Competing in the information era.A smarter approach to smart grids.

Smart grids are coming of age. The technology, the processes and the tools are being put in place to make them truly smart and deliver a wealth of value to utilities, to consumers, and to third parties who want to take advantage of smart grid infrastructures. This guide outlines the potential—and the challenges—and demonstrates why Oracle is the smart grid choice for OEMs and systems integrators seeking a true end-to-end solution for utilities.

Contents

Introduction 5

Part I: The Evolution of Smart Grids 7—The Infrastructure Era 8

—The Device Era 9

—The Information Era 10

—The Advantages of the Information Era 14

Part II: The Cornerstones of Smart Grids 17— Open and Agile IT Infrastructures 17

— Real-Time Information 20

— The Capacity for Change 22

— A Focus on Security 23

Part III: The Essentials of Smart Grids 25— Gathering Data 25

— Analysing Data 26

— Turning Raw Data into Real Information 28

Part IV: The Reality of Smart Grids 33— Open-Platform Wireless Communications 33

— Dedicated SIM Platforms 33

— Smart Concentrators 34

— Smart Home Gateways 35

— Non-Utility Peripherals 35

Part V: The Fastest Route to Smart Grids 36

3

Foreword

AS ThE InVEnTIOn OF ThE PC GAVE nEw TOOlS And ThE InTERnET GAVE uS nEw wAyS TO COMMunICATE, ThE SMART GRId PROMISE nEw wAyS TO COnTROl COnSuMPTIOn.

Worldwide the adoption of smart grid is not about the benefits to the utilities but the control of consumption. Regardless of the any other environmental or economic discussion the reality is the market for energy is far more competitive that it was just six years ago.

In fact, according to BP’s Statistical Review of world Energy 2011*, most

countries have tripled their importing of

oil and gas from over 15 suppliers, while

the suppliers themselves have doubled

their international customers. The result

is a more dynamic economic model

for energy that has a direct impact on

economies worldwide.

To avoid being rip-sawed by competitive

markets, countries are mandating that

utilities manage demand response with

alternative strategies and distribute

their sources with renewable energy.

For example in China, which is now

consuming more power than the

United States for more than triple the

population, their goal is to deploy 280

million smart meters by 2016 (In-Stat

report**) and to expand their use of

renewables which has already reached

1% with solar and wind technologies.

In the United States, the promise of

the electronic vehicle is creating an

opportunity for the consumer to be a

repository for energy as well as a partner

in avoiding overloads.

To enable distributed generation on

smart grids, the Depart of Energy has

put 1.6 billion dollars into energy storage

and regional demonstration projects.

It’s logical to understand that

developing a smart grid requires

information technology, but for the

utilities it requires a change in mindset

from supplier to enabler. Information

technology changes the dynamics

of supply demand and makes it so

that demand response solutions are

collaborative and two-way. As the

invention of the PC gave new tools

and the Internet gave us new ways to

communicate, the smart grid promises

new ways to control consumption.

The goal is no longer to be utility

supplier, but to enable third party

solutions to use the smart grid to make

decisions. Where will these third parties

come? From the device standpoint, the

answer is from the M2M community

where temperature and energy sensors

dominate the deployments already.

From the solutions perspective, the

answer is clearly Java which dominates

with over 9 million developers in the

worldwide market today***. Java

represents not only a secure approach

but is well understood, allowing

application developers to make “an app

for that” for everything from managing

the heat to correlating use to user-

specific goals.

This briefing provides the insight to help

you understand the power of enabling

control to the consumer. Whether you

are a utility, M2M OEM, or an integrator,

putting your energies into delivering

solutions for the smart grid pays off.

You just have to be smart about it.

* http://www.bp.com/

multipleimagesection.do?categoryId=6

840&contentId=7021557

** http://www.instat.com/press.

asp?ID=3257&sku=IN1104731WH

*** http://jaxenter.com/how-many-java-

developers-are-there-10462.html

Carl Ford,VP of CrossFire Media.

Introduction

Smart grids are no longer about simply delivering power. They’re also about delivering information to utilities that can help them control costs, improve reliability, and take advantage of additional applications and processes.

For OEMs and systems integrators,

they represent a new opportunity to

develop flexible, future-proof, and secure

applications and products that will give

each of the three key audiences involved

major advantages.

The need to conserve resources and

lower carbon emissions is prompting

governments, for example, to

encourage a change in energy usage

and distribution patterns. In the UK,

the Government has committed to

the rollout of smart meters for both

electricity and gas in all homes and most

small businesses by the end of 2020.

£8.6 billion will be spent replacing some

47 million meters, which are expected to

deliver total benefits of £14.6 billion over

the next 20 years.*

Utilities, meanwhile, want to lower

operating costs and improve reliability.

They are looking to smart grids to

provide a wealth of invaluable usage

and event data—and ease the load on

networks by delivering information to

consumers that makes them proactive

in adjusting usage.

And end users? Increasingly, they

are looking for ways to control their

own energy usage to save costs, as

well as access additional information

and services.

To realise all of these advantages,

smart grids require an agile yet secure

IT infrastructure that can collect,

analyse, and deliver information where

it is needed, whenever it is needed,

whatever it is needed for.

An infrastructure, furthermore, that can

provide a range of add-on services to

make the smart grid truly smart, with

robust technology that can be further

developed and adapted over time to

accommodate future demands.

