D2-01_08D2-01_08

Approaches to Smart Grid Communications Approaches to Smart Grid Communications

Networks in Japanese Electric Power CompaniesNetworks in Japanese Electric Power Companies

Naomasa 　 Takahashi

Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc.

Japan

Naomasa_Takahashi@kyuden.co.jp

Yoshifumi

Tada 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　　　　　　　　　　 Juniper Networks, K.K.

Japan

　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　  

CIGRE SC D2 ColloquiumCIGRE SC D2 ColloquiumNovember 2013November 2013

Mysore - KARNATAKA – INDIAMysore - KARNATAKA – INDIA

Kenichi Takahashi

Hokuriku Electric Power Co.

Japan

Kazutaka Shimoosako

Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd.

Japan

 

p2Background and Purpose

Undertakings aimed at achieving the early introduction of smart meters

=> Realization of functions such as automatic meter reading and demand response

Combination of multiple field area network communications systems depending on the area

- From the standpoint of elements such as area characteristics, the economic aspect and construction speed 　

Examples of the undertakings by Japanese electric power companies - Verification testing using the multihop wireless system - Example of introduction of smart meters using the power line

communication system

p3Multihop Wireless System

Item Specification

Testing Details

Verification of the success rates

・ Remote Meter Reading・ Remote Control

Test Period December 2011 to March 2013

Test Area 780m x 380m

Geographical Features

Urban neighborhoods (Mixture of detached houses and apartment buildings)

Number of installed meters

500

Verification Testing Overview

Pole-mounted Base StationOffice

Control Terminal

VerificationServer

Communi-cationsNetwork

Fiber-opticLine

New Meter

Verification Testing System Configuration

Communi-cation Unit

Overview (Hokuriku Electric Power Company) Verification testing using 900 MHz-band specified low power radio Verification items are…

- Stability of the automatic meter reading system- Effects on data transmission of obstacles

such as accumulations of snow typical in the Hokuriku area

p4Multihop Wireless System

Results High success rates were verified during the test period.

Remote meter reading: 99.926% 　　 Remote control: 98.212%

Practically acceptable levels of performance by recovery processing such as re-acquisition of data in the event of failures

No impact on the success rates caused by weather phenomena such as snowfall or lightning

Success Rates of Remote Meter Reading and Remote Control

Evaluation Items Test Results

Remote

Meter

Reading

Total number of remote meter readings

（ Total number of missing readings ）6.06 million

（ 4,474 ）

Success rate 99.926%

Remote

Control

Total number of remote controls

（ Total number of failures ）100 thousand

（ 1,786 ）

Success rate 98.212%

p5Power Line Communication System

Example of Introduction (Kyushu Electric Power Company)

Trial introduction of smart meters in 2010. - More than 40,000 households (in apartment buildings in urban areas).

　 *This system is applied in locations that radio waves cannot reach, such as pipe shafts in which smart meters are installed in large-scale apartment buildings.

Example of Remote Meter Reading System Configuration

Office

Communications Network

Automatic Meter Reading Server

Apartment Building, etc.

PLC Repeater

Power Line

Smart Meters

Fiber-optic Line

p6Power Line Communication System

Evaluation Increases in the number of smart meters deployed have presented

the risk of degraded network quality.

[ Problems ]• Limits on the number of units imposed by the Ethernet standard• Broadcast frame• Expansion of the range of effects of failures

Layer 2 network => Layer 3 network (the PPPoE method) in 2012 => The above problems were resolved.=> Stable network operation ( “closed” network with “stability and “expandability.” ) 　

Layer 3 Network using the PPPoE Method

Communications Network

BAS

RouterOptical Network

Unit

PLCRepeater

Pole-mounted BOX

Smart MeterOptical Network

Unit

Automatic Meter

Reading Server

Layer 3 (IP) Network Section PLC Section

*PPPoE: Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet

*BAS: Broadband Access ServerPPPoE Section

p7

Proposal of Operation and Management Method for Field Area Networks

Concerns regarding Management of Wireless Base Stations Increasing complexity of operation and management (As the deployment of smart meters expands, the number of wireless

base stations installed will grow.) [ Items that need to be optimized ]

Asset and configuration managementAuthenticationHealth check

System Configurations

A

SM SM

A

SM

SM

SM

Operator

AuthenticationServer,

(AD, LDAP, etc.)

Authentication

WirelessController

A

SM SM

A

SM

SM

SM

Operator

Operation, Management &Authentication

Operation&

Management

AuthenticationServer,

(AD, LDAP, etc.)

Authentication

Smart Meter

Wireless Access Point

Operation&

Management

SM

A

System Configuration without Wireless Controller

System Configuration with Wireless Controller

=> “Wireless controller ”

p8

Proposal of Operation and Management Method for Field Area Networks

Beneficial Effects of Introduction Asset and Configuration Management

No need to change to individual devices separately- Functions that enable batch updating of software of wireless slave

devices and batch changing of their configurations

=> Major reductions in work time

AuthenticationBatch inquiries made to the authentication server, and centralized management of authentication statuses and unauthorized accesses

=> Elimination of complexity in operation and management

Health CheckCentralized management of the wireless communication quality and soundness of devices, and constant monitoring that enables immediate detection of abnormalities

=> Improvements in overall wireless system quality

p9Conclusion

This presentation has introduced undertakings relating to field area networks as approaches to smart grid communications networks in Japan.

[Multihop Wireless System]Verification testing using the automatic meter reading system was conducted and the results demonstrated that performance was of practically acceptable level.

[Power Line Communication System]Smart meters using this system have already been deployed in more than 40,000 households. Measures enable stable and expandable network construction and operation.

A wireless controller that enables efficient operation of the multihop wireless system has been proposed.

p10

Thank you !

Next:Answers to the Special Report Questions

p11Special Report Q1.33

Q1.33How　does　the　test　results　can　be　scaled　down　as　a　reference　to　the　other　pilots?Are　there　any　efforts　on　standardizing　such　cases?

- This verification testing was performed under severe winter conditions with heavy snow, for example.

Therefore, the test period can be reduced to a year (one cycle) or less in areas where climate changes are minor.

- In addition, the number of meters can be reduced according to the purpose of the verification testing.

- The main purpose of the verification testing of the multihop system was to carry out assessment of stability on a scale of about 500 meters.

- Because this testing was performed under environmental conditions typical in the Hokuriku area, it will be necessary to acquire a great deal of knowledge and carry out verification from diverse perspectives in order to achieve standardization.

p12Special Report Q1.34

Q1.34Please　explain　the　factors　considered　for　defining　the　success　rate　of　implementing　both　multihop　wireless　and　PLC　systems?　

<Definition of the success rates>- Remote meter reading: Rate at which the automatic meter reading

system can successfully collect meter readings transmitted by each meter every 30 minutes

- Remote Control: Rate at which the automatic meter reading system can successfully receive response data from meters when it sends data requests to the meters

<Example of target performance values>- Success rates for remote meter reading: 90 percent or more within 30

minutes and 99.95 percent or more within 48 hours- Failure rates for remote control : One percent or less probability of two

consecutive failures

p13

Thank you again !

Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc.

Naomasa_Takahashi@kyuden.co.jp

Juniper Networks, K.K.

ytada@juniper.net