SmartGrid: InteroperabilityandStandards

FrancesCleveland,XanthusConsultingInternational ForrestSmall,NavigantConsulting,Inc. TomBrunetto,DistributedEnergyFinancialGroup,LLC

TableofContents ExecutiveSummary ..................................................................................................................... 1 1 Introduction............................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 SmartGridProvisionsinH.R.6,110thCongress........................................................ 1 1.2 GlossaryofTermsandAbbreviations........................................................................... 2 2 SmartGridIssues................................................................................................................... 3 2.1 SmartGridVision:FocusonCustomerInteractions................................................... 3 2.2 AMIasKeyforRealizingSmartGrid ........................................................................... 3 2.3 AMI:OpportunitiesandChallenges ............................................................................. 4 3 Interoperability:WhatDoesItReallyMean ...................................................................... 6 3.1 Interoperability:AnalogywithLanguage .................................................................... 6 3.2 Interoperability:AnalogywithSocietalRulesforUsingLanguage ......................... 8 3.3 BenefitsofInteroperabilitytoStakeholders ................................................................. 8 3.4 InteroperabilityChallenges:Technical,Security,andFinancial ............................... 8 4 Standards:MeetingtheChallengesofInteroperability ................................................... 9 4.1 PurposeofStandards....................................................................................................... 9 4.2 TypesofStandards......................................................................................................... 10 4.3 PowerIndustryStandardsBodiesandKeyInteroperabilityStandards................ 10 4.4 UsersGroupsandCollaborativeEffortswithinthePowerIndustry ..................... 14 5 Conclusions .......................................................................................................................... 17 5.1 SmartGridBroaderIssues ............................................................................................ 17 5.2 LifeCycleCostSavingsfromInteroperableStandards............................................ 18 5.3 UtilityInvolvementintheStandardsProcess............................................................ 19 5.4 MaximizingtheBenefitsofInteroperabilityStandards............................................ 19

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ExecutiveSummary The Energy Independence and Security Act of December 2007 recognized the need for a SmartGrid,themodernizationoftheUSelectricitysystem.Oneofthekeyrequirementsof a Smart Grid is the interoperability of the cyber systems that are used to manage the power system. Interoperability among disparate computer systems can only be achieved throughtheuseofinternationallyrecognizedcommunicationandinterfacestandards. A useful analogy for computer interoperability is human interoperability, namely the abilityofdisparatepeoplespeakingdifferentlanguagestocommunicatewitheachother. First, just as international business meetings have agreed to use English as the common language standard, computer systems need common cyber language standards in ordertoexchangeinformationwitheachother.Secondly,cyberstandardshaveanalogous componentstohumanlanguages,namelynouns(data),verbs(messaging),andgrammar (rules for exchanging messages). In addition, societal rules guide humans on when to speakatameeting,(whenacomputercansendmessages),onhowtomanagesecurityby limiting attendance at a meeting (for a computer by passwords and encryption), and on timelinessofmeetings(timelinessofdataexchanges). Theperfectexampleofthebenefitsofinteroperabilityisthescenarioofconnectinganew printer, camera, or other new hardware to a personal computer, where the computer handles the entire setup without human intervention. Unfortunately, more complex interactionsdonotyethavethestandardstoachievethis,andmanymorestandardsneed to be developed before this interoperability goal can be achieved in the electric power industry. Manystandardsbodies,suchastheIEC,IEEE,IETF,ANSI,NIST,NERC,andtheW3Care tackling these issues both for the industry at large as well as specifically for the power industry,whileUsersGroupsandConsortiasuchastheUtilityStandardsBoard(USB)are workingtoprovideinputandguidanceindevelopingandimplementingthesestandards. Itiscriticaltounderstandthatutilitiesandvendorsmustoftenmoveforwardwhetheror not the standards existor havebeen completed.The lag time indeveloping standards is inevitable,butprojectsmustnonethelessbespecified,designed,andimplementedwithout waitingforthesestandards.Inaddition,manylegacysystemscannotbecosteffectively upgraded or replaced to take advantage of relevant standards even when they do exist. Therefore, mechanisms must be utilized for maximizing the benefits that come from interoperability standards while minimizing the delays and expenses of implementing newstandards. Inparticular,utilitiesshouldtaketheleadindefiningthebusinessprocessrequirements, andinspecifyingandtestingtheresultingstandardsintheiroperations.Vendorsmaybe thetechnologyexperts,buttheutilitieshavetherequirementsexpertise. InteroperabilityisthekeytotheSmartGrid,andstandardsarethekeytointeroperability. Themoreinvolvementbyutilities,vendors,andothersinthedevelopmentofstandards, thefasterthevisionofaSmartGridwillberealized.

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1 Introduction 1.1 SmartGridProvisionsinH.R.6,110thCongress The Energy Independence and Security Act of December 2007 defines the Smart Grid as follows: ItisthepolicyoftheUnitedStatestosupportthemodernizationoftheNationselectricity transmission and distribution system to maintain a reliable and secure electricity infrastructure that can meet future demand growth and to achieve each of the following, whichtogethercharacterizeaSmartGrid: (1) Increased use of digital information and controls technology to improve reliability, security,andefficiencyoftheelectricgrid. (2)Dynamicoptimizationofgridoperationsandresources,withfullcybersecurity. (3) Deployment and integration of distributed resources and generation, including renewableresources. (4)Developmentandincorporationofdemandresponse,demandsideresources,andenergy efficiencyresources. (5)Deploymentof`smarttechnologies(realtime,automated,interactivetechnologiesthat optimize the physical operation of appliances and consumer devices) for metering, communicationsconcerninggridoperationsandstatus,anddistributionautomation. (6)Integrationof`smartappliancesandconsumerdevices. (7) Deployment and integration of advanced electricity storage and peakshaving technologies,includingpluginelectricandhybridelectricvehicles,andthermalstorageair conditioning. (8)Provisiontoconsumersoftimelyinformationandcontroloptions. (9) Development of standards for communication and interoperability of appliances and equipmentconnectedtotheelectricgrid,includingtheinfrastructureservingthegrid. (10) Identification and lowering of unreasonable or unnecessary barriers to adoption of smartgridtechnologies,practices,andservices. 1 ThisdefinitionofSmartGridisverybroad,encompassingmanyaspectsofelectricgrid operationandmanagement,andseekingtoimprovereliability,efficiency,andsecurity, fromthegeneration,transmission,distribution,downtothecustomersites.Ontheother hand,manyentities,includingtheCongressionalResearchService,focustheSmartGrid almostexclusivelyonAdvancedMeterInfrastructures(AMI)andthepotentialservicesfor customers:

1USEnergyIndependenceandSecurityActofDecember2007,TITLEXIIISMARTGRIDSEC.1301.STATEMENTOFPOLICYON MODERNIZATIONOFELECTRICITYGRID

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ThetermSmartGridreferstoadistributionsystemthatallowsforflowofinformationfroma customersmeterintwodirections:bothinsidethehousetothermostatsandappliancesandother devices,andbacktotheutility. 2 AlthoughthisdiscrepancyinthedefinitionofSmartGridcouldleadtosomeconfusionin general,eitherdefinitionstilldependsheavilyontheneedforinteroperabilityand standards,whicharethefocusofthispaper. 1.2 GlossaryofTermsandAbbreviations Thefollowingglossaryoftermsandabbreviationsprovidesthedefinitionsformanyofthe conceptsandorganizationsdiscussedinthispaper.
Term/Abbreviation AMI ANSI ANSIC12.xx Definition AdvancedMeteringInfrastructure AmericanNationalStandardsInstitute,http://www.ansi.org/ ANSIstandardsformetering

Applicationlevelprotocols Protocolswhichunderstandthedataandthereforeknowwhattodowithit (sendspecificdata,storeitappropriately,giveittoanapplicationprogram, issueanalarm,etc.) Cigr CIM DA DER DOE EPRI GridWiseAlliance InternationalCouncilonLargeElectricSystems,http://www.cigre.org/ CommonInformationModel,IEC61970 DistributionAutomation DistributedEnergyResources,DistributedGenerationandStorage DepartmentofEnergy,http://www.doe.gov/ ElectricPowerResearchInstitute,http://www.epri.com Consortium of public and private stakeholders who are aligned around a shared vision. A vision of an electric system that integrates the infrastructure,processes,devices,informationandmarketstructuresothat energy can be generated, distributed, and consumed more efficiently and costeffectively,http://www.gridwise.org/ HomeAreaNetwork InternationalElectrotechnicalCommission,http://www.iec.ch/ InstituteofElectricalandElectronicsEngineers, http://www.ieee.org/portal/site InternetEngineeringTaskForce,http://www.ietf.org/ InternetProtocol,providesbasiccommunicationsbetweenaddressesinthe formof168.192.123.001 Protocols which are specific to different media (e.g. cables, wireless, fiber optic,microwave,etc.)

HAN IEC IEEE IETF IP Mediaprotocols

2Order Code RL34288, Congressional Research Service Report for Congress, Smart Grid Provisions in H.R. 6, 110th Congress

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Term/Abbreviation NERC NIST OpenSG Transportlevelprotocols UCAUsersGroup

Definition NorthAmericanReliabilityCorporation,http://www.nerc.com/ NationalInstituteofStandardsandTechnology,http://www.nist.gov/ OpenSmartGrid,aworkinggroupunderUCAUsersGroup, http://osgug.ucaiug.org/default.aspx Protocols which transport data from one system to another across a network,withoutneedingtounderstandwhatthedatameans. UsersGroup toenableutilityintegrationthroughthedeploymentofopen standards by providing a forum in which the various stakeholders in the utilityindustrycanworkcooperativelytogetherasmembersofacommon organization.http://www.ucaiug.org/default.aspx UnifiedModelingLanguage UtilityStandardsBoard,http://usb.sharepointsite.net/default.aspx WorldWideWebConsortium,http://www.w3.org/ eXtensibleMarkupLanguage,developedbyW3C AllianceonIEEE802.15.4basedwirelesstechnology, http://www.zigbee.org/en/index.asp

UML USB W3C XML ZigbeeAlliance

2 SmartGridIssues 2.1 SmartGridVision:FocusonCustomerInteractions AlthoughtheSmartGridisdefinedmore broadly inthe Congressional Act,muchof the initialfocushasbeenoninteractionswithcustomersasoneofthemethodsforimproving electricgridefficiency,reliability,andsecurity. This focus on energy efficiency has recently been made more feasible through enhanced technologiesandhasbecomeofprimaryinterestduetothegrowingdemandsforenergy independence, the rapidly increasing cost of energy, and the recognition that significant stepsmustbetakeninresponsetoclimatechange. Ascustomersrelymoreandmoreonelectricityforallfacetsofpersonalandbusinesslife, and as they place increaseddemandsontheoldfashionedpower infrastructure through theadditionofwindandsolardistributedgeneration,reliabilityofthepowersystemhas becomemorecriticalyetmoredifficulttomaintain. Security,bothforreliabilityandprivacyreasons,ismovingtotheforefrontasanissuethat mustbesolvedforalllevelsofthepowersystem,includingdowntoeachcustomerssite. Direct interactions with customers through Advance Metering Infrastructures (AMI) are criticalforachievingthesegoals. 2.2 AMIasKeyforRealizingSmartGrid In the past, customers were considered only as passive users of electricity, with utilities charged with providing electricity as a commodity, while fixed tariffs were set by
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regulators. The Smart Grid vision changes this paradigm: using primarily price of electricity as the mechanism, customers (and their smart appliances and energy management systems) will actively respond instantaneously, hourly, daily, and even seasonally,tomorecloselymatchtheirenergyusagetotheactualcostofproducingthat electricity or to respond to emergency situations, while still retaining customer choice. Conversely, utilities will respond more interactively with customers to meet their reliabilityandefficiencyrequirementsinamoretimelyandcomprehensivemanner. TheAMIsystems,andthemanyothersystemssurroundingthem,helpprovidethemeans to achievethisSmartGridvision. WithsuchanAMI infrastructurenow available, many thirdpartiesalsoexpecttoutilizethisdirectconnectionwithcustomersandtheirfacilities. Therefore, AMI is envisioned as more than utilities and customers interacting, and will need significanteffortstowardintegrationandthe development ofstandardsin order to realizethetruebenefitsfromthisenablingtechnology. 2.3 AMI:OpportunitiesandChallenges InordertounderstandtheintegrationandstandardsissuesrelatedtoAMI,itiscriticalto appreciate the range of opportunities provided by AMI, and to recognize the challenges posedbytheseopportunities. 2.3.1 AMIStakeholdersandInteractionsviaAMISystems Although there will likely be many more stakeholders in the future as innovative ideas andtechnologyexpandthecapabilities,someofthemainAMIstakeholders,andthetypes offunctionswhichtheycouldutilizetheAMIsystemsfor,include: Utilityaccesstometerandend pointinformation: Meterreading Revenueprotectionandtamper detection Remoteconnect/disconnect Metermaintenance Customerservice Powerquality Marketing:Pricingsignals Outagemanagement Distributionoperations: aggregatedloads Distributionplanning:load profiles Emergencymanagement Customersaccesstoenergyusage, prices,trends,forecasts, emergencyinformation,etc.: Residentialcustomers Smallercommercialcustomers Largercommercialcustomers Industrialcustomers Customerswithdistributed generationand/orstorage