But what are the implications of thinking

intelligently about utility infrastructures

and the devices that connect to them?

This guide looks at the evolution of

smart grids, addresses the issues that

utilities face in their quest to compete

in an era when information itself is

becoming a valuable utility, and shows

the opportunities opening up for truly

secure embedded JAVA applications

and solutions in the Complex Event

Processing (CEP) arena.

54 * ‘Smarter Grids: The Opportunity’, The UK Department of Energy & Climate Change, December 2009

The answer across every utility has been

to develop smart grids: infrastructures

that help in the supply, metering, and

billing of electricity by automating meter

reading and delivering information

that can be used to improve business

decision-making.

The issue, however, is that as

metering technologies, IT systems,

legislation, and user demands

have advanced and changed, the

expectations of what smart grids can

deliver has also changed.

What was smart just five years ago

has become a standard part of utility

infrastructures. Smart devices that were

regarded as cutting edge are now seen

as old-fashioned. The need to conserve

energy is changing the way electricity is

expected to be delivered and controlled.

Infrastructures that once had defined

end-points are now extending into

devices in the home. Additional uses

are being expected from—sometimes,

demanded from—smart grids, with

those expectations and demands

varying market by market.

The new demands are, for the first time,

giving utilities the chance to change the

way they operate, with detailed usage

information, real-time event

data, distributed generation, smart

switches and relays all bringing their

own challenges.

So the first point to address in any

discussion about smart grids is how

they have evolved—and where they

are now heading.

Part I: The Evolution of Smart Grids

Utilities across the globe all face the same challenge: how to support, maintain, and enhance infrastructures that, by their very nature, are large, expensive and, once installed, relatively inflexible. Added to this are environmental, regulatory, and consumer pressures that vary country by country, region by region, together with the need to contain costs, improve reliability, and maintain security.

76

In the past, the drivers behind utility

networks were straightforward. Electricity

simply had to be delivered to homes

and businesses. Cost and ease of

implementation were the biggest factors,

and the networks had to be scalable in

order to accommodate new users with

relative ease.

The advantages are similarly

straightforward, particularly when the

average time in the utility industry for

components to be replaced is 30-40

years. Such networks are simple to

maintain, with low tech components used

throughout that can be easily replaced

should they wear out.

The disadvantages of an

infrastructure-based approach are

that rather than being designed to

deliver, process and analyse data,

such networks simply collect data at

thousands of fixed end-points. That data

has to be read and collated manually and

is fixed and unchangeable. It is difficult to

add or enhance the data that is gathered,

or the way that it is gathered.

Modern economies have now entered

the device era, in which the focus is on

smart meters, which communicate the

data they gather back to the utility, either

wirelessly or using power lines, and can

deliver processed information to users.

The drivers that have prompted the

device era are increasing regulatory

pressures like the EU 20-20-20 target,

potential supply issues prompting utilities

to track consumption far more accurately,

and utility companies trying to save on

the cost of collecting meter data.

The advantages are many, such as

utilities being able to bill more accurately,

near real-time data contributing to more

precise forecasting of future usage,

and live usage data encouraging users

to economise

The disadvantages are that the

easier collection of data is still seen by

utilities as the main driver, rather than the

analysis of it, and utilities remain largely

unaware of the wider potential of the

two-way connection into homes and

businesses and the consequent need

for open standards.

The device EraThe Infrastructure Era

98

IT IS ESTIMATEd ThAT A dIRECT REduCTIOn OF 6% In ElECTRICITy COnSuMPTIOn, wITh A RAnGE OF 1% TO 10%, CAn bE AChIEVEd In ThE RESIdEnTIAl And SMAll/MEdIuM COMMERCIAl buIldInG SECTORS ThROuGh IMPlEMEnTATIOn OF SMART GRId TEChnOlOGIES.

‘The Smart Grid: An Estimation of the Energy and CO2 Benefits’, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, January 2010

The focus is on the infrastructure with each element siloed and separate from the others.

The focus is on devices with smart meters installed in homes for remote meter reading.

Generation GenerationTransmission Transmissiondistribution distributionConsumers Consumers

Utility companies, OEM partners,

and integrators are now talking about

smart grids in which information and

connectivity become a utility, multiple

levels of functionality exist, and further

functionality can be added as the

need arises.

The crucial point is that, just as utility

infrastructures deliver electricity

wherever it is required, so smart grids

should deliver information wherever

it is needed, in whatever form it is

needed, whenever it is needed. And,

as importantly, the kind of information

they gather should change as the

environment changes.

Smart meters, for example, are

becoming true smart meters that

can send and receive actionable

information to and from a variety of

other devices equipped with machine-

to-machine (M2M) communication in

a secure environment.

In addition to the connectivity to the

smart meter, the move to distributed

processing at the substation will also

bring about actionable analysis, relying

on new applications that must be

developed—applications that are both

standards-based and secure.

Overall, smart grids in this

information era differ from smart

grids of the past in ten key ways:

1. The increased use of digital

information and controls technology

2. The optimisation of grid

operations and resources,

with full cyber security

3. The deployment and integration of

distributed resources and generation,

including renewable resources

4. The incorporation of demand

response, demand-side resources,

and energy efficient resources

The Information Era

5. The deployment of smart

technologies for metering,

communications concerning

grid operations and status, and

distribution automation

6. The integration of smart appliances

using embedded technologies

7. The deployment and integration

of advanced electricity storage

and peak-shaving technologies,

including plug-in electric and hybrid

electric vehicles, and thermal-

storage air conditioning

8. The provision to consumers of timely

information and control options

9. The development of standards for

communication and interoperability

of appliances and equipment

connected to the grid

10. The lowering of unreasonable or

unnecessary barriers to adoption.

