Proceedings of 2014 1st International Conference on Non Conventional Energy (ICONCE 2014)

A Review of Smart Technology (Smart Grid) and Its

Features
'
Shuva Paul , Member, IEEE; Md Sajed Rabbani, Ripon Kumar Kundu, Sikdar Mohammad Raihan Zaman

lpaul. shuva. bd@ieee. org

Abstract-Approaching to the Smartest technological use the

becoming reality with the excellence of performing some

whole world is being aware of using the smartest technology of

unique feature which is making things easier (in sense of

generating and distributing power throughout the country in a

understanding the behavior of both the suppliers and the

simple but effective system. Smart Grid technology is providing

consumers and safety).Smart Grid is made Smart by using

with this unique feature. A lot of features make it possible to

protection system of the grid and central control through

differentiate the Smart Grid from the existing traditional grid in

Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition(SCADA) system,

various manners. This paper basically focused on the Smart Grid

diagnostic monitoring of all transmission equipments, treating

(SG) technology. A technology that has let us dreamt about

solution of maximum power problems including generation to

all the power system as a complex adaptive power system, Grid

distribution ends. In this time of technological advancement

Computing, making the power system a self healing network

where all the governments are facing challenges of meeting the

using distributed computer agent[ll]

power demand of the consumers, smart grid can bring harmony

in demand supply ratio. In this paper a brief detail about Smart
Grid Technology, its application has been discussed.

Index Terms-Smart Grid, Smart Meter, Renewable Energy

Integration, Bidirectional Communication etc.

I. INTRODUCTION TO SMART GRID

Days are changing. Civilization is also being much more
advanced. As the days are passing, science is getting stronger.
At the same time challenges that modern world, scientists or
engineers are facing challenges in case of meeting the demand
of the consumers at different level due to several reasons.

Fig. I. An Imaginary Representation of Smart Grid Technology [12]

Lacking of supply, corruption in the both sending end and

receiving end, transmission and distribution losses everything

B. Differences ofSmart Grid and the Traditional Grid

is making the total power generation and distribution system a

Traditional or Existing or Conventional power system is

loss project. That is why to meet the demand, increase the

sluggish in nature. It fails to give privacy to the consumers. It

efficiency of the power generation and distribution system, to

failed to

increase the security of the consumers and to monitor and

control

the

whole

system

via

both

way

communication

to

get introduced

with

Smart

Grid

and

between the

certain point of the generation and distribution system at a

technology has been established. So, the main theme of the

is

a communicable network

failed to give us real time data of usage and supply at any

(receiving end and generating end) the idea of the Smart Grid
paper

establish

electricity suppliers and consumers. Traditional Electricity grid

certain time.

Smart

Applications.

A. What is Smart Grid

Smart Grid is a concept which combines a whole power
generation and distribution system in one frame. In other terms
Smart Grid is a Grid that is making the whole system smarter,
in other word cleaner. Clean energy is now demandable
everywhere in the world. So Smart Energy is Clean Energy. In
the year of 2003 the term of Smart Gird was ever used for the
first time. That time Michael T. Burr has used the term for the
first time in an article [I]. There he has explained how the
Fig. 2. A representation of the difference between smart grid and traditional
grid [13]

weaknesses of the power grid can be identified and removed

for the

betterment of

generation

to

the

the

power

distribution

flow

end

system

through

from
the

the

entire

Due to lack of perfection in the measurement system of

transmission network. This conceptual Smart Grid is now

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usage of electricity it was easy to make the whole system

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Proceedings of 2014 1st International Conference on Non Conventional Energy (ICONCE 2014)

A. Smart Meters

vulnerable to steal the electricity. It is easy in the traditional

grid to steal electricity from the national grid from any point of

Smart Meter is a unique feature in the Smart Grid

the system without the concern of the electricity supply

technology which makes it the most dependable instrument in

authority. That is why the losses were inevitable and the

the field of power generations and consumption for data

generation failed to meet the demand of the consumers. Lack

measurement. Smart Metering refers to using advanced meters

of safety was another issue in the existing grid. As the existing

in

grid has very limited safety instruments it is quite tough to find

conjunction

with

communication

systems

to

allow

customers to monitor their energy consumption in real time

the fault in any system and to minimize the fault. Another

[3].

thing, in the existing grid if fault occurs it may black out the

In simple words, Smart Meter is a measuring instrument

whole area till the fault is diagnosed and fixed. There are many

which measures the electricity consumed by the consumers.

more problems regarding existing grid.

