The promise and pitfalls of electrical ulility smart grids
Posted on | May 15, 2010 | add a comment
According to a March 2010 Harris Poll, 68% of Americans don’t know what a smart grid is and 63% have not heard of a “smart meter.†Grid Net CSO Andres Carvallo explains some of the basics in this LastWatchdog interview.
LW: When did smart grids first come into use?
Carvallo: In the U.S., smart grids first came into use about seven years ago. In 2003, Austin, Texas became the first city to fully deploy a smart grid. I served as the chief architect as the CIO of Austin Energy during that time.
(A call for more pervasive smart grid security. Click here.)
LW: What did utilities do before smart grids?
Carvallo: The pre-smart grid era represents most of the last 100+ years the existence of the utility industry. In its simplest form, utility-provided energy usage is read by mechanical, unconnected, non-IP-enabled, electricity meters that measure the amount of electricity consumed by residences, or businesses. The tectonic shift – and a huge driver for security concerns – is the growth in a networked smart grid where meters and devices evolve from their mechanical-only form and become part of a networked infrastructure.
LW: So smart grid refers to a computer control system deployed and operated by an individual utility, correct?
Carvallo: You can think of it that way. We like to define the simple utility to meter control system as Smart Grid 1.0. At Grid Net, we define “smart grid 2.0†or the next generation of the smart grid as the connected broadband and real-time, all-IP network of “smart†devices that go beyond just metering (including) solar panels, energy storage, smart devices/appliances, and electric vehicles. The only way to achieve this connectivity securely and cost-effectively and to provide end-to-end integration is via IP. This connected universe will enable utilities and their customers to optimize energy resources and consumption.
LW: Today, roughly what percentage of utilities in the U.S have smart grids? What about globally?
Carvallo: A handful of utilities are deploying smart grid pilots in cities, but that’s on a limited base of meter deployments. Many other utilities are in the process of selecting and rolling out test pilots. When compared to the existing infrastructure of the electrical grid, it’s a small percentage, but growing quickly.
LW: What are the main types of architectures?
There are a variety of architectures, including broadband over powerline (BPL), and multiple proprietary ‘flavors’ of RF mesh. Until very recently, utilities assumed that connecting meters required the barest minimum of technology, in order to keep costs low, and with this “good enough†strategy, the BPL/mesh alternatives offered just that – a good enough way to connect meters. Now, however, utilities are beginning to see the importance of connecting smart meters into the entire smart grid.
LW: So is Grid Net’s main business designing and implementing smart grids for utilities that never had one?
Carvallo: Grid Net’s main business is to develop real-time, all-IP Smart Grid software platforms for utilities and Smart Home software. Grid Net does not sell directly to utilities, but relies on channel partners.
LW: Can you give us a sense of what the central debate of the moment is regarding smart grids?
Carvallo: The debate over the smart grid is fought over a few fronts – security is one of them. The first, and highly publicized, is the conflict between consumers and utilities over recently installed meters. This primarily revolves around reactions to meter readings and billing. There are also concerns about privacy as it relates to data – smart meters will be able to tell utilities intimate details about when and where people are using electricity – and that has sparked some debate and a call for standards. The security debate revolves around the rapid deployment of smart grid pilots and the threats that these grids face when deploying devices that are physically vulnerable and are known to propagate worms and viruses when hacked.
LW: Why would anyone want to bother with attacking a smart grid?
Carvallo: Smart grid security has become a matter of homeland security. Hackers could gain control of meters en masse and shut them down or disrupt load balances to trigger a blackout. It’s important to also remember that customer revenue is connected to the meter, and systems that don’t use encryption or authentication processes can’t prevent malicious software from penetrating.
LW: Beyond theoretical attacks on weakly- architected smart grids, have there been any actual attacks by bad guys?
Carvallo: There haven’t been any substantial reports of widespread attacks, in part because there haven’t yet been any substantive network deployments.