AnAlySIS OF 350 SMART METERInG/dEMAnd RESPOnSE InITIATIVES In MORE ThAn 50 COunTRIES REPRESEnTEd 500 MIllIOn SMART METERS ThAT COuld bE dEPlOyEd wIThIn ThE nExT dECAdE.

Smart Metering, Market Dynamics Report, Q2 2011

1110

new sensors / distribution computing on transmission and distribution lines alert operations, fix problems, integrate large-scale renewables generation.

Smart Meters and home networks help customers use energy wisely, mitigate peak demand, integrate local renewables.

Generation Transmission distribution Consumers

basic utility Infrastructures Smart Grids

Users are uninformed and non-participative. Users are informed, involved, and active.

Dominated by central supply, with many obstacles to the connection of distributed resources.

Many distributed energy resources with plug-and-play convenience, and a focus on renewables.

Limited wholesale markets, not well integrated, with limited opportunities for users.

Mature, well-integrated wholesale markets, and growth of new markets for users.

Focus on supply with a subsequent slow response to quality issues.

Quality is a priority with a variety of quality/price options, and the rapid resolution of issues.

Little integration of operational data with asset management, resulting in business-process silos.

Greatly expanded data acquisition and analysis capability, reaching beyond traditional parameters.

A focus on protecting assets following faults. Automatic detection and response to problems, with a focus on prevention, minimising impact to users.

Vulnerable to malicious acts of terror and natural disasters. Resilient to attack and natural disasters with rapid restoration capabilities.

Uses traditional fuels and sources. Uses cleaner supply technologies and reduced CO2 emissions.

Limited information provided by single-use, proprietary devices. A wealth of information available from M2M devices that are re-programmable and re-purposable.

The drivers that have encouraged

interest in the new era of smart grids are:

� An increasing need to save electricity

whenever possible

� The emergence of M2M devices

in home appliances like washing

machines and air conditioning

systems that allow them to be turned

off by the utility provider at times of

peak demand, the utility gaining by

having control over demand in peak

periods, the user gaining from off-

peak tariffs

� Recognition that information can

become a tool to drive down costs,

provided it is accessible

and actionable

� The emergence of mobile phone and

PC apps that allow users to control

their energy use remotely

� The adoption of wind turbines and

other devices in the electricity arena

turning users into generators as well

as consumers.

The advantages of such smart grids

are that they can change and adapt as

required, providing to utilities masses

of usage data such as voltage, energy

supplied, and time of usage (TOU),

together with event data such as power

outages, tampering alerts, and service

diagnostics. This wealth of information

allows applications and uses to be added

and removed as required.

The disadvantages are that they are

more complicated to specify, configure,

implement, and maintain. The number of

potential M2M devices and applications

that could connect to smart grids, for

example, is extremely wide and diverse

and there is a danger of information

overload or blockage. There are also

increasing concerns about the security of

information held within smart grids.

Summary Table

uTIlITIES nEEd TO ChOOSE TEChnOlOGIES ThAT ARE InTEROPERAblE SO ThAT ThE lARGER GRId CAn bE buIlT.

‘Smart metering – a review of experiences and potential across multiple geographies’, Datamonitor, November 2009

1312

Summary bills

Electricity storage

Automated meter reading

home area networks

demand response

Smart appliances

distribution automation

distributed generation

Time of use pricing

The evolution of Smart Grids

10 years ago now Future: 10 years

MicroGrid balancingSmart meters

Advanced distribution

management systems

Advanced metering

infrastructure

Real-time pricing

Critical peak pricing

Electric vehicles

The Advantages of The Information Era

Consumers Consumers can monitor their energy usage, save

money by using high-demand appliances off-peak,

sell energy back to the utility, plug in third party

devices like health monitoring systems, and access a

range of additional information services in the future.

All through flexible and agile devices and applications

that can change as the market changes.

businessesBusinesses can track energy usage to identify

potential savings, switch additional services on

and off quickly and easily, and take advantage

of new services as soon as they are introduced,

with middleware managing the complex task of

collating information from a multitude of systems.

utilitiesUtilities can track usage in real time, even out peaks

in demand, identify network issues immediately, bill

customers accurately, and respond to changes in the

supply environment quickly and easily, with a flexible,

agile infrastructure that can adapt to new demands.

Systems IntegratorsSystems Integrators can plan for any requirement

in a new or existing infrastructure, introduce new

services quickly and easily, and repurpose M2M

devices as required, with open standards removing

compatibility problems and speeding the process.

OEMsOEMs can design smart

meters and other M2M

devices that are flexible,

re-purposeable, and

secure, and that can be

integrated into future M2M

devices, offering real long-

term value to utilities.

distribution network OperatorsDistribution Network Operators

can track real-time usage

permanently, allowing them

to adapt the infrastructure to

suit local demands, identify

potential weak spots and move

from reactive management to

proactive monitoring.

1514

Open and Agile IT Infrastructures

With traditional infrastructures, the life

expectancy of components is 30-40

years, during which what they can do

and the information they deliver does

not change.

