CHAPTER 4

STRATEGY AND FINANCE

Harnessing the Power of the Intelligent Grid to Innovate / Enhance Efficiency and Reliability of Utility
By leveraging advanced technology, with smart metering as the cornerstone, utilities can manage data better and expand to support new services more quickly. www.UtilitiesProject.com/10745

The Challenge he electric power infrastructure is a foundation of American prosperity and one of the key elements of the digital economy of the future. This vital asset is under pressure issues such as continuing growth in demand, the importance of power quality and reliability in a digital society, aging workforce and assets, physical and cyber security of the electric infrastructure and environmental and cost pressures all combine to drive the need for change. This change can come in the form of implementing an intelligent grid for the electric utility, providing communications and computer control to create a highly automated, responsive and resilient power delivery system.

harnessing The Power of The inTelligenT grid Addressing these challenges, IBM and CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric,

LLC (CNP) a Houston-based domestic electric energy delivery company that includes transmission and distribution utility operations are moving toward modernizing CNPs electric grid through transforming business processes and reliability and by utilizing advanced technology. Much of the technology hardware, software, new materials has already been proven, by utility pioneers or by other industries. The intelligent grid utilizes technology in three important ways: 1) automating the grid to harden it and make it less costly; 2) integrating the electric grid to create an end-to-end network for quickly acquiring and transporting data from millions of end points; and 3) expanding the value of the grid beyond typical utility needs to support new services and new markets offered by retailers. IBM and CNP have developed an intelligent grid road map that aligns with the DOEs Grid 2030 and EPRIs IntelliGrid

Framework. There are three key components of the intelligent grid architecture that include:

event avoidance Remote load profiling/management Grid event diagnostics Advanced data analysis Grid condition sensing and predictive response self-healing grid Improved asset management/visibility Real-time grid condition monitoring Automated grid switching Meter as a sensor Transformer load management Condition-based crew dispatching Grid event detection and location advanced Meter infrastructure Meters Meter interrogation Meter connect/disconnect Outage notification Two-way communications with meters
The components of the intelligent grid are the important building blocks of the smart delivery systems. They help to look at preventive care to the network by identifying and repairing intermittent grid problems to minimize outages. The system is built with real-time sensing, thus providing the ability to react to disturbances and helping to maintain a healthy and secure power grid. One area not to overlook is the need for continuous monitoring to be able to dynami-

WRITTEN BY
Kevin Klein, iBM; Jim sheppard, CenterPoint energy
Kevin Klein is an associate partner with IBM Application Innovation Services and has worked extensively with the AMI (Advanced Meter Infrastructure) project at CenterPoint. Prior to joining IBM, Mr. Klein worked for 15 years at NASA, in the field of aerospace, serving as an authority and consultant in the Space Shuttle and International Space Station (ISS) program and is a recognized expert in managing complex projects. Jim Sheppard is director of business processes for CenterPoint Energy and is the project leader for automated metering infrastructure/automated meter management development. He holds a B.S. in technology from the University of Houston and has over 38 years experience in the electric power industry in field services, meter reading and customer relations.

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CoMMuniCaTion The CNP intelligent grid and advanced metering strategy requires a communications capability that enables extensive real-time grid observability. This includes monitoring, data transport and integration, along with the analytics necessary to provide input to automated processes to support advanced decision making in the areas of operations, customer services and asset management. BPL was chosen as the communication network because it provides a robust, secure communications infrastructure overlaying the grid and is capable of managing high-speed data flow for critical utility applications. CNP has chosen an open architecture and is working with IBM as the system integrator to implement this solution. This communication backhaul network can be segregated into four distinct segments or tiers: Tier 1 Major backhaul: data center to the substations Tier 2 Minor backhaul: substations to the intelligent grid device or meter relay Tier 3 Wireless meter data collector communications with the meter Tier 4 Meter to Zigbee wireless connection to home energy management devices
This communication network can link all the components of the intelligent grid to provide a path for the data to be transmitted back to the data centers for processing.

cally optimize the performance and robustness of the power grid. An intelligent grid becomes a sensing network that connects all parts of the electric power distribution infrastructure, enabling automatic data collection, storage and analytics to support management of assets and operations with improved observability, ultimately delivering efficient system reliability. This allows sensor devices such as meter relays to communicate over the network via middleware services that can connect and communicate with both legacy and modern backoffice systems as well as field operations devices that monitor and control power line equipment. The back-office functions can include: finance and administration, customer management, human resources and procurement. The field operations devices can help a utility to manage asset life cycle, advanced metering and mobile workforces. This cycle can look at the overall analytics and update the systems to continuously provide the appropriate feedback and data to support the required back-end functions. This is all done over a flexible and open architecture one that is safe and secure.

advanCed MeTering is CaTalysT for The inTelligenT grid The Energy Policy Act of 2005, Section 1252 requires regulatory commissions to consider new standards relating to electric rates and service, and encourages time-based pricing and other forms of demand response, whereby electricity customers are provided with electricity price signals and the ability to benefit by responding to them. Advanced meters and demand response use enabling technologies, such as sensors, that act as catalysts for the development of the intelligent grid. The IBM/CNP Intelligent Grid Solution involves installing, testing and monitoring automated meter reading (AMR) of electric meters, remote connection and disconnection of electric service and automated outage detection and restoration. Broadband over powerline (BPL) technology will be used for the data communications network.