VendorsofAMIsystemsand associatedutilitysystems Metervendors AMInetworkvendors AMIheadendvendors Vendorsofapplicationsand systemsonanEnterprisebus suchasMDM,CIS,metering databases,etc

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HANsystemsandappliances Customerinteractionswith HANsystemsandappliances viaAMIsystem VendorinteractionswithHAN systemsandappliancesfor maintenance,upgrades,and otherauthorizedactivities DAfunctionsusingtheAMI networkformonitoring distributionequipment DAfunctionsusingtheAMI networkforcontrolling distributionequipment

AggregatorsusingtheAMI networkformarketrelated DERmanagement Reportsonoutagemanagement effectivenessofAMIfunctions Reportsonpowersystem efficiencyimprovementsfrom AMIfunctions Reportsondemandresponse reactionsfromcustomers Reducedenergyusagedueto efficiencyimprovements Resultsfromdemandresponse reactions Reducedrelianceonoil,coal, andothernonrenewable energysourcesdueto increasedimplementationof renewableenergy

Regulators

Distributionautomationfunctions

Society

DistributedEnergyResources (DER)management Energyserviceprovidersusing theAMInetworkformanaging DERsystems

Figure1:BusinessProcessesUtilizingtheAMI/EnterpriseBusInterface
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 2.3.2 ChallengesofAMISystems Vendors are developing systems and products designed to meet specific utility requirements.Theyaredirectlyresponsibleforthefunctioningoftheirownsystems,but when they need to exchange information with other vendor systems, they need to make some external agreements on how these information exchanges are designed. If these external agreements are oneonone, then the vendors should be able to handle them. However,ifmanyvendorsareinvolved,thenthisapproachwillnotwork. Trying to exchange information among all of these stakeholders and the large variety of systems and products, leads to a Tower of Babel as these different products attempt to interactwitheachotherforvariouspurposesoveravarietyofcommunicationnetworks. In addition, security measures could be applied differently by different vendors and for different utility scenarios. Various tariff structures for different regions and differing utilitypolicieswouldalsochangewhatfunctionsareimplementedandhowtheyinteract withotherpartsoftheAMIsystem.

Figure2:TheTowerofBabel,PieterBreugheltheElder(publicdomaincopy)

ThesolutiontothisTowerofBabelisthedevelopmentofrules(standards)forinteracting (interoperability)betweenallsystemsandallproducts. 3 Interoperability:WhatDoesItReallyMean 3.1 Interoperability:AnalogywithLanguage Interoperabilitycanbedefinedastheabilityoftwoormoresystemsorcomponentstoexchange information and to use the information that has been exchanged 3 . The second part of this definitionisveryimportant:notonlymustcomputersystemsexchangeinformation,they mustalsobeabletounderstandthatinformation.
3[IEEE90]InstituteofElectricalandElectronicsEngineers.IEEEStandardComputerDictionary:ACompilationofIEEEStandardComputer Glossaries.NewYork,NY:1990.

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Ausefulanalogyforcyberinteroperabilityishumaninteroperability,namelytheabilityof disparate people speaking different languages to communicate with each other. Within theirowngroups(orlikeapplicationswithintheirowncomputersystems),theGermans wouldspeakDeutsch,theFrenchfranais,andtheMartians .Butifthesegroups needtocommunicatewitheachother(orlikecomputersystemswhichneedtoexchange information),thenEnglishhasbeenacceptedasthecommonlanguage.Similarly,common cyberlanguage(s)mustbeacceptedandstandardized.
How Do International Groups Communicate?
How do disparate human groups communicate with each other?

English is Accepted as the Common Language!

How do disparate human groups communicate with each other?

Germans sprechen Deutsch zusammen

Argentineans hablan espaol juntos

Germans sprechen Deutsch zusammen

Argentineans hablan espaol juntos

English has been accepted as the common business language French people parlent le establishes common data franais entre eux languages for interoperating

English has been accepted as the common business language French people parlent le establishes common data franais entre eux languages for interoperating

Similarly, System Integration

Similarly, System Integration

Martians speak

??

Martians speak

??

among computer systems

among computer systems

Figure3:Howdointernationalgroupscommunicate?