Smart grids are different because

the applications they need to access,

collect, deliver, and return back to

both the user and the utility have to be

flexible, future-proof, and secure.

In order for smart grids to be truly

smart, therefore, the IT infrastructure

underpinning them needs to be open

and agile, providing a common platform

for the many emerging components,

technologies, and applications in

different areas.

Planned correctly, the infrastructure can

deliver a constant stream of data through

a variety of devices and applications.

The journey to the smart grid in the information era, while worthwhile for utilities, OEMs, and integrators, means that any smart grid deployment has to be based on four essential cornerstones, all of which are critical for success.

1716

Part II: The Cornerstones of Smart Grids

18

Key to the success of such an approach

are integrated, scalable, proven, and

standards-based technologies that

will contribute to the flexibility of the

infrastructure at every stage:

Integrated Communications With a fully integrated data

communications architecture, smart

grids can capture, distribute, process,

and analyse large amounts of real-time

data from sensing and measurement

devices. This acquisition and transfer of

data supports the grid’s ability to detect,

analyse, and respond autonomously to

adverse trends and conditions.

The data and information made available

using integrated communications

technologies additionally benefits other

processes and technologies, such

as asset utilisation and management,

work management, outage

management, and GIS-based systems.

Advanced Control Methods The communication infrastructure

supporting today’s emerging smart

grids consists of a wide spectrum of

technologies patched together. The

required information is transmitted

from the sensor to the control systems,

processed by the control systems,

and then transmitted to the controlling

devices. This is too limited to support

the high-speed requirements and

broad coverage needed by Advanced

Control Methods, and does not

provide the networked, open

architecture format necessary for the

continued enhancement and growth

of smart grids.

In true smart grids, Distribution

automation (DA) technologies can be

used to monitor and operate devices

installed throughout the distribution

system, thereby optimising station

loadings and reactive supply,

monitoring equipment health,

identifying outages, and providing

more rapid system restoration.

distributed Intelligent Agents Distributed Intelligent Agents are

adaptive, self-aware, self-healing, and

semi-autonomous control systems

that respond rapidly at the local level to

unburden centralised control systems

and human operators. Several of

these agents are often combined to

form a multi-agent system with peer-

to-peer communication.

40% OF CO2 EMISSIOnS COME FROM POwER GEnERATIOn. by 2020, EuROPE hAS COMMITTEd TO CuTTInG ThESE EMISSIOnS by 20%, PROduCInG 20% OF EnERGy FROM REnEwAblE SOuRCES, And InCREASInG EnERGy EFFICIEnCy by 20%.

In smart grids, these multi-agent

systems are capable of reaching goals

difficult to achieve by an individual

system and can be used for ultra-

fast load flow analysis; system

performance monitoring,

simulation and prediction;

condition-based maintenance;

outage management; and

asset optimisation.

decision Support In smart grids, complex and

extensive system information

needs to be rendered into

formats quickly understood by

system operators so that they

can understand the overall

status of the grid at a glance and

lend support to the self-healing

aspect of the grid.

New applications such as

advanced pattern recognition,

holographic video, geospatial

reporting, and dashboard

presentations can all improve

visualisation and thus increase

the human operator’s

understanding and speed

of comprehension.

If smart grids come to fruition, consumers will flock to:

62% In-hOME dISPlAyS FOR REAl-TIME ACCESS TO uSAGE And COST dATA

51% SMART APPlIAnCES

31% MObIlE dEVICE PORTAlS

18% dISTRIbuTEd EnERGy RESOuRCES

11% PluG-In hybRId ElECTRIC VEhIClES (PhEVS)

10% ElECTRICITy STORAGE

Oracle Survey of 150 North American C-level utility executives, 2010 —Executives asked to select the top two advances they believe will take off fastest.

19

Real-Time Information

The second and perhaps most important

issue for utility companies is the fact

that real-time information becomes a

utility. And, like a utility, the sheer scale of

information flowing to, through, and from

a smart grid will be vast. Estimates from

The Electric Power Research Institute

(EPRI) indicate a growth of 800% over

what utilities experience today.

In traditional infrastructures, for example,

meter readings are taken at defined

periods and customers are billed

based on those readings. With the

need for smart grids to deliver real-time

information, it is generally accepted

that usage and event data needs to be

acquired at 30-minute or even 15-minute

intervals, and then processed, stored,

and made available.

Even at the lower limit of 30 minutes,

48 separate items of usage data alone

need to be parsed, verified, validated,

and securely stored for every customer

every day. If a large utility has 10 million

customer accounts, this would equate

to 480 million pieces of data. Per day.

And this does not include additional

data channels that utilities now want to

collect such as event alerts and power

quality. On top of this, other data such

as network outage notifications, tariff

updates, and firmware updates also

need to be transferred to and from smart

meters. And that’s before other M2M

applications are even considered.

A pre-requirement of a truly smart grid

is therefore a resilient, scalable system

capable of communicating with and

processing all of the messages from a

large mixed smart meter estate within a

finite processing window.

That data must then be turned into

something that is actionable and

usable across the business from

forecasting to program development

to asset management. It is here that

the importance of platform integration

and open architecture really comes into

play. There are large financial benefits to

efficiently leveraging available enterprise

information with real-time smart grid

operational data through data sharing

between legacy systems.

There are also many advantages of using

embedded technologies which offer high

performance and functionality yet low

latency, and can be relied upon in the

long-term for ongoing support.