Usually it takes the reading after a certain time and a few times

Smart Grid is trying to answer almost all the questions

a day.

regarding the problems that arise in the existing gird. Smart

Grid is capable of monitoring the whole system from both user

and supplier end. A consumer is capable of identifying the

amount of electricity perfectly from his home as well as the

supplier can monitor the amount of usage of the electricity for

the individual consumers. Smart Metering concept is making

lvlj]

revolutionary effect in this regard. Smart Grid is providing

safety features which are capable of protecting the system from

any kind of vulnerable damages. Fault identification and self

healing

capacity

of the Smart Grid is

making

llr IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

itself an

inevitable part of the modern world.

-

In some other way the existing grid and the intelligent grid
(Smart Grid) can be differentiated.

The existing grid is

electromechanical in nature where the Smart Grid is digital

(computerized

control)

in

nature.

The

difference

of

the
Fig. 3. Smart Meter

communication system is clear (one way and two way) for both
of the systems. The existing grid is developed by hierarchical

A typical Smart Meter helps the consumers to understand

model. But Smart Grid is totally network based system. There

the billing procedures and usage of electricity so that they can

are very few customer choices available in the existing grid.

control the usage of electricity according to their desired billing

But in the smart grid customer choices got priority. So there are

limit/budget. On the other hand, smart meter measurement

a lot of choices for the consumers in the Smart Grid system [2].

helps the suppliers to calculate the perfect bills for using

electricity of the consumers from the grid.

II. FEATURES OF S MART GRID

Smart grid is being so smarter that it is very essential to

B. Distributed Generations

understand the features of Smart Grid technology so that the

Distributed Generation (DG) is an important part of Smart

perfect use of Smart Grid technology can be ensured. The

Grid Technology. Distributed Generation means generating

features of Smart Grid technology can be described as follows:

Smart Meters(SM)

Distributed Generations(DG)

Renewable Energy Integrations(REI)

Bidirectional Communication System(BCS)

Automatic Healing Capability(AHC)

Data Security/Cyber Security

Carbon Emission Reduction

electricity from small energy sources. Large Scale generations

from the power plant have some affects like environmental
impact on distribution and transmission and have very secured
supply of electricity through the grid [4].
Distributed Generation is of greater use in case of Smart
Grid as well as challenging for the supplier authorities. There
are some challenges that suppliers can face, such as:

Market oriented demand response of the Electricity. It

means understanding the demand of electricity of the

Meter Data Management(MDM)

Field Area Networks(FAN)

IT and Back office Computing

Demand Response

supply

Electricity Storage Devices

distribution end.

Distribution Automation

consumers and makes a user oriented market place for

ensuring the perfect demand response.

of

electricity

from

generation

end

to

the

Ensuring Cost Effective operations of generation and

distribution so that the cost cannot exceed the desired

These are the overall features of Smart Grid technology that

limit of the consumers

it includes. There are more features that Smart Grid technology

includes. Details about only a few of them are given below.

978-1-4799-3340-2/14/$31.00 2014 IEEE

Ensuring the security of distributed generations and

Environmental Safety must be accounted for protection

of the Grid from any kind of natural disaster.

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Proceedings of 2014 1st International Conference on Non Conventional Energy (ICONCE 2014)

C. Renewable Energy Integration (REI)

employees can make the total system vulnerable to the security

Renewable energy integration is also an important feature of

attacks. As the technology is interconnected throughout the

whole system, if one portion of the network is attacked,

the Smart Grid. Enhancing the capability of the grid REI

eventually the whole system got exposed to serious threat and

(Renewable Energy Integration) helps the national grid to meet

it may even led to total blackout or total system failure. That is

the extended demand of the consumers with potential security.

why cyber security must be strong enough to make the system

As like as the DG (Distributed Generation), REI must face

run smoothly and efficiently.

some challenges while integrating to the SG (Smart Grid).