Figure4:Englishisacceptedasthecommonlanguage

Theanalogywithlanguagegoesevenfarther.JustlikeEnglish,cyberlanguagesmusthave nouns (data), verbs (send, transmit on event, acknowledge), and grammar (rules for formatting, sending, and responding to messages). In the past, cyber languages were similartopidginlanguagesverysimplenouns,verbs,andgrammar,justenoughtoget by for simple transactions. However, as computer systems have become more sophisticated, and as information exchanges need to be more precise, flexible, and covering more topics, pidgin cyber has become inadequate. As stated in the second phrase of the definition of interoperability, computer systems must be able to use the information,andthereforemustunderstanditcompletely(firstyearhighschoolEnglishis notadequateforaMartiantotakepartinaninternationalconference). The Internet has provided many of the basic (transport level) components of cyber language, with IP addresses, Ethernet LAN networks, and XMLbased technologies. However,itcannotprovidethenounsnorthespecializedverbsandgrammarneededfor allindustries(applicationlevels);thesemustbeprovidedbytheindustriesthemselves.In particular, nouns for the medical industry are vastly different than the nouns for the financialindustry,whicharevastlydifferentfromthenounsforthepowerindustry.This againisnotunlikelanguages:theEnglishwordscellphoneandmetadatadidnotexist 20 years ago, while the words breaker, bus, fuse, and network now have vastly differentmeaningsinpowerindustrythaningeneralterminology. Thepowerindustry,particularlythroughIECstandards,isexpandingthevocabularyand grammarofcyberlanguage.
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3.2 Interoperability:AnalogywithSocietalRulesforUsingLanguage Although a common cyber language is the primary requirement for interoperability,anumberofadditionalrequirementsalsoareimportant. Thesecanbeviewedasanalogouswithsocietalrulesforusinglanguage. On a telephone call, societal rules specify that the person answering shouldsayhelloorotherwiseindicatethattheyarenowonthecall.The person callingtypicallyshould identifythemselves. Thetwo people then should take turns speaking. Cellphones should not be used where they interrupt other activitiessuchasintheaters(andmeetings). In order to have an effective meeting, not everyone should speak at the same time, but shouldfollowbasicrulesforinteracting.Preferablyachairpersonmoderates(butshould not dominate) the discussions. Attendees introduce themselves if necessary. If someone shouldnotbeinthemeeting,theyshouldbeaskedtoleave.Iftooheateddiscussionsstart, they should be stopped. If one person tries to sabotage the discussion, some mechanism shouldpreventthemfromdestroyingthemeeting.Meetingsstartataparticulartime,and shouldendataparticulartime. Thesametypesofrulesholdtrueforinteroperablesystems.Somesystemshouldmonitor the interactions between all systems on the network to ensure security and performance rules are being met. Systems should introduce themselves. No system should hog the network.Ifasystemisdisruptingthenormalinteractions(deliberatelyorinadvertently),it shouldbecutoff.Iftheinteractionsareconfidential,thenanyunauthorizedsystemshould bebootedout.Messagesshouldhavewellestablishedtimeframesforbeingexchanged. 3.3 BenefitsofInteroperabilitytoStakeholders Theperfectexampleofthebenefitsofinteroperabilityisthescenarioofconnectinganew printer, camera, or other new hardware to a personal computer. The moment the new deviceisconnected,thecomputersaysFoundNewHardware. Moments later it says Found an HP xxxx printer (or other hardware), then states Printer ready to be used. The user then merely clicks print to print out their document. No fuss, no complicatedactionsbyusers. Ifall meters, distributionequipment,substationequipment,back office applications, and SCADAsystemscouldactthesameway,thentrueinteroperabilitywouldberealized.In thisexample,nohumanintervention(otherthanpluggingintheprinter)wasnecessaryto make the printer fully operational. Imagine if the same scenario were to be take place when installing smart meters, or connecting distribution automation equipment, or upgrading to a new Meter Data Management system! The savings in personnel effort would be tremendous, cutting down on truck rolls, minimizing engineering time, and avoidinguserfrustrationandmistakes. 3.4 InteroperabilityChallenges:Technical,Security,andFinancial Unfortunately, interoperability is still not there for scenarios more sophisticated than adding a printer to a Microsoft or Apple operating system. Although the Internet has
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providedmanyofthetransportlevelstandards(e.g.IPaddresses,Ethernet),somesystems developed for the power industry still do not use them (e.g. legacy systems often use proprietaryprotocols).Veryfewsystemshaveimplementedtheexistingapplicationlevel communicationstandards,andthereforeneedhumaninterventiontoestablishtranslation tablestomapdata:the3rdwireonthe2ndcomputercardisvoltageonphaseAorthe data received is a 1 does that mean the switch is open or is closed?. This situation is more like a United Nations meeting, where translators must be hired to convert in real timefromthespeakerslanguagetoanotherlanguageacumbersome,expensive,andnot alwaysaccuratemethodology. And not all needed standards have been developed yet, much less implemented by vendors.ParticularlyinthenovelrealmofAMI,utilitiesmustinstallproprietarysystems, given the long lead time needed for new standards to be developed. Even if a new standardisdevelopedandtoutedastheperfectanswer,paperstandardsalwaysneedto go throughextensiveassessmentand testingonrealsystemsbeforethey are ready for generaldeployment. Security hasalsomadeinteroperabilitymore of achallenge.Nolongercansomeonejust pluginanewdevice,butitmustbeauthenticated.Forinstance,ifadisgruntledemployee plugged in a device that Microsoft thought was a printer, but really was a Maninthe Middlehackersdevice,hecouldsnooponallinformationthatwasbeingprinted.Sonew measurestoensuretherealidentityofdevicesmustalsobedevelopedandinstalled. Financial considerations are also primary in moving toward interoperability. Even if all thetechnology,standards,andsecuritywereavailable,noutilitycouldaffordtothrowout older, noncompliant systems.Therefore migrationpathstowardinteroperabilityhave to be planned, with systems, applications, and devices gradually replaced. Vendors also cannotaffordtoupgradetheirsystemsthemomentanewstandardisapproved.Thisisin partjustthetimeandefforttoimplementthenewstandard,butalargerfinancialburden is in the extensive testing of the upgraded systems utilities cannot install patches on a weekly basis as Microsoft has forced users of Windows to do, particularly for revenue sensitiveequipmentsuchasmeters. And,aswrylystatedbysomestandardsexperts,Thebestthingaboutstandardsisthatthere aresomanytochoosefrom,leavingmanyvendorsandutilitiesperplexedaboutwhichones will end up having the staying power and flexibility to be relevant for a reasonable numberofyears. 4 Standards:MeetingtheChallengesofInteroperability 4.1 PurposeofStandards Thepurposeofcyberinteroperabilitystandardsistoformalizethenouns,verbs,grammar, andsocietalrulesforexchanginginformation,orasstatedincyberspeak,toformalizethe object model semantics, the messaging syntax, the communication profiles, and the network/securitymanagement.