The challenge for OEMs and

systems integrators is to develop

solutions for utilities that offer:

� An open standards architecture

that optimises future flexibility and

freedom of choice

� M2M devices that similarly speak the

same language and can interact with

each other faster and more easily

� The ability to capture, store, analyse,

distribute, and manage the large

volumes of data involved in the

management of a smart grid

� Reliability, scalability, security,

flexibility, and manageability of

the IT systems

� High performance in real-time data

transactions, transaction speed, and

data volumes

� System resilience in terms of

automatic back-up and fail-over

procedures architected in to

the system

� Robust data management systems

that are able to categorise data in

terms of its latency, priority, currency,

accuracy, recoverability, and longevity.

utilities must support smart grids with the additional processing power needed to:

� Continually assess power delivery and available feeder capacity

� Analyse sensor data to mitigate feeder problems before they occur

� Prepare bills that reflect and explain to customers the complex pricing models that encourage them to shift optional electricity use to off-peak hours

� Manage rebates and incentive processes for customers purchasing and installing energy-efficient equipment

or feeding customer-owned distributed generation into the grid through net metering

� Size the network to optimise available capacity and limit line losses

� Provide near-real-time views of usage and costs that empower customers to make the best usage decisions for their situation.

In order to handle the massive increase in data, it is critical that application architecture uses building blocks that are open, flexible, adaptable, and scalable.

2120

A Focus on Security

The concern for many utilities when

considering smart grids is to contain

costs and improve reliability. A

major issue that always lurks in the

background, however, is the security of

the grid itself.

Every day, every utility has to defend

itself from countless cyber attacks,

intrusions, and hackers who want to

destabilise the distribution grid. With

new devices in smart grids providing

more data, utilities are being exposed

to more security challenges than ever

before. And this is only the beginning.

Future developments of smart grids

will see them extend into areas inside

homes and businesses, where the grids

become highways for other services.

These services will, by their very nature,

carry sensitive data that has to be

protected at every point in the grid.

It is not enough for each smart meter

and M2M device to promise its own

security protocols, independently

developed and tested. Nor is it sufficient

for M2M devices to trust in the security

of smart meters or concentrators on

the grid. Instead a common security

standard has to be adopted for every

smart meter and device at every

endpoint, with embedded security as

the rule, not the exception.

Similarly, once data is processed and

analysed within the utility, customer and

employee access to information needs to

be streamlined with automated access

and identity management, and next-

generation consumer energy portals.

Issues like this require OEMs and

integrators to use a platform for the

smart meters and any other M2M

devices that is utterly secure in order

to reassure users, yet agile enough to

reduce the time and cost of compliance

by rapidly adjusting to new regulations

and mandates.

In order to guarantee commercial

success in the information era, therefore,

the focus needs to be on inherent and

integrated security throughout smart

grid infrastructures using proven,

established technologies with an existing

support ecosystem.

what smart grid components will see wide-scale utility adoption most quickly?

63% SMART METERInG

48% dEMAnd RESPOnSE And CRITICAl PEAk PRICInG

38% SMART dISTRIbuTIOn And/OR TRAnSMISSIOn OPERATIOn dEVICES

30% InTEGRATIOn OF REnEwAblES (hydRO POwER And wInd EnERGy)

26% InCREASE In SMART SEnSORS On ThE nETwORk

21% ACCOMMOdATIOn OF PluG-In hybRId ElECTRIC VEhIClES (PhEVS)

Oracle Survey of 150 North American C-level utility executives, 2010—Executives asked to select up to three smart grid components.

The Capacity for Change

The thinking behind smart grids, in

terms of what is possible and what

can be delivered on a large scale, is

changing all of the time. Hence, smart

meters and other M2M devices need to

be designed so that they can adapt to

the shifting environment around them.

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs),

for example, may also be seen by the

network as a battery source that can,

at times of peak demand, be used

to help supply electricity rather than

consume it. So smart meters have to

be able to accommodate this change

by, for instance, running backwards

when electricity is being supplied, or by

reducing supply if such battery-stored

power is fed directly into the house.

Once price and legislation allows, many

more consumers will invest in wind

turbines and become power generators

as well as power users, selling electricity

back to the grid and changing the way

power grids are controlled.

The increasing use of batteries for

storage will additionally localise supply

as well as demand, placing yet more

demands on the information that smart

meters are expected to collect, process,

and respond to.

Inside the home, smart appliances like

washing machines and air conditioning

systems that modify their energy

consumption during times of peak

demand are already being developed.

Fridges will follow, and domestic

heating boilers, and audio visual

equipment and… think of a device that

consumes energy and the likelihood is

that M2M technologies will emerge to

even out demand.

The driver for consumers will be

lower tariffs when demand falls, once

again requiring those smart meters to

be adapted.

Healthcare too is in the spotlight, with

smart grids acting as the backbone for

monitoring systems that can be installed

quickly and easily. Once again the smart

grid is the highway that can be used by

third party companies and M2M devices.

So far more will be expected from

the smart meters and smart devices

of tomorrow than today. OEMs and

integrators need to be thinking about

it now, however, because embedded

technologies will be key in extending the

lifespan of infrastructures for utilities and

the commercial opportunities that

will arise.

