IntelliGrid Architecture

See IntelliGrid Web Site

The IntelliGrid Project was sponsored by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). The project had two objectives:

1) The identification and description of current and future Power System Functions thus determining the Business Needs of power system operations requirements for the power system of today and in the future, including self-healing grid concepts. These power system functions were the drivers for the development of the IntelliGrid Architecture.

2) The development of the IntelliGrid Architecture which used these power system functional, configuration, and performance requirements as the basis for the information requirements necessary to support the envisioned power system of the future, building toward a Strategic Vision, using a Tactical Approach based on IntelliGrid Environments and technology independent techniques, based on Standard Technologies and Best Practices.

Need for the IntelliGrid Architecture

The IntelliGrid Architecture project represents the initial steps on a journey toward a more capable, secure, and manageable energy provisioning and delivery system. The IntelliGrid Architecture project envisions a variety of plausible futures for electric and energy service operations ranging from advanced automation to dynamic consumer response. The project results propose the next steps in the process of bringing this vision to fruition. These steps include using more rigorous systems engineering practices, application of IntelliGrid Architecture principles, and implementing the project recommendations.

IntelliGrid Architecture builds upon existing information industry infrastructure and standards development work and proposes a series of pathways by which the industry can more effectively integrate advanced automation and consumer systems over the long term. It should be noted that developing an industry-level architecture is a process, not an end in itself. The IntelliGrid Architecture project represents only the initial steps in a longer journey toward more effective long term and intelligent use of advanced technology.

Figure  1: Two Infrastructures Must be Managed: the Power System and the Information Infrastructure

Framework of the IntelliGrid Architecture

EPRI’s IntelliGrid Architecture provides the design principles for information exchange, integration of systems, and use of standards for the power system industry. The IntelliGrid Architecture is based on a complete set of power system functional requirements for supporting self-healing power systems, energy marketplace transactions, sharing and synergy among all types of utility operational functions, and integrated customer services.

The framework of the IntelliGrid Architecture consists of the following:

• Power system functional requirements: the driver for the information infrastructure

• Strategic design principles: the principles for designing systems for the power system industry

• Tactical design – environments: characterization of the different environments found in the power system industry

• Recommended standards: the standards, technologies, and best practices recommended for each environment

• Guidelines for using the IntelliGrid Architecture

Figure 2: IntelliGrid Architecture Framework

Power System Functional Requirements

Over 400 power system functions in 6 domain areas were analyzed with respect to the following key information and integration issues:

• configuration requirements

• performance requirements

• security requirements

• network management requirements

• data management requirements

The six domains are:

• Market operations

• Transmission operations

• Distribution operations

• Generation connected to high voltage

• Distributed energy resources

• Customer services

Strategic Design Principles

The design principles or strategic vision of the IntelliGrid Architecture are the following:

• Abstract Modeling: Modeling is one of the most powerful tools available for understanding, documenting, and managing the complexity of the infrastructures required to operate the energy system of the future. It is far less expensive to construct a model to test theories or techniques than to construct an actual entity only to find out that one crucial technique is wrong and the entire entity must be re-constructed.

• Security: Cyber security of advanced automation and customer communications systems is one of the most important and challenging technical issues of our time. Increasing demand for information technology and reliance on advanced automation has created substantial challenges for system administrators as they try to keep their cyber systems secure from attack. Higher levels of integration across the industry and using open systems combine to raise the challenges of securing systems. Security policy implementation, a recommended practice, requires many of the concepts that architectures bring forward including system documentation, and structure.

• Network Management: Two infrastructures must now be managed: the Power System Infrastructure and the Information Infrastructure. The management of the power system infrastructure is increasingly reliant on the information infrastructure as automation continues to replace manual operations, and is therefore affected by any problems that the information infrastructure might suffer.

• Data Management: Data management is one of the most difficult aspects of the information infrastructure. All too often a very carefully designed system that has been designed to provide excellent benefits to power system operations is ignored, or actually turned off, because the input data is just not accurate or available enough for the results of the function to be trusted – ‘Garbage in; Garbage out’.

• Interoperability and Standards: The ultimate goal of interoperability is to enable two independently developed devices to integrate their operations over a communications network. While the concept appears simple on the surface, the complexity of the systems or components requires a substantial amount of agreement in the way they interact. The powerful concept of ‘Plug and Play’ requires very sophisticated levels of interoperability. Only the development and acceptance of international standards will permit this necessary level of interoperability.

• Technology Independence: Successful integration of a utility’s various systems requires a method that does not require existing applications to be disturbed. Typically, integration is performed by employing a run-time integration infrastructure and component adapters.  The run-time integration infrastructure provides a common platform for component links. This common platform and the “adapters” provide the independence from the actual technologies utilized.

Tactical Design: IntelliGrid Environments

Design Principles and Strategic Visions are vital to establishing the frameworks – but then the question is “What do I do with this?” How to I actually apply these principles?”. The answer is through the use of the IntelliGrid Environments.

An IntelliGrid Environment is defined as a communication/information environment where the configuration, quality of service, security, and data management requirements of functions are the same or very similar. Each IntelliGrid Environment then contains links to the recommended standards, services, and best practices for each of the key areas of configuration, quality of service, security, network management, and data management.

The 21 IntelliGrid Environments are shown below. Each of these IntelliGrid Environments could eventually be further resolved into multiple “sub-environments”.  Consumer sites, for instance are shown as single “Intra-Customer” environment.  Consumer sites, however, may have separate sub-environments for narrow bandwidth, special purpose building automation systems and for broadband control systems that coexist with corporate office networking environments. This development of sub-environments will need to be undertake as utilities start to work with the IntelliGrid Environments.

Figure 3: IntelliGrid Environments

Recommended Standards

International standards, technologies, and best practices are described in the IntelliGrid Architecture, describing their purpose and key capabilities. These cover the industry-wide internet-based technologies, media-specific technologies, security countermeasures, network management solutions, system management practices, as well as existing power industry-specific standards and the many legacy technologies.

Each of the IntelliGrid Environments links to those standards, technologies, and best practices that are recommended for that Environment’s configurations, quality of service, security, network management, and data management.

How to Use the IntelliGrid Architecture

The IntelliGrid Architecture is a roadmap that can be used for many purposes by diverse groups of people. One of the primary users will be project engineers. Project engineers can use the IntelliGrid Architecture for a specific implementation project. These project engineers will utilize the Power System Functions identified by the power system planners to determine the detailed requirements associated with each step or ‘environment’ of the power system functions. These environments link to the recommended standards, technologies, and best practices for providing the information infrastructure needed by these power system functions.

The IntelliGrid Environments also identify alternatives and possible solutions for each type of interface, thus providing choices to the project engineers. Since different implementations will always have different constraints, existing legacy systems, and corporate policies, the project engineers will be able to review this range of solutions and select those solutions which best match the unique needs of their implementation.