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4.2 TypesofStandards Standards come in many different flavors, with many different types of standards. Most standardsfocusononlyspecificlevels(althoughtherearenotusuallycleandistinctions betweenlevels).Broadlyspeaking,therearefourlevelsofcyberstandards: Mediarelated standards, specific to fiber optics, microwave, WiFi, CATV, wires, telephone,cellphone,etc. Transportrelated standards, such as the Internet standards: Ethernet, IP, TCP, HTTP,OPC Applicationrelated standards, such as HTML, XML, IEC 61850, Common InformationModel(CIM) Securityrelatedstandards,suchasAES256,PKI,secretkeys,andCertificates

Often de facto standards are developed either by a dominant corporation (e.g. IBMs ASCII and Microsofts OLE) or by a consortium of interested vendors (e.g. Zigbee Alliance).Thesedefactostandardshavenotbeenblessedbyastandardsorganization, but can nonetheless be widely used. In many cases, successful de facto standards eventuallybecomeformalizedintorealstandards. Sometimes, when the requirements are less conducive to standards or the question is reallywhichstandardstouse,recommendedpracticesaredevelopedinstead. Anotheraspectofstandardsisthattheycannotbetoorigid,butmuststillleaveflexibility forsystemstoaddnewfunctionalityorselectcertainoptions.Manystandardscomewith bothmandatoryrequirementsandoptionalselections,aswellaswithextensionrulesfor expandingthestandardsinaconsistentmannerfornewfunctions.Thisisoftenviewedas the 80/20 rule, namely that standards should address about 80% of the interoperability needs,buttypicallyatleast20%mustremainforvendorspecificrequirementsorutility specific requirements, as well as the flexibility to meet unforeseen requirements in the future. Most standards are developed by vendors and consultants, with some (but not nearly enough)utilityinvolvement. 4.3 PowerIndustryStandardsBodiesandKeyInteroperabilityStandards 4.3.1 GeneralMethodologyforDevelopingStandards Workon interoperabilitystandards requires manydifferent typesof effort byboth users andvendors: Recognitionoftheneedforastandardinaparticulararea.Thisoftendoesnottake place until a few systems have been implemented using ad hoc or proprietary solutions. Involvementofusers(utilities)todevelopthebusinessscenariosandUseCasesthat drive the requirements for the standard. All too often users leave the standards development up to vendors, who may not recognize all the needs and potential capabilitiesthatshouldbeincluded.
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Cleardefinitionof the scopeandpurpose of thestandard.Sometimes astandards effort is started with a vague scope, and either overlaps or even contradicts some existing,adequatestandards,orfailstoaddressenoughoftheareatobeuseful. Reviewofexistingstandards,includingInternetstandards,todetermineiftheycan meettheneedwithpossiblyonlyminormodificationsorselectionofoptions. Development of a draft standard based on the users requirements as well as the technologyexperienceofthevendors. Widespread review and pilot implementations of the draft standard to resolve ambiguities,impreciserequirements,andincompletefunctionality. Finalization of the standard, full implementation of the standard by vendors, and specificationofthestandardbyusers. Significant interoperability testing of the standard by different vendors with differentscenarios Amending or updating the standard over time to reflect findings during these interoperabilitytests.

The need for the involvement of users in the development of standards cannot be emphasized enough. Unfortunately, users often feel that vendors have the technology expertise needed to develop the standards and therefore can undertake standards development on their own, without fully recognizing that the first step should be that usersdevelopthebusinessrequirementsthatshouldthendrivethestandards. 4.3.2 InternationalElectrotechnicalCommission(IEC) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is the leading global organization that prepares and publishes international standards for all electrical, electronic, and related technologies, primarily for the electric power industry, although some electrical relatedworkinindustrialprocessesisalsoundertaken. The IEC Council consists of National Committees, one from each country which is a member of the IEC. Under the IEC Council are Standards Management Boards (SMBs) which coordinate the international standards work. This standards work is performed throughthemanyTechnicalCouncils(TCs),eachtaskedwithspecificareas.Forinstance, TC 57 is tasked to develop standards for communications and interoperability, and is home to all the Working Groups which are developing many of the Smart Grid interoperabilitystandards. TheWorkingGroupsconsistofTechnicalExpertsauthorizedbytheirNationalCommittee to participate in the 24 meetings a year, with significant work undertaken between meetings.IntheUS,theNationalCommitteeissponsoredbyANSI.Allvotingisdoneby theNationalCommittees.Atypicaltimeframefordevelopinganewstandardisabout35 years,duringwhichtimeastandardstartsasaWorkingDocument(WD)beingdeveloped in the Working Group, then sent to all National Committees for review as a Committee Draft (CD), next resent to the National Committees for review and vote as a Committee Draft for Vote(CDV),then finallyissuedas an International Standard(IS). TheIEC then sellsthesestandardsontheirwebsite.
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SincetheIECiswidelyrecognizedasTHEinternationalstandardsbodyforpowersystem standards in most countries in the world, it is therefore one of the key standards organizations for the power industry. IEC TC 57 has developed specialized communications standards for the power industry, with ongoing work to expand and enhancethesestandards: IEC 61850 for substation automation, distributed generation (photovoltaics, wind power,fuelcells,etc.),SCADAcommunications,anddistributionautomation.Work iscommencingonPluginHybridElectricVehicles(PHEV). IEC61968fordistributionmanagementandAMIbackofficeinterfaces IEC61970(CIM)fortransmissionanddistributionabstractmodeling IEC 62351 for security, focused on IEC protocols, Network and System management,andRoleBasedAccessControl

IEC Technical Council13handlesmetering.Currentlyan effort is abouttostartbetween TC13andTC57tojointlyworkoncommunicationsformetering,specificallyforAMI.