2322

In ORdER FOR A uk SMART GRId TO wORk, ThE SMART METER SySTEM AlOnE wIll nEEd TO PROCESS A MInIMuM OF 2,256,000,000 SEPARATE dATA ITEMS PER dAy.

24

Gathering data

In every smart grid, it is the last mile in

particular where there is the opportunity

for OEMs and systems integrators to

develop new technologies and products

that can help utilities gather more data.

Smart Appliances A lot has been written about how usage

data from smart appliances like washing

machines, freezers and air conditioning

systems can be gathered and used to

have a real and lasting impact by moving

usage and energy consumption to off-

peak periods.

Not every appliance in the home has

the potential to be ‘smart’, however.

Component costs and market price

points dictate that smaller devices with

no user interface and a limited response

requirement are unsuitable from a cost

as well as complexity perspective.

Smart Apps At the next level up, a widening range

of applications on tablet PCs, smart

phones and other devices are gathering

information and showing users energy

usage in real time, whenever and

wherever they want it. With increasing

regulation and mandates for energy-

efficient white goods, smart apps

will play a growing interactive role in

energy-efficient homes in smart grids,

by communicating with and controlling a

range of smart appliances and devices.

Smart Meters Smart meters are the real hub of

information in smart grids. Instead

of being relatively dumb devices that

monitor and report energy usage and

little else, modern smart meters gather

more information, more frequently.

Giving utilities the ability to access

many different channels of usage and

event data—and enhance and expand

that data as the environment and

needs change.

Smart grids, by their very nature, have complex infrastructures comprised of many components, lots of which are concerned with carrying electricity to consumers safely and with minimum loss. The key concern for OEMs and systems integrators developing solutions for gathering and analysing data, and transforming that data into valuable information, is to ensure that those solutions integrate seamlessly with the smart grid.

25

Part III: The Essentials of Smart Grids

2726

ThE COST OF GEnERATInG A kIlOwATT-hOuR OF ElECTRICITy IS 70 TO 170 TIMES ThE COST OF SAVInG A kwh ThROuGh EFFICIEnCy.

‘Real. Smart. Solutions’, GE Digital Energy, 2010

© Idaho National Laboratory/Flikr

what are your biggest smart grid priorities for the next 10 years?

45% IMPROVInG SERVICE RElIAbIlITy And OPERATIOnAl EFFICIEnCy

41% IMPlEMEnTInG SMART METERInG

37% dEVElOPInG dEMAnd RESPOnSE And EnERGy EFFICIEnCy PROGRAMS

23% uPdATInG PhySICAl InFRASTRuCTuRES

17% OFFERInG REAl-TIME PRICInG OPTIOnS

15% InCREASInG yOuR REnEwAblE PORTFOlIO

14% OPTIMISInG ExISTInG buSInESS PROCESSES

Oracle Survey of 150 North American C-level utility executives, 2010—Executives asked to select their top two priorities.

generation tool to closely emulate

production scenarios and realistic

distribution of the data. 80% of the

accounts created were for residential

customers, 18% for commercial

customers, and 2% for industrial

customers. In addition to the financial

history data, one year of historical

meter readings was also created.

The result Given the huge demands placed

upon a relatively modest server

configuration, the result was

surprising. Running on just two

Sunfire X4470 servers on the

application tier and a quarter

rack Exadata v2-2 server on the

database tier, the benchmark

demonstrated that Oracle Utilities

Customer Care and Billing v2.3.1

is able to process bills at a rate

of 993,240 bills/hour. While the

measured throughput is reaching

extreme performance, the Exadata

2-node utilisation was less than

55%, leaving ample room to grow or

host other applications in the same

database server.

Analysing data

Just as important as the last mile of

smart grids is the first mile—at the

headquarters or data centre of the utility

itself. Rather than gathering data, it is

here that the same data is aggregated,

analysed, processed, and turned into

information before being passed on to

the various departments that need it.

The biggest issue with smart grids is the

sheer volume of usage and event data

that smart grids are capable

of collecting. Added to this is the

complexity of converting raw data into

usable business intelligence.

Take usage data. It needs to be

mediated (converting measured

consumption into rateable units of

measure); rated (applying complex

rate and discount structures to the

mediated usage); billed (assembling the

rated information into discreet financial

transactions for interface to the general

ledger); and invoiced (assembling the

billable information for presentation to

the customer).

Suddenly, what was an initiative that

can help utilities work smarter becomes

one that could make their work even

more complex.

Providing a benchmark In order to demonstrate that a complex

billing scenario can be handled with a

solution that meets market windows

and regulatory requirements, with low

total cost of ownership and a high

return on investment, Oracle tested

its Utilities Customer Care Billing

2.3.1 software on an Oracle Exadata

Database Machine X2-2.

12 months of historical financial data

for one million customer accounts

was created using an internal data

2928

AS wEll AS undERSTAndInG ThE COMPlExITy AROund SMART GRId InITIATIVES And IMPlEMEnTATIOnS, ORAClE PROVIdES A COMPlETE FOOTPRInT OF FlExIblE, InnOVATIVE TEChnOlOGy And APPlICATIOnS ThAT InCREASE EFFICIEnCy, IMPROVE STAkEhOldER SATISFACTIOn, FuTuRE-PROOF ORGAnISATIOnS, And TuRn InFORMATIOn ITSElF InTO A POwERFul uTIlITy. MAkInG ORAClE ThE SMART GRId ChOICE FOR uTIlITIES EVERywhERE.

