Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has continued to innovate with the latest being that Smart Grid will soon form a linkage between communication and electricity as International Telecommunication Union plans to standardize the format for global consumption.This indication emerged at the weekend with the insight that the new standards will enable cost-effective smart grid applications such as distribution automation, smart meters, smart appliances and advanced recharging systems for electric vehicles as having entered the final stage of approval.
The smart grid ITU said would be based on the G.hnem standards as recommended by the ITU- Telecommunication Standardization Sector to address several smart grid applications such as distribution automation, advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), demand side management (DSM), grid-to-home communications, home/building energy management, home automation, vehicle-to-grid and vehicle-to-charging station communications.
Confirming this development, Secretary General, ITU, Dr Hamadoun Touré said, noted that in a standard power system, generation, delivery and consumption of electricity all take place at the same time.
This, he said, makes the control of supply and demand uniquely challenging, hence, the new standards tends to provide the crucial link between electricity and communications networks, thereby enabling utilities to exercise a higher level of monitoring and control of the grid.
He explained that G.hnem is an ideal platform for smart grid applications because of its support of power lines as a communications medium that is under the direct and complete control of power utilities.
“Since power line communications (PLC) exploit the existing wired infrastructure, the cost to deploy a communications channel is greatly reduced,” he said.
In addition, Toure said, because G.hnem supports popular protocols like Ethernet, Internet Protocol version Four (IPv4) and Internet Protocol version Six (IPv6), G.hnem-based smart grid networks can easily be integrated with IP-based networks.
“Smart Grid is a dynamic addition to today’s energy networks, which will be capable of delivering customizable services on a massive scale. To ensure an efficient global rollout, global standards are a must,” the ITU scribe said.
Also commenting, Director, Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, ITU, Mr. Malcolm Johnson pointing out that many national stimulus plans have given smart grid significant backing, especially with the need for standards also cited as key to the fast rollout of the technology.
“The G.hnem standards now entering the final stages of approval can be applied globally today, and are ready to give a much needed boost to power line communications technology, making electricity distribution cleaner, leaner and greener,” he said.
The two G.hnem standards ITU-T G.9955 and G.9956, he explained, contain the physical layer and data link layer specification respectively, for narrowband Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM), power line communications transceivers for communications via alternating current and direct current electric power lines over frequencies below 500 kHz.
These ITU-T standards, Johnson said, support indoor and outdoor communications over low voltage lines, medium voltage lines, through transformer low-voltage to medium-voltage, and through transformer medium-voltage to low-voltage power lines in both urban and long distance rural communications.
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