IEC 61850 Models and the Common Information (CIM) Model

Communication Level
Control Center Field Field
Control Center

Application Domains

Support Services

Applications and Databases CIM - Common Information Model (IEC 61970-301, IEC 61968) SA (Substation) DER (Distributed Resources) DA (Distribution Automation) CUS (Customer) GEN (Generation) Other .. GID Generic Interface Definition (IEC 61970-4xx) IEC 61850 Object Models
(IEC 61850-7-3, 7-4, 7-410, 7-420)

Security (IEC 62351 & Other Security Technologies)

Network and System Management (IEC 62351-7)

System Configuration Language (IEC 61850-6) System Configuration Language (IEC 61850-6)

NSM

SEC

SCL SCL

IEC 61850 Service Models

(IEC 61850-7-2 ACSI & GOOSE)

IEC 61850 Profiles & Mapping (IEC 61850-8 & 9,

Web Services, OPC/UA)

Field Devices

Figure5:IECCommunicationStandards

4.3.3 InstituteofElectricalandElectronicEngineers(IEEE) The IEEE has a similar methodology to the IECs for developing drafts and then final standards, only the voting is performed by members of the working groups, not by National Committees. Membership in working groups is much more flexible, typically requiring only that members show up for the meetings and actively participate in the work.
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Inaddition,theIEEEworkinggroupsdevelopmanyothertypesofdocuments,including RecommendedPractices,TechnicalReports,ConferencePapers,andothernonstandards orienteddocuments. The IEEE has developed many standards, but the ones of most interest for communicationsandinteroperabilityare: IEEE802.3(Ethernet) IEEE802.11(WiFi) IEEE802.15.1(Bluetooth) IEEE802.15.4(Zigbee) IEEE802.16(WiMax)

4.3.4 InternetEngineeringTaskForce(IETF) The IETF is responsible for the Internet standards, many of which are now also widely implementedinprivateIntranets.ThetermRFCmeansRequestforComment,andisthe mechanism used by the IETF to develop, send out for comment, and finalize standards. UsuallyanRFCspecificationmustbeimplementedbyatleastacoupleofvendorsbefore itisfullyacceptedasastandard. SomeofthekeyIETFRFCsare: RFC791:InternetProtocol(IP) RFC793:TransportControlProtocol(TCP) RFC1945:HyperTextTransferProtocol(HTTP) RFC2571:SimpleNetworkManagementProtocol(SNMP) RFC3820:InternetX.509PublicKeyInfrastructure(PKI)forsecurity ManyotherRFCstoomanytolistbutusedfortheInternetandprivateinternets

4.3.5 AmericanNationalStandardsInstitute(ANSI) Liketheotherstandardsorganizations,ANSIhasworkinggroupswhichworkonspecific standards, and update them as necessary. The most relevant ANSI standards for interoperabilityofAMIsystemsinclude: ANSIC12.19(meteringtables internalto the meter). This documentiscurrently underrevision ANSIC12.22(communicationsformeteringtables)

4.3.6 NationalInstituteofStandardsandTechnology(NIST) NIST has developed Special Publications in the 800 series which provide documents of general interest to the computer security community. These are more guidelines than standards, but are very important for moving toward secure interoperability. Two documentsthatareofparticularinterestforSmartGridare:
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NISTSP80053:RecommendedSecurityControlsforFederalInformationSystems NISTSP80082:GuidetoIndustrialControlSystems(ICS)Security

4.3.7 NorthAmericanReliabilityCorporation(NERC) NERC has recently issues security standards for the bulk power system. Although these security standards are explicitly for the bulk power system, it is clear that many of the requirements also apply to distribution and AMI systems, and may eventually become standardsforthosefunctions.TheNERCCIP002009SecurityStandardscover: (2) Critical Cyber Asset Identification, (3) Security Management Controls, (4) PersonnelandTraining,(5)ElectronicSecurityPerimeter(s),(6)PhysicalSecurityof CriticalCyberAssets,(7)SystemsSecurityManagement,(8)IncidentReportingand ResponsePlanning,and(9)RecoveryPlansforCriticalCyberAssets

4.3.8 WorldWideWebConsortium(W3C) The W3C develops interoperable technologies (specifications, guidelines, software, and tools)fortheworldwideweb,including: HTMLforwebpagedesign XMLforstructuringdocumentsandotherobjectmodels Web services for applicationtoapplication communications, such as SOAP for transmittingdata

4.4 UsersGroupsandCollaborativeEffortswithinthePowerIndustry Standardscanonlydefineexactlyhowaspecificinterfacemustbestructured,butdonot address which standards may be the best for different requirements, or which optional parameters to implement. Standards cannot be developed in a vacuum, so input for updatesandcorrections,basedonrealworldimplementation,needtobefedbackintothe standardsgroups.Educationandtrainingonthecapabilitiesofdifferentstandardsarealso vitaltoutilizingthestandardscorrectlyandeffectively. Manyusersgroups,collaborativeefforts,associations,alliances,andothernonstandards organizationprovidetheserefinements,feedback,andeducationalprograms.Someofthe keygroupsrelatedtoSmartGridrequirementsaredescribedbelow. 4.4.1 UCAInternationalUsersGroup The UCA International Users Group was developed specifically for addressing user requirements for the IEC standards as well as, more recently, with AMI and Smart Grid issues.Inparticular,threeactivesubcommitteescover: IEC61850 CIM

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OpenSmartGrid(previouslyOpenDR).Veryactiveworkinggroupsandtaskforces are addressing AMI issues (OpenAMI), security for AMI (AMISEC), Home Area Networks(OpenHAN),andAMIEnterpriseissues(AMIEnterprise)

Figure6:UCAInternationalUsersGroup(UCAIug) (OpenSmartGridwaspreviouslyOpenDRSubcommitteename beingdebated)