G. Carbon Emission Reduction

./ Environmental Impact is one of the greatest factors in case

of Renewable Energy Generation and Integration. In case

Smart Grid is Green Grid. Smart Energy is Clean Energy.

of Solar Energy which is unavailable during the night,

As there are renewable energy sources for integration in the

must be taken in account of considerations and necessary

grid and efficient generation of energy and also efficient

steps should be taken in the integration system to recover

distribution of energy smart grid technology helps to reduce

the absence of Solar Energy in the night, e.g. storage

carbon emission by a notable percentage.

system of solar electricity for supplying at night to the

III. SMARTER GRID: SMARTER POLICIES

grid.

./ Voltage Fluctuation is one of the major challenges of

integrating renewable

energy sources

to the

grid.

As the Smart Grid ensures the security, cleanliness and the

It

digitalization of the power generation and transmission system

happens specially while integrating Solar and Wind energy

in the same framework, there must be some policies which are

sources to the grid. The reason of voltage fluctuation of

making the whole system work smarter. Different countries are

these sources is unstable wind speed and irregular solar

making different kinds of policies for making the grid smarter.

radiation [5].

./ According to the Department of Energy, United States

There are many more challenges of integrating renewable

some pilot projects have been elected to demonstrate

energy sources to the grid.

different

D. Bidirectional Communication System (BCS)

./ The

the electricity as well as the generation and the supplier are

area

of

case

Roadmap

for

Smart

Grid

from different topics like telecommunication, internet

through this communication system. But there has one thing to

in

and

NIST, January 2010 identified 75 standards which range

Moreover monitoring the whole Grid centrally is possible only

ensured

Framework

Interoperability Standards, Release 1.0, published by

also aware of billing of the usage of the electricity clearly.

be

the

[6].

conversation where users are aware of the price and usage of

must

in

United States such as NY, Illinois, and West Virginia etc

and suppliers. Communicating in the smart grid is like a phone

privacy

technologies

The locations of these projects were in different states in

the Smart Grid technology easier to use for both consumers

remembered,

grid

target or aim was to reduce the peak loads by 15 percent.

Enabling the bi-directional communication System makes

be

smart

distributed system integration in 2009 where the primary

and power industry that are applicable for use in Smart

of

Grid. The formation of Smart Grid Interoperability Panel

communicating in the grid bidirectional or multidirectional.

of 22 stakeholders by NIST continued to provide input

E. Automatic Healing Capability (AHC)

on the regulations for being developed [7].

As of Smart Grid (SG) technology is a smart system of

Policies like those stated above have been adopted to make

generating the electricity and distributing them towards the

the smart grid system more smart and convenient to the

user end with a huge confirmation of data security, robustness

controlling authority and the users.

and convenience, the smart grid technology must include one

IV. BENEFITS OF SMART GRID

feature and it is Automatic Healing Capability (AHC). This

feature includes the automatic detection of the abnormal

There are a lot of benefits of using smart grid technology.

conditions in the system like over current, surge voltage, fault

00

Saving lives in a huge scale

current etc; sending the information to the central control room

00

Lowering the Utility Bills

and automatic recovery/healing capability of the fault or

00

Economic & Job growth

disturbances occurred.

00

00

Smart Grid technology must be secured from considerable

Terrorists,

and

Organized

Crimes,

some

criminal

V. IMPACTS OF GEOGRAPHlCAL LOCATIONS

elements, industrial competitors, careless or poorly trained

Though the concepts of Smart Grid technology are almost

employees. A group of hackers, cyber terrorists, individual

same all over the country, but depending on the location of the

criminals or organized criminal can attack the smart grid

country (geographical locations) the major focus differs. Some

networks and systems to exploit vulnerabilities in the system.

Careless

operating

of

the system

978-1-4799-3340-2/14/$31.00 2014 IEEE

by

the

poorly

More clean renewable energy and less dirty fossil

fuel.

threats or attacks. Smart Grid can be attacked by Hackers,

Cyber

More reliable services through shorter and fewer

outages

Data Security/Cyber Security

researcher showed that the control policy and the operational

trained

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Proceedings of 2014 1st International Conference on Non Conventional Energy (ICONCE 2014)

hydroelectricity to the largest cities of Brazil from the sea area

procedure differ from country to county, region to region. Such

as, United States is more mature in case of using the smart grid

two 600KV HVDC converter station with capacity of total

technology.