Oracle utility industry solutions

Application for utilities

Middleware for utilities

Database for utilities

Operating system for utilities

Virtual machine for utilities

Servers for utilities

Storage for utilities

Outage Management and Distribution

Management capabilities) and world-

class Oracle Fusion Middleware to

handle complex event processing,

batch operations, the streamlining

of business processes, alignment of

business applications, exponential data

growth, and visualisation for embedded

spatial capabilities.

Oracle’s smart metering software, similarly, is a solution set that offers new

ways to conserve energy, potentially

reducing bills and carbon footprints.

Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management

can serve as the foundation for a smart

metering initiative, integrating with

multiple advanced metering solutions

and acting as a central data repository.

It provides validated, ‘clean’ data for

downstream systems such as billing,

customer care, network management

and more, feeding processed and

formatted data to the Oracle Utilities

applications that support smart metering.

Turning Raw data into Real Information

There are many reasons for choosing

technologies to support a smart grid.

But for OEMs, systems integrators,

telcos, and other parties involved in

the planning, design, configuration,

and implementation of smart grids for

utilities, several questions remain.

What technology should be trusted

in the development of smart meters

and other M2M devices? Will the

choice of a particular technology over

another end up restricting choices

in the future? Is there a technology

that can be integrated with existing

technologies to enhance smart

grids? Does the technology use the

Common Information Model (CIM), now

recognised as the data standard for

smart grids? How can that technology

be employed to gather masses of usage

and event data—and then turn that data

into actionable, usable information?

The Intelligent Choice The first foundation for many

organisations seeking to exploit

information and intelligence is Oracle.

Oracle offers mission-critical software

applications, a proven operational

software suite, high-performance

servers and storage, and world-leading

middleware and embedded technology

that can help address every smart grid

and smart meter challenge.

As importantly, Oracle provides end-

to-end solutions with the world’s most

complete set of software choices that

help utilities address emerging customer

needs, speed the delivery of utility-

specific services, increase corporate

administration efficiency, and turn

business data into business intelligence.

Oracle’s smart grid software, for

example, is a solution set that is based

on the Common Information Model and

uniquely positioned to provide utilities

with the end-to-end applications to help

solve their technology needs.

The role of operational applications

starts with the distribution management

features of Oracle Utilities Network

Management System (which includes

3130

Providing the best platform for embedded smart grid applications, Java offers:

� hIGh PERFORMAnCE, PORTAblE APPlICATIOnS

� A MASSIVE ECOSySTEM OF TOOlS, bOOkS, COdE And APPlICATIOnS And A COMMunITy OF 9 MIllIOn dEVElOPERS wORldwIdE

� SuPPORT FOR kEy EMbEddEd FEATuRES SuCh AS PROCESSOR SuPPORT, POwER MAnAGEMEnT, And lOw lATEnCy SuPPORT

� SECuRE PROVISIOnInG And ExECuTIOn

� A STAndARdS-bASEd PlATFORM wITh FREE dEVElOPER TOOlS

partner and customer ecosystem,

and hundreds of other substantial

enterprises. The long-term

commitment of both community

and corporate interests in Java have

sustained the platform for almost two

decades and will continue to do so

well into the future.

The Intelligent Partner The second foundation for utilities,

OEMs and systems integrators is Java,

Oracle’s relationship with Java providing

an end-to-end solution that can be relied

upon to carry data from M2M devices

inside individual homes and businesses

through to billing, monitoring, and

relationship management systems at a

corporate level.

Java presents developers and

integrators with a familiar and flexible

tool to meet multiple, diverse energy

ecosystem requirements:

Security—Java has an excellent

track record in providing a secure

applications platform for embedding in

smart grid devices and also for desktop

and data centre deployment. Java

profiles (e.g., Java SE Embedded) also

offer developers rich APIs in areas

such as encryption, authentication,

and key management.

Performance—Java byte-code based

execution often leads to question about

the throughput and responsiveness of

Java-based applications. In its 15-year

history, Sun and the Java developer

community have invested hundreds

of man-years in optimising Java

performance for different use cases.

The result is that today, Java’s

performance is on par with traditional

compiled C and C++, with lightning-fast

throughput and low-latency response

for real-time systems. Making it highly

suitable for smart grid applications

ranging from monitoring/controlling

mesh-networked appliances to high-

speed data logging to end-to-end

demand response.

Reliability—the Java platform is

employed in all types of information

technology, from enterprise to desktop

to embedded systems. Its broad use

and worldwide development

community have yielded an extremely

reliable platform, and the syntax and

semantics of the Java language help

developers build and deliver inherently

more reliable applications. In studies

of Java application code, Java reliability

stands out over comparable C and

C++ implementations and run-times.

Interoperability—the rallying cry of

Java is ‘Write Once, Run Anywhere’

(WORA). The core Java architecture

and profiles and the Java Community

Process are key to ensuring

maximum interoperability among Java

implementations. Moreover, Java

applications can also interoperate

with external software and protocols,

through the Java Native Interface (JNI)

and through available bindings to

libraries and software stacks written

in C, C++, assembler and other run-time

environments, especially for smart

grid applications.

Code Re-use—Java offers two levels

of code re-use: source and byte-code.