Figure7:OpenDemandResponse SubcommitteeintheUCAIug

4.4.2 Cigr Cigr,theInternationalCouncilonLargeElectricSystems,isaparallelorganizationtothe IEC,butfocusesondiscussionsandreportstypicallyauthoredbyutilitypersonnel,which arerelatedtokeyissuesfortheelectricpowerindustry. Cigr has a number of working groups which are tasked with developing reports on communications, cyber security, and interoperability issues. Some of these reports are usedtosuggesttypesofstandardsthatshouldbedeveloped,usuallybytheIEC. 4.4.3 GridWiseAlliance The GridWise Alliance is a consortium of public and private stakeholders who are aligned aroundasharedvision.Avisionofanelectricsystemthatintegratestheinfrastructure,processes, devices, information and market structure so that energy can be generated, distributed, and consumed more efficiently and cost effectively; thereby achieving a more resilient, secure and reliableenergysystem.TheGridWiseAlliance is workingwith theDepartment ofEnergy and helps sponsor conferences and workshops, such as the GridWise Architecture Council,GridInterop,GridWeek,andEPRIsIntelliGridprojects. 4.4.4 EPRIsIntelliGrid In2003,EPRIinitiatedtheIntelliGridprojecttodevelopguidelinesoninteroperabilityand standards;theIntelliGridreportswerepublishedin2005.Sincethen,EPRIhassponsored projectswithutilitiestousetheIntelliGridrecommendations.
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4.4.5 VendorCollaborations Manycollaborationsandalliancesofvendorshavebeeninitiatedtoresolvethedetailsof standardsandtodevelopvendoragreementsonwhichaspectsofthestandardsaretobe implemented.Somerelevantvendoralliancesandcollaborationsinclude: ZigbeeAlliance HomePlugPowerlineAlliance ISASP100wirelessradiogroups

4.4.6 UtilityStandardsBoard(USB) The USB is a group of utilities who have agreed to work jointly to develop de facto standardsrelatedtotheinterfacebetweentheAMIsystemandutilitysystems,including back office metering, billing, and revenue protection, as well as distribution operations suchasoutagemanagement,powerquality,andloadmanagement. ThisfundedefforthasprovidedutilitieswithexcellentforumsfordiscussingAMIissues, and isprovidingsignificant inputinto theformal IEC standardsdevelopment processas thedefactostandardsarereleasedthroughtheUCAUsersGrouptotheIEC. In fact, this effort is one of the few where utilities are taking the lead in providing the requirements, the Business Processes, as a foundation for developing interoperability standards. Currentworkincludes: Meter/HeadendEventCodes RemoteConnect/Disconnect OutageManagement

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Figure8:USBScope:AMI/EnterpriseBusInterface

5 Conclusions 5.1 SmartGridBroaderIssues Although this paper is focused on AMI interoperability and standards, Smart Grid also requires interoperability and standards in many other aspects of power systems, including: Distribution operations, in which Distribution Automation (DA) is increasingly becomingnecessarytomanagethedistributionsystemmoreefficientlyandreliably. OutagesmaybedetectedbyAMIsystems,butsmartoperationofthedistribution systemwillavoidtheseoutagesinthefirstplace. Transmission operations, in which information needs to flow not only within a utility but to other neighboring utilities and the responsible independent system operators. Although the primary trigger of the August 13, 2003 blackout was equipment failures, the reason that these failures caused the blackout was due to informationfailures.Interoperabilitystandardsarebeingdevelopedbutneedtobe tested, refined, and implemented more widely to alleviate such crossutility informationfailures. DistributedEnergyResources(DER)installations,inwhichgenerationandstorage units are being interconnected with the distribution system. These distribution systemswerenotdesignedtohandlesignificantamountsofDER,anddistribution operations are not designed to manage the resulting novel and marketdriven power flows. If Plugin Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) reach the volume some analysts expect over the next few years, distribution operations will become even morecomplexascustomersbuyandsellpower.Again,informationfromthewide
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varietyofDERsystemsisneededforutilitiestoensureefficientandreliableservice whilerespondingtothevaryingmarketandcustomerdemands. EachoftheseareaswarrantsasimilarassessmentaslaidoutinthispaperforAMIofthe requirementsandthecyberstandardsthatarebeingdevelopedandimplementedtomeet thoserequirements. 5.2 LifeCycleCostSavingsfromInteroperableStandards Lifecycle cost savings are the most important benefit from interoperable standards. Decisions often have to be made which involve determining whether future savings are worthinitialcostincreases.TheSmartGridvisionshouldlooktofuturecostsavingsrather than just initialcosts. This isoftendifficult, partly becauseimmediate costs areoften the mainfocusofattention,andpartlybecausefuturecostsavingsarelesseasytodetermine, ortoprovebeforethefact. Although the following diagrammayseem obvious, it can bevery importantto keep its lessons in mind as decisions are being made: does the future worth of Technology A outweightheincreasedinitialcostsoverTechnologyB?

Decisions Based on Long-term Cost Savings of Different Technologies

Technology A Cost Savings

Technology B

Time Decision point: Technology A: higher initial cost but greater long-term cost savings, or Technology B: lower initial cost but less cost savings?

Figure9:Decisionsshouldbebasedonlongtermcostsavings

Itisclearthatinteroperabilityandtheuseofstandardscanimprovecostsavingsoverthe long term by providing the ongoing engineering savings, the lifecycle maintenance savings, and the flexibility to upgrade and replace modules through simple plugand worktechniques.Thefalseeconomiesofshorttermplanningshouldbeavoidedifatall possible.

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5.3 UtilityInvolvementintheStandardsProcess As mentioned throughout this paper, utilitiesneedtobemoreinvolvedinthe standards and interoperability process, because only utilities can really understand the business and functional requirements and because they will ultimately be the users of the resulting standards.Ifthestandardsdonotmeeta utilitys needs, they will gather dust on an (electronic) shelf while the utilities are scrambling to patch together their manynoninteroperablesystems. The most important steps in the development of standards is the understanding of the actual business requirements. This understanding should be provided by (preferably multiple) utilities through the developmentoftheirBusinessProcesses (also called Use Cases). Often utilities start with a simple narrative of a business process, then with the assistance of Standards Experts, expand thenarrativeintoaseriesofwelldefined steps or into drawings called Activity Diagrams.

