Smart grid needs standards to be set now, says manufacturer

It appears that there is currently no absolute agreement on what smart grids in various parts of the world should include in order to be considered ‘smart’ and drawing a distinction between what is and isn't a ‘smart grid’ is not realistic at this stage.

Powerline chipset manufacturer, DS2, suggests that it would be useful for our industry to firstly understand the intention of the grid and then what must be done to achieve the smart grid of the future. Currently, there are issues involved in its development that need resolving before this technology can become robust enough to support expected demand.

Jorge Blasco, CEO at DS2, explains: “One of the main problems facing vendors and industry organisations today is what technologies and standards should be used as the foundation for the future smart grid and, as you might expect, everyone is pushing their own - often incompatible - view. For example, each communication technology often comes with its own management protocol, so if a utility uses three or four different communications technologies for its smart grid, it may end up with three or four different management systems that don’t talk to each other. If the smart grid is to become a reality, there needs to be a single interoperability standard and, in DS2’s view, it should become an IP-based smart grid.”

According to Blasco, the reason for this view is that millions of people today connect to the internet using a large variety of PHY/MAC technologies, including ethernet, Wi-Fi, powerline, DSL, cable modem and 3G. One of the solutions to the problem of managing systems based on incompatible technologies is an IP-based standard. It has been tried and tested and has proved that it can provide a common communication protocol for disparate PHY/MAC technologies.

“An IP-based smart grid would enable every smart Meter, smart appliance and distributed sensor to have its own IP address, which will ultimately enable remote management,” adds Blasco. “By using this type of management system, utilities can deploy completely different PHY/MAC communication systems in different parts of their grid and still control them with a unified management system.”