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Coordinating Energy Flow with Information Flow: Interoperability Enables the Smart Grid

Coordinating Energy Flow with Information Flow: Interoperability Enables the Smart Grid . Erich W. Gunther erich@enernex.com DOE GridWise Architecture Council NARUC Summer Meeting, 7/18/07. What do we want the grid to do?. The grid involves and supports three kinds of flows: electricity

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Coordinating Energy Flow with Information Flow: Interoperability Enables the Smart Grid

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  1. Coordinating Energy Flow with Information Flow: Interoperability Enables the Smart Grid Erich W. Gunther erich@enernex.com DOE GridWise Architecture Council NARUC Summer Meeting, 7/18/07

  2. What do we want the grid to do? The grid involves and supports three kinds of flows: • electricity • money • information We want it to: • have high throughput • facilitate competitive markets • integrate demand and supply-side resources • be reliable and secure • be affordable and efficient • support diversity of technologies and fuel sources with low environmental impact

  3. The GWAC vision • Information technology is the nervous system of the grid • Create a collaborative society of devices and systems that function as an interactive, transaction-based system • Grid elements should be compatible, cooperative, and upgradable (future-proof), and share complementary information, communications and controls • Such a grid will be more resource-efficient, resilient, secure, reliable, and high-throughput • Common standards, linking all these processes and technologies into an integrated, interoperable whole, are the necessary foundation for grid modernization.

  4. What is interoperability? The ability of two or more networks, systems, devices, applications or components to exchange information and to use that information effectively for action -- with little or no human intervention. • Interoperability requires interconnectivity and interaction agreement between hardware and software to enable effective communications, coordination and control. • Interoperability is achieved when users’ expectations to exchange and use information among various devices and software applications from multiple vendors or service providers are met or exceeded.

  5. Interoperability and grid reliability If we create a network of intelligent, inter-connected, communicating power plants, T&D equipment and customers linked by high-speed, ubiquitous information flows, we’ll get better reliability and higher throughput at lower long-term costs. • Better situational awareness • Easier grid operation with better communications, better information and more points of control • More resources available to manage the grid in real-time • More resources -- including demand-side -- to leverage supply and T&D assets

  6. Demand response and interop DR is essential for better grid asset use, and requires more interoperability (esp. meters and measurement) and information to succeed. • Manage loads better, smarter • Controllably thru contracts (air conditioning direct control, DG dispatch, dialing back commercial loads, emergency DR) • Implicitly (through customer response to pricing and rates) • Customer choices to sell into markets • Moderate prices and limit supplier market power • Precise T&D support and management

  7. The impact of interoperability Look at telecom, internet, banking and finance-- competition and value come from innovative content, functionality, quality, and easy interfaces • New value for users from innovative applications, built on a platform of interoperability and interconnectivity • Technology convergence enabled by planned interoperability and open (non-proprietary) standards • Continued investment in infrastructure and technology evolution through upgrades and faster depreciation • Customer access to information about options and costs and ability to act on those choices What new apps could evolve on the grid if we let them?

  8. Lower costs long-term Proven benefits of interoperable, standards-based systems: • Easier integration of hardware and software (new and legacy) • Encourage and expedite innovation for new capabilities, value creation and product development upon a trusted technology base • Easy, clean data exchange and use • Lower costs for system and component upgrades and expansion • Less vendor lock-in, more competition between vendors • Better security (protection) and privacy management

  9. What do we need for a smart grid? A commitment to: • Intelligent, interconnected devices, from customer energy uses and meters to relays, transformers, distributed generation and power plants • High-speed, high quality computation and analysis • High-speed, high quality grid condition information • Interoperability w/ IT standards and best practices • Continued investment in enabling technologies and infrastructure

  10. Who Respected experts Volunteers Cross-sector organizations including utilities, B2B, utility software, demand response, DG, metering, building automation, and more across the entire electricity chain What Principles of interaction Interoperability Developing, communicating, encouraging, guiding movement toward interoperability across the electricity food chain, from customer uses across the grid to power plants About the GridWise Architecture Council Building a framework for interoperability across the electric system

  11. Some key GridWise principles • Identification -- unambiguous reference to system entities • Information models -- shared meaning and relationships of entities/concepts • Time and date -- synchronization, sequence, time tagging… • Discovery and configurability between components • Security and privacy • E-transaction life-cycle -- scheduling, operations, settlement, etc. • Focus on boundary interactions and respect actors’ privacy, independence, options

  12. More key GWAC principles • Support changes w/o system disruption • Go to system-safe corners in event of communication or systems failure • Adopt broadly applicable (cross-sector) best practices • Support heterogeneous IT standards and technologies • Consider needs of the full range of stakeholders • Be practical • Support verification and audits • Communicate concepts across stakeholder base

  13. Liaisons and Collaboration Developing relationships with stakeholders • Establishing liaisons with related technical groups and standards organizations • GridWise Alliance, EPRI IntelliGrid, Utility Communication Architecture Users Group – UtilityAMI, OpenAMI, OpenHAN, NRECA MultiSpeak, OPC Foundation, IEEE, IEC, ISO, BACnet, oBIX, OASIS • Developing relationships with regulators and policy makers • Engaging electricity providers and vendor community • SCE, Consumers Energy, BPA, ConEd, PJM, Sempra, ISO-NE, CAISO … • ABB, AREVA, GE, Tridium, Invensys, IBM, Emerson …

  14. Who’s on first? There is compatibility between the players in Smart Grid space: • GWAC -- working at 30,000’ to develop principles and framework spanning entire electricity food chain • EPRI IntelliGrid -- working at 5,000-15,000’ to develop utility-centric, technical project frameworks and implementations • Modern Grid Initiative -- taxpayer-funded popularization and demonstrations (esp. in WV) • GridWise Alliance -- coalition of utilities, technology vendors, and others • DOE and industry participation in all of these efforts

  15. What regulators can do to support interoperability • Demand high-capability, frequent measurement smart meters for all customers, and give them access to information about electricity costs over time and place • Demand that new utility equipment be intelligent and interconnected • Understand and apply interop and intercon expectations to utility investments • Demand that utilities use interop agreements and standard (non-proprietary) interfaces in projects that connect system components or organizations • Don’t be penny-wise and pound-foolish about capital investments, and be less risk-averse about new technologies

  16. Guidelines • Regulators and legislators should not be specifying technology to implement policy (the “How”) • Generally not technically qualified to do so • Limits opportunities for innovation • Technology will change before the ink is dry • Specify functionality implemented using core, accepted principles of interoperability instead

  17. Tools for Regulators and Utilities • GWAC Publication and PUF Article • Decision Makers Interoperability Checklist • California Energy Commission Report • Checklist for evaluating AMI and DR projects • EPRI IntelliGrid Application Guide

  18. The reality and choices ahead • FACT: In the next 20 years, the U.S. will spend $450B on electric infrastructure, just to meet load growth • CHOICE: Perpetuate a 20th century solution OR invest in a 21st century system, saving ratepayers $80B while improving reliability and flexibility • The choice is easy because bits and intelligence -- planned and managed properly -- cost less and do more than iron and wire alone(not negating the reality that we have some inescapable “iron” needs)

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