advanced Metering infrastructure Advanced metering provides the cornerstone for the smart grid, enabling a more fluid and competitive retail market while enhancing a utilitys ability to improve reliability, customer service, operational efficiency and energy conservation. Advanced metering and an intelligent grid will also expand electric competition in the Texas market by allowing retail energy providers (REPs) to offer more services without large investments in technology. This will be accomplished by more transparency of pricing and insight into choices available in the market. Advanced metering, acting as a cornerstone for the

smart grid, also provides a platform that 1) enables customers to make energy conservation decisions that help protect the environment, 2) affords utilities advanced outage identification and enhanced power restoration capabilities and 3) permits the integration of energy produced by customer-owned renewable sources (such as solar or wind applications) into the network. The drivers for AMI included both business and technical needs. The model selected by IBM and CNP addresses issues related to both AMI and service management, as outlined below. For AMI, business needs are focused around the market terms and conditions (timely and accurate monthly reads along with on-demand reads) and compliance with the Public Utility Commission of Texas advanced metering rules that are currently under development. AMI technical needs look at the meter functions (voltage alerts, real-time measurements, and time and date stamps) and is built on an open architecture (imperative for allowing the system to be flexible and grow to meet changing technologies). Automated meters play a critical role in the intelligent grid architecture by providing another sensing device. This innovative approach transforms the meter role from simply a usage recorder into a network sensor and portal, thus enabling the lag time, or the latency, of providing meter information to the network to be as low as possible. The current work with CNP and IBM focuses on understanding latency throughout the intelligent grid in order to increase the speed of data transfer to improve diagnostics on system status, thus enabling faster automated restoration of power when outages occur. For service management, business needs dictate looking at ways to reduce cost by exercising remote meter con-

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More information and additional material can be found online at www.utilitiesProject.com/10745

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Harnessing the Power of the Intelligent Grid

CHAPTER 4

STRATEGY AND FINANCE

Intelligent Grid Sensor Demand Mgmt Gateway to Limited Home Automation

Drive-by Automation Basic Improved Metering Cash Register Cash Register Technology

Networked Data Collection System

Cash Register Off-Cycle Reading TOU Rates Load Modeling

Technological Capabilities

Time-based rate support Outage and restoration notification Self-serve customer usage portals Remote (automated) service Advanced distribution management Self-healing distribution systems Load modeling

Market Interests

figure 1 Evolving Role of Metering

1 Meter Candidates
A B C D E F G H Itron OpenWay Itron FN-2 DCSI GE Elster Landis & Gyr Sensus Echelon

2 Regulatory
Level 1 Key Criteria

3 Business

4 Technical Operational

Level 2 Key Criteria Level 3 Key Criteria Level 4 Key Criteria

Reduce costs Improved customer service Enable energy-smart customers Build with future flexibility in mind Operational efficiencies Prepayment Increase reliability Open architecture Open date model Security 2-way high-speed comm Time of use Long-term data storage Disconnect/connect Home area network Power quality Outage detection Tamper detection Programmable meters Self-healing network Remote download firmware Network mgmt Self-locating meters

Advanced meter rules - Automated/remote metering - 2-way communication - dynamic pricing options - Remote connect/disconnect - Time tolerance stamp - Load mgmt - Demand response - Data transfer to REPs - Data storage ANSI C12.19 - Open standards architecture w/ANSI C12.22 - Customer interaction - Prepay support - Consumption data Terms and conditions Texas nodal Hardening of grid

Level 1 Outcome

Level 2 Outcome

Level 3 Outcome Itron Open Way

Level 4 Outcome Itron Open Way

figure 2 Open Metering System

nect/disconnect, self-service portals and self-healing systems. Key to this activity will be the ability to gather meter data for analysis and usage, voltage profiling and load management. The service management technical needs require building an infrastructure that can support the remote device control, meter status reporting, outage/restoration reporting and diagnostic and distribution analytics. The meters will need to have two-way communication capability and provide data on theft and tampering flags. The solution that CNP and IBM are creating has the capability to send firmware changes to meters to avoid having to change them out as new market requirements evolve. Figure 1 shows successive

increase in improvement as the scope of metering is broadened.

aMi seleCTion IBM helped CNP with the AMI selection criteria for both meter vendor and MDM (meter data management) solutions for the proposed limited deployment of 10,000 meters in 2007. One of the key criteria was having an open system that was scalable to meet CNPs growing needs. The decision process spanned the following key areas: regulatory, business, technical and operational. Figure 3 illustrates the key criteria for each of these areas. At the conclusion of the selection process, Itrons OpenWay CENTRON electricity meter and eMeters MDM solu-

tion were chosen for the proposed limited deployment. The eMeter MDM is built on a core application known as EnergyIP which has adapters that can be built to interface with legacy systems and the AMI network and meter provider. The MDM includes an AMI management database that maintains the complex relationship between the meter, account premise, service point and communication node. It processes real-time information using an integrated message bus that connects AMI meter systems to meter data processing and business process management applications. The eMeter MDM also uses realtime messaging services to connect interface adapters that are tied to CNPs legacy systems. The MDM information can also be viewed via web portals built by IBM using web services APIs. The MDM collects meter reading and event information via connection to Itrons Openway servers. Itrons OpenWay meter architecture is a true two-way communication system to the meters with the ability to make firmware changes to each meter unit. The meters communication across a radio frequency network uses already-established ANSI standard protocols (C12.22) and are picked up via an OpenWay cell relay. This OpenWay cell relay is connected to the communication backhaul via interface with the BPL boxes. Data is then sent over the secure BPL communications network to the OpenWay servers/collection engine. The CNP AMI solution uses all the technologies described to build a flexible and innovative approach to the metering system. The solution architecture, along with the data access features, will allow thirdparty portal access for retail energy providers and support innovative customer premise services and home area network capabilities. n
CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC is a subsidiary of CenterPoint Energy, Inc., a domestic energy delivery company that includes electric transmission and distribution, natural gas distribution, competitive natural gas sales and services, interstate pipelines and field services operations.

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Innovation in Action

Value Chain (Partner) Integration