Figure10:ProcedureforGoingfromBusinessProcesses toStandards

From these steps or diagrams, Standards Experts can then extract the information flows thatwill betransmittedacross systeminterfaces, convertingtheminto nouns,verbs, andgrammarforinclusionintostandards.Afterreviewingrelevantexistingstandards, theStandardsExpertscanthenformalizethenewrequirementseitherintotheseexisting standards or into new standards. Finally, utilities and their vendors will implement and testthestandardstoensuretheyreallydomeettherequirements. Utility involvement is truly vital, but all too often they do not get involved in the standards process, relying on consultants and vendors (who may have interest only in specificproducts)todetermineeventhebusinessrequirements. 5.4 MaximizingtheBenefitsofInteroperabilityStandards Inanutshell,SmartGridcapabilities,inwhateverformtheyeventuallytake,willneedto relyonaninformationinfrastructurebasedoninteroperabilitystandards. Just like electric power utilities must design, manage, and maintain the power system infrastructure to provide reliable energy to their customers, so too will the Smart Grid informationinfrastructureneedtobedesigned,managed,andmaintainedtoprovidethe reliabilitytosupportthisintelligentpowersystem.
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Utilities need to manage both the power system infrastructure and the information infrastructure
1.Power System Infrastructure
Operators, Planners & Engineers

Central Generating Station

Step-Up Transformer

2. Communications and Information Infrastructure

Control Center
Microturbine

Distribution Substation

Gas Turbine

Receiving Station Distribution Substation

Distribution Substation

Cogeneration Turbine

Photovoltaic systems

Diesel Engine

Fuel cell

Commercial

Cogeneration

Storage Industrial Residential Commercial

Wind Power

Figure11:UtilitiesneedtomanageboththePowerSystemInfrastructureandthe InformationInfrastructure

That said, it is also critical to understand that utilities and vendors must often move forward whether or not the standards exist or have been completed. The lag time in developing standards is inevitable, but utilities and vendors must nonetheless specify, design, and implement systems without waiting for these standards. In addition, many legacy systems cannot be costeffectively upgraded or replaced to take advantage of relevantstandardsevenwhenthesedoexist. Therefore, mechanisms must be utilized for maximizing the benefits that come from interoperability standards while minimizing the delays and expenses of implementing newstandards.Someofthesemechanismsare: Designsystemsbasedonstandards:Evenifstandardsarenotyetavailable,their ultimate use should be designed into the systems, and included in the lifecycle planning. In particular, security mechanisms should be designed in, even if the precise security standards are not available. This may seem a little like fortune telling, but often the key elements of standards are known long before they are finalized. Usestateofthearttechnologiesasmuchasfeasible:Usuallystandardsarebased onthelatesttechnologydevelopments,sothateveniftheactualstandardsarenot yetavailable,theshiftfromthestateofthearttechnologiestotheactualstandards willrequirefewerupgradesorreplacements.Forinstance,theuseofIPaddressing, Ethernet,securitytechnologies,andXMLbaseddatadefinitionsandmessagingwill maketheimplementationofthenewerstandardseasier.

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Modularity: If systems are developed as modules (software, firmware, and hardware modules), then certain modules can be reprogrammed or replaced with thestandardswhentheybecomeavailable. Flexibility:Systemsshouldbedesignedsothatasstandardsareimplemented,the systemscanrecognizetheupgradesandreconfigurethemselvesappropriately. Assumechangewilloccur:Inthecyberworld,equipmentandsystemshavealife time of a few years, not a few decades as in the power world. Therefore much shortersystemlifecyclesneedtobeexpected,plannedfor,andbudgeted. Implement draft standards: Although final standards can take years, draft standardsareoften90%completewithinamuchshortertime.Combinedwiththe flexibility to upgrade modules, systems can implement these draft standards and expectonlyminimalupgradeefforts. Use adapters around legacy systems: Systems which can not costeffectively be upgraded to the new standards can have wrappers or adapters placed between them and the new systems using the standards. This insulates the legacy systems whilestillpermittingthestandardstobeimplemented. Participate in standards development: Standards are only as good as the true business requirements are understood. Utilities in particular are urged to participateatleastintherequirementsphaseofstandardsdevelopment.

InteroperabilityisthekeytotheSmartGrid,andstandardsarethekeytointeroperability. Themoreinvolvementbyutilities,vendors,andothersinthedevelopmentofstandards, thefasterthevisionofaSmartGridwillberealized.

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Biographies
UtilityStandardsBoard(USB)Sponsorofthispaper

FrancesClevelandisPresidentandPrincipalConsultantforXanthusConsultingInternational. ShehasmanagedandconsultedonSmartGridinformationsystems,interoperability,andsecurity projectsforelectricpowerutilitiesforover30years,coveringenergymanagementsystems, distributionautomation,substationautomation,distributedenergyresources,advancedmetering infrastructure,andenergymarketoperations.Ms.Clevelandhasparticipatedininformation standardsdevelopmentthroughtheIECandIEEEasconvenorofIECTC57WG15onsecurityand aschairpersonoftheIEEEPESPowerCommunicationsCommittee.SheiscurrentlytheTechnical AdvisortotheUSB. ForrestSmallisaDirectorintheEnergyPracticeofNavigantConsulting.Hehelpsclientsmake strategicdecisionsrelatedtoadvancedelectricpowertechnologyandhowitinfluencestheir businesses.HeisfocusedontheconvergenceoftheSmartGridandrenewableenergyresources, andhowthesecomplementaryplatformscanbeleveragedtomeetenergyandbusinesschallenges. ForrestsseventeenyearcareerbeganintransmissionplanningandoperationsatCentralMaine PowerCompanywherehewasresponsiblefordevelopingstrategicsystemdevelopmentplans, includingtheinterconnectionofmerchantgeneration.Forthepastnineyearshehasbeena managementconsultantassistingclientswitharangeofcomplexbusinesschallengesincluding technologystrategy,utilitiesprivatization,businessprocessmanagement,andperformance improvement. TomBrunettoisaManagingPartnerwithDEFGLLCandaseniorexecutivewithmorethan thirtyyearsofexperienceinthegasandelectricindustry.Hisexpertiseincludesgeneral management,operations,productbusinessdevelopment,regulation,andsalesandmarketing.Mr. Brunettoisskilledinbusinessstrategy,startupmanagement,supplychain,business transformationandoperationalexcellence,andcustomercare.HeisacofounderoftheCCRCand leadstheDETechutilityconsortium.RecentlyMr.Brunettoconductedassignmentsonbusiness sustainabilityandaligningthevalueofcarbonreductionwithDR,EEanddistributedresources activities,andheisassistingutilitiestoestablishstandardsfortheSmartGridandAMI.
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