Java source code is eminently portable

and the language and profile definitions

highly stable. The combination of

portability and interoperability ensures

one of the highest indices of code re-

use of any embedded development tool.

longevity—the evolution of Java rests

in the hands of a worldwide developer/

user community, Oracle, the Oracle

3332

Part IV: The Reality of Smart Grids

Open-Platform wireless Communications

Wireless communications make the

last mile of smart grids truly flexible.

The issue is how to include wireless

functionality in M2M devices yet keep

costs low. The CINTERION TC65i is

a high-performance, open platform

module powered by the Java Virtual

Machine with miniaturised dimensions,

and enriched features.

Offering optimised processor power

and state-of-the-art M2M optimised

Java, the TC65i can help to accelerate

time-to-market and significantly cut

development and manufacturing costs.

Together with industrial interfaces

and the open platform, it gives utilities

the ability to respond to changing

demands quickly and simply. As

embedded applications become more

complex, the power of a flexible, proven

open standard technology like Java

implemented in millions of handsets will

make it even easier for developers to

create applications for CINTERION and

other cellular modules.

dedicated SIM Platforms

In order to communicate wirelessly,

smart meters and other M2M devices

in smart grids need a SIM card. But

the demands of utility networks mean

a new form factor is required. The

Gemalto M2M Plug is a JavaCard based

dedicated SIM platform that is field-

proven and combines proven smart card

security with a more rugged design.

The advantages that smart grids offer are many. In future, as the business environment changes and more demands are placed on smart grids, those advantages will multiply. By being open and flexible, and by being able to collect and process a vast array of data, information flows through smart grids as easily as the electricity they supply. Importantly for OEMs and systems integrators, the technology to make true smart grids a reality already exists.

what’s driving smart grids?

lEGISlATIVE dRIVERS

� Carbon reduction

� utility security

� Economic competitiveness

InduSTRy dRIVERS

� Remote meter reading

� CRM

� demand management

COnSuMER dRIVERS

� Cost

� Convenience

� Simplicity

3534

many of the challenges that exist in

current smart grids.

Smart home Gateways

Home gateways in smart grids simplify

the deployment of M2M devices by

connecting and controlling them quickly

and simply. Many hardware vendors

are already using JAVA SE Embedded

in their devices because it supports

the most commonly found protocols in

smart grids, allowing utilities to protect

their investment and extend existing

functionality by being able to pick

devices from a wide variety of vendors.

non-utility Peripherals

Smart grids do not just have the

capacity to carry utility-based

information: they can be used as the

platform for connecting non-utility

peripherals using the smart meter

communications network.

Project Hydra, for example, is a

collaborative project led by Onzo and

involving major utility players like Oracle,

Philips Applied Technologies and

Scottish and Southern Energy. It was set

up to investigate how the smart metering

communications infrastructure can be

used to improve healthcare services.

Health data from standard equipment

like blood pressure monitors is

transmitted to a smart meter which then

passes it on to healthcare professionals

using a GSM/GPRS network. Patients

can thus be monitored in real time,

in their own home, yet still have the

medical attention they need. Importantly,

because secure software management

protocols provided by GlobalPlatform

manage the Java Card applets that

process the data, the system is

completely secure.

Smart Concentrators

In one of the largest smart metering

pilot installations in Europe, 700,000

concentrators and 35 million meters

are to be replaced by 2017 in Electricité

de France’s (EDF) automated meter

management (AMM) project.

A crucial element of the project is a

request from EDF to be completely

independent from Landis+Gyr and

ITRON, the hardware vendors providing

the concentrators and meters. The

use of Java in the concentrators has

enabled the required independence and

given EDF a host of added advantages.

Java as part of the solution brings

with it inherent security, flexibility, and

performance advantages that address

36

Whether introducing true smart meters or establishing dynamic forecasting and demand management systems for utilities, OEMs and systems integrators are still left with the decision on which technology to deploy to succeed in the information era.

As has been demonstrated in the preceding pages, the Oracle and Java portfolio offers solutions for every scenario. Solutions, moreover, that have been proven in the field to offer the performance, scalability, flexibility, and resilience required.

Oracle is already trusted by enterprises at an ERP level. Java is used by over 9 million developers worldwide in a wealth of embedded applications. Making Oracle the natural smart grid choice for utilities.

The diagram on the right demonstrates why by highlighting the typical aims of utilities, OEMs, and systems integrators—and showing which Oracle and Java technologies can realise those aims quickly and easily.

For further information about Oracle and Java technologies, please visit: www.oracle.com/embedded

Embedded toolsetThe Fastest Route to

Smart GridsAim

Smart-enabled appliances

Transferring data from homes and businesses to central databases and enterprise applications

Real-time data management

Enhancing smart grid infrastructure

Enhancing data infrastructures

Exploiting the smart grid for emerging commercial opportunities and adjacent markets

Establishing dynamic forecasting and demand management systems

Empowering customers with personalised usage and billing information

Sensing and responding to outages, supply issues, and device malfunctions

Integrating distributed utility resources and renewable estate

Introducing M2M automation within estate

>� Java platforms: SE/ME/Card

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� Java platforms: SE/ME/Card

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distribution network

Telco

utility Provider

OEM (appliance) (HAN) (Smart Grid)

ISV

SI� berkeley db� Java platforms: Card

Contact information

Oracle Corporation UK Ltd. Oracle Parkway, Thames Valley Park (TVP) Reading, Berkshire RG6 1RA

Tel: +44 (0)118 924 0000 www.oracle.com/embedded