Barbara Vergetis Lundin
Wanda Reder
James McClanahanSmart Grid Standards Wars: The Battle over Communications is Heating Up
By: Guest Editorial
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By Craig Rodine
In the first half of 2010 there has been a significant level of activity, and some striking developments, in communications standards that are widely seen as applicable to the Smart Grid.
Some of this activity has been orchestrated and driven under the Priority Action Plans (PAPs) animated by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Specifically, PAP15 concerning Power Line Carrier (PLC) technologies, has been successful in validating co-existence requirements for both broadband and narrowband PLC technologies, getting Standards Defining Organizations (SDOs) and vendors to agree on many details of co-existence standard specifications and accelerating timelines for their implementation. This bodes well for utilities and appliance vendors, who want any PLC technology they choose to deploy, for example to support Demand Response applications, to work reliably over premise wiring, even if other variants of PLC are being used there as well.
In the wireless arena, PAP02 has driven a modeling effort that used data developed by the Utility Communications Alliance (UCA) OpenSG Communications Working Group with a NIST- and IEEE-developed analytic model of IEEE 802.11. This effort has demonstrated the adequacy of that wireless technology for Smart Grid use cases in Advanced Metering, Distributed Energy, and Distribution Operations. While not (yet) offering an executable model, the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Standards, the North American partner in the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPPâ„¢), submitted an analysis presenting comparable results.
While NIST is providing vision and leadership, it’s the participation of SDO and vendor communities that is making things happen.
Sibling Rivalry?
As an example of industry initiative, in its May, 2010 Interim Meeting the IEEE 802.11 Working Group approved a new Task Group to extend operation to frequencies below 1 GHz, including the 915 MHz ISM band. In the context of the Group’s parallel Smart Grid Study Group, this raised some eyebrows, given the two-year-plus effort of a sister group, IEEE 802.15.4g (Wireless Smart Utility Network), to standardize links between i.e. Smart Meters and AMI collectors, using that same RF band. The new 802.11 entrant brings formidable strengths from its experience as the infrastructure for Wi-Fi®: sophisticated PHY technologies and MAC capabilities, more than two decades of product development and system deployment, a rich software ecosystem, an enterprise-class network management framework, and more.
(Note: In the 26-MHz wide 915 MHz ISM band, one would probably use the narrower bandwidth options of 802.11, for example a 5 MHz channel providing rates of 1.5-13.5 Mbps.)
Onlookers and participants are wondering ...
- Will this challenge the incumbent AMI players? Or will 802.15.4g meet all the requirements? If not, could AMI vendors readily enhance or transition their solutions to use 802.11?
- Will there be pressure on these sibling wireless standards to co-exist, Ã la the PLC schemes described above? How long would such an effort take? Given the very different technologies involved, would it be a challenge to develop interoperable multimode radios at acceptable cost points?
- Will an 802.11-based Smart Grid fare any better than Municipal Wi-Fi did in the past? Clearly the business models are different; but can the technology scale to the size, density, and manageability needed to support utility Field Area Network requirements?
- Will traditional 802.11 star and point-to-point topologies work at "utility scale?” Or will the Smart Grid give 802.11s, the Working Group’s meshing effort, added urgency?
Another interesting development worth watching: Various 802 groups, such as 802.11af and 802.22, are exploring opportunistic use of TV whitespace. Could this be another enticing option for Smart Grid wireless field area communications?
Craig Rodine is Technical Executive for Smart Grid Communications Technologies at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).
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