         OpenWay Cell Relay -- a standards-based router that relays signals (passes them along) to extend the reach of the Local Area Network to the Wide Area Network

·         OpenWay Collection Engine -- a network access point that links end points to the utility's enterprise software

Together, these components create the network infrastructure for a wide variety of Smart Grid applications. OpenWay® was recently selected by Southern California Edison for primary deployment of up to 5M electricity meters, which will result in the largest ANSI C12.22 based AMI network in the country.

Evaluating the components

The OpenWay CENTRON® meter is one of the first to incorporate a ZigBee radio, a disconnect/reconnect switch (with soft load-limiting capability), and compatibility with the ANSI C12.22 network protocol down to the physical layer specification. The ZigBee capability allows the meter to interface with compatible equipment such as a thermostat inside the premise, as well as other “nearby” devices such as gas (Itron’s OpenWay Gas Module is one example) and water meters, over what is known as a home area network (HAN). The meter participates in the HAN by communicating directly to the equipment or through a device known by several monikers, the home “gateway” or “smart controller”. The meter contains a load-limiting, programmable disconnect/reconnect switch allowing utilities to meet their business case needs with respect to customer turnover (move-ins, move-outs), revenue protection, and demand response programs. Through the use of ANSI C12.19 and C12.22, a non-proprietary means of formatting and obtaining information, changing device settings and interoperability with a multitude of communications vendors is readily testable. In addition, OpenWay® uses the C12.22 protocol to traverse the network from the home to the OpenWay Collection Engine.

 

The OpenWay Cell Relay provides connectivity and routing for C12.22-based meters and the OpenWay Collection Engine on the C12.22-based local transport (LAN) network.  It can also coordinate network activities with third-party relays using C12.22 over IP. The Cell Relay offers native GPRS and Ethernet capabilities, but is WAN-agnostic via its WAN board interface. A C12.22 relay offers address resolution, message segmentation, and recombination in a manner defined by the standard. This combination of functionality allows for multiple C12.22-based metering networks and any IP WAN to be used in the network architecture. Like the meter, the Cell Relay contains a ZigBee radio, allowing it to participate in any ZigBee network when needed. The Cell Relay facilitates outage management through a backup battery. The OpenWay LAN of meters and Cell Relays is both self-configuring and self-healing, allowing the network to mitigate all but the most widespread outages.

 

The OpenWay Collection Engine allows for C12.22 meter configuration and firmware revision management, as well as back-office infrastructure integration.  It provides management of the meter communications network through its communications servers (C12.22 and non-C12.22), database instance, orchestration server, and a “master” relay. The Collection Engine communicates over any C12.22 network to the Cell Relays and meters. Support for back-office applications that use such methods as Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) and Web Services includes those for HP OpenView or IBM® Tivoli®.

 

Itron has made a lot of progress in the security category given where the industry was just a year ago.  The meter has advanced security features: programmable filtering, 128bit AES symmetric cryptography, 256bit ECC, ECDSA for digital signatures, and a configurable audit engine. The collection engine has an advanced suite of security services including a security console, key management services, audit services, registration services, signing services, encryption services, intrusion detection/protection, deep packet inspection and content filtering.  Itron is actively participating in the AMI-SEC task force of UtilityAMI and other organizations to help define security requirements for AMI systems and build consensus.

 

How OpenWay® measures up against the competition

Overall, OpenWay® scores very well against the EPRI IntelligGrid Architecture elements and SGN's Smart Grid Scorecard. (See below for the final score.) I have been impressed with Itron’s commitment to the standards process, as the company is deeply involved in the ZigBee, the ANSI, the IEEE, the IEC, OpenAMI, OpenHAN and other standards bodies. Because of its support for open standards, Itron can easily add new applications into their OpenWay® system, making it cost effective and "future proof”.