3 175 MW power have been established [ 10].

They

focus

heavily

on

users

and

service

integration. But in the other hand China is relatively less

immature

in

this

case

and

they

focus

heavily

on

VIII. CONCLUSION

the

transmission of the bulk electricity [8].

To keep cope with the extended demand of electricity all

the countries must use the Smart Grid technology. Days are not

VI. SMART GRID VISION: TECHNOLOGY ROADMAP

so far when all the countries on the earth will be connected in

A roadmap is always needed to make things clear for

the global network to make their power system smarter and

making the path of that thing smoothly and objectively.

cleaner. So some common policies must be developed for the

Different countries have set different types of roadmaps to

interconnecting global networked smart grid technology.

make the future generation smarter.

REFERENCES

./ In china, the roadmap has been set for the increase in

[1]

demand over 20 10 values for Smart Grid Maximum and

2020,

2030,

2040

and

2050

have

been

www.fortnightly.comlfortnightly/2003/II/technology-corridor.

projected

Nov 1, 2003 [Aug. 05, 2013].

subsequently 56, 99, 140 and 200 percent for Smart Grid
Minimum and 55,

9 1, 125,176 for the Smart Grid

[2]

Farhangi, H. "The path of the smart grid". IEEE Power and

[3]

Wipro Technologies."Achieving Sustainability Through Smart

Energy Magazine, Vol-8, Issue-I,PP-20,Jan/Feb. 2010.

Maximum. Like China, European Union, Pacific, North

America have set their goals [9].

Grid

facing the challenges of increasing demand for electricity in the

future we should be better aware of using this smart technology

[4]

www.wikipedia.org

[5]

GM Shafiullah,Amanullah M. T. 00, Dennis Jarvis, ABM

Shawkat Ali, Peter Wolfs -"Potential Challenges: Integrating

precisely and wisely. Like the developed countries, all the

Renewable Energy with the Smart Grid"- Universities Power

under developed and developing countries should start making

Engineering Conference (AUPEC), 2010 20th Australasian

policies upon making their Grid System Smarter and Cleaner.

[6]

There is a saying Smarter Electricity is Clean Electricity. And

Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability. [2009]

sufficiently.

[7]

Smart Grid technology helps playing an interconnecting

[8]

role between national networks. Smart Grid technologies may

ensuring

Channel

which

the

Concepts, Architectures, and Technological

Worldwide"-

IEEE

PES

Conference

on

2011

establishes

[9]

2000MW HVDC submarine interconnection links up the

Technology Roadmap, Smart Grid, IEA,20II

[10] ALSTOM
[11] S Massoud Amin and Bruce F. Wallenberg, Toward a Smart

helps both of the countries to meet their extended demand of

peak demand increases

Smart Grid

Innovative Smart Grid Technologies (ISGT Latin America),

national grids of France and UK. This interconnection network

electricity while

M. Hashmi, Member, IEEE, S. Hanninen, and K. Maki-"Survey

Demonstrations

perfectness of the system. There is an IFA 2000 Under Sea

the English

"Smart Grid Interoperability Standards". NIST

of

transfer electricity through a smart web system where distant

of

Department of Energy. Enhancing the smart grid: Integrating

clean distributed and renewable generation. Washington, DC:

in this era of environment pollution we need clean electricity

connection under

Meter."Internet:

Smart

_Smart_Meter_Smart_Grid.pdf, PP-03 [Aug. 02,2013]

As of Smart Grid technology is the ultimate weapon of

capable

&

www.wipro.comiDocuments/Achieving_Sustainability_Through

VII. DISCUSSION

transmission and distribution is

Michael T. Burr. "Reliability demands will drive automation

investments."Internet:

Minimum values in percentage. These percentages in

Grid- IEEE power and Energy Magazine, September/October

via bidirectional

2005

communication and distribution network.

[12] www.news.cnet.com

Hydroelectricity integrated network which is established in

[13] www.iea.org

Brazil is showing an enhanced performance of increasing the

efficiency of the distributed system. To transfer this generated

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ICONCE 2014
January 16 - 17, 2014, Kalyani,

WB,

India.