 

In particular, OpenWay® leverages standards at every step in their solution. The OpenWay CENTRON meter contains both a home area network and local area network communications device built to open standards. OpenWay® uses an adaptive-tree/mesh network RF technology for local area communications and any Internet standards-based network for the wide-area communications.  This combination provides a highly scalable and robust network infrastructure. In particular, the Itron design is that the “LAN to Cell Relay to WAN” portion of the system be vendor-agnostic, so that the full functionality of the OpenWay meter can be leveraged across any architecture. With this technology and interface-driven approach, Itron is providing a platform for a utility to deploy a true multi-vendor AMI solution.

 

To be sure, competitors such as Cellnet+Hunt and Elster have competing products in the field. Yet the SGN Smart Grid Scorecard shows that Itron is more capable of providing a seamless experience from inside the home to the utility back office in a manner yet unmatched, a capability needed to truly implement a robust, intelligent and efficient electric grid.

 

Where Itron and others still fall short

Along with its competitors, Itron will need to improve on the legacy of “meets the standard” but “fails interoperability” as perceived by the utilities with respect to ANSI standard metering devices. This includes up-front design of an interoperable interface, but also much work to define tests for and demonstrate compatibility with those interfaces. To this end, Itron is participating in groups addressing exactly that need such as OpenAMI and ANSI C12 SC17 WG3. Interoperability tests will need to be defined both for technologies installed “under the glass” of the meters, as well as the technologies involved in the local and wide area networks.

 

A second issue is the need to standardize the physical, electrical and information exchange interfaces between the communications provider and the meter. A good step forward is adoption of a standard such as ANSI C12.22, which defines this type of interface. Without that, each communication vendor develops a unique interface card for each meter in close cooperation with the meter vendor. This one-at-a-time, custom approach represents a high barrier of entry for new communications vendors.  It also precludes truly competitive offerings, since all meter vendors cannot possibly work with all communications vendors simultaneously. This can result in buyer’s remorse as one’s favorite metering technology may not be available with one’s favorite (or required) communications solution in a timely manner. This can also carry over into decisions on other systems such as meter data management applications.

OpenWay® Smart Grid Scorecard: 88 out of 100

Metric	Score (10 is best)	Comments
Impact	9	From the home to the meter to the utility enterprise application software, a wide range of Smart Grid applications can be supported.
Openness	10	Itron is committed to releasing code in an open-source forum.
Standardization	10	Itron uses ANSI standards-based technology, XML/SOAP enterprise interfaces, and is committed to further standardization.
Security	8	Itron is committed to providing next generation security techniques through open standards.  Current implementation uses extremely robust Elliptic Curve-based cryptography for communications and registration.  Lack of a secure boot loader lowered this score by one.
Manageability	8	IP-based technology allows the use of readily available network management tools.
Upgradeability	8	All firmware is remotely upgradeable over the network in a short time frame.
Scalability	7	Scalability is designed in but remains to be proven in the field.
Extensibility	10	The modular nature of mesh networking and commitment to standards inherently provides extensibility.
Self-Healing	10	Mesh networks are inherently self-healing and Itron employs additional techniques to minimize network recovery time from outages.
Interactivity	8	Based on Collection Engine enterprise application and web interface functionality
Total	88	A worthwhile end-to-end solution with little downside

OpenWay® claims to create an extensible network infrastructure suitable for deploying a wide range of Smart Grid applications, and to do so independent of underlying technology details. Our Scorecard generally confirms this claim. Given these results, OpenWay® could be a first home-to-back-office integrated solution.

 

Erich W. Gunther is Chairman of EnerNex Corporation. He chairs the UtilityAMI / OpenHAN standards group and serves on the GridWise Architecture Council.

 

   Email Erich W. Gunther

   Smart Grid Scorecard (PDF)

   EPRI IntelliGrid Architecture Web site

   GridWise Architecture Council website

   Itron's website

   CellNet + Hunt website

   Elster website 

   Summary Table of SGN Tech Take Product Reviews