Christian Blais Vice President - ITVice President IT

BELCOBermuda

Challenges & solutions to extending the Smart Grid into Bermuda’s

homes

BermudaBermuda• Settled in 1609, oldest British colonySettled in 1609, oldest British colony• 21 square miles of land mass

700 il ff th t f N th C li• 700 miles off the coast of North Carolina• Sub-tropical climate (50’s – 80’s F)• Insurance, Investments and Tourism• 65,000 residents65,000 residents• Highest per capita income

Hi h t b db d t ti• Highest broadband penetration

Bermuda Electric Light Co LtdBermuda Electric Light Co. Ltd.

• Founded in 1906• Founded in 1906• Investor owned

350 l• 350 employees• 36,000 customers – sole provider

160 MW it• 160 MW capacity• 12 diesel and 7 gas turbine generators• North American standard of 120v, 60 cycles• kWh costs 4-6 times the typical cost in USA

( 40¢)(~40¢)

Metering backgroundMetering background• Traditionally based on 3 different mechanical Traditionally based on 3 different mechanical

meter manufacturers• Started AMR deployment in 2005Started AMR deployment in 2005• ~50% of meters replaced with AMR• Deployment paused in 2007 due to AMI• Deployment paused in 2007 due to AMI• Initial drivers:-

Meter accuracy- Meter accuracy- Access

Reading efficiency- Reading efficiency

Present status of AMI projectPresent status of AMI project

T ti t t ith 900MH RF h• Testing smart meters with 900MHz RF mesh

• Pilot integration with Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS)

• Evaluating telecommunications optionsg p• Upgraded CIS – preparing for MDM• Enterprise Data Management implementation• Enterprise Data Management implementation• Regulatory discussions on priorities and

funding optionsfunding options

Regulatory prioritiesRegulatory priorities

C t t d • Customer empowerment and energy efficiency/conservation:

C d- Consumption data- Dynamic rate structures- Net metering- Demand response and DSMDemand response and DSM- Load curtailment

Challenges mixed returnsChallenges – mixed returns

Source:MIT “Future of the Electric Grid”

ChallengesChallenges

E i t b l• Economic turbulence• F.U.D. regarding Smart Meters:

- Health risks from RF emissions- Breach of privacyBreach of privacy- Enabling surveillance and spying

S it i k- Security risks- Increased consumption readings

Other considerations dataOther considerations - data

Data estimatesData estimates

I di ti f th j t Indications from other projects e.g.• UK’s smart metering – 44m homes x 2 reads

d 32 b ll l dper day = 32 billion annual data events• At Austin Energy 500,000 smart meters at

15 minute reads = 200TB annually• 400MB per meter per year

…..Approximately 15TB per year in Bermuda

Metering & sub meteringMetering & sub-meteringLEVEL I LEVEL II LEVEL IIILEVEL I

Appliance Usage Monitor

LEVEL IIMetering Monitor

LEVEL IIIHome Energy

Management System(HEMS)

Plug-in to a device or appliance and monitor consumption by kWh or $$$’s e.g. Kill-A-Watt:

Connect to utility meter and monitor household consumption by kWh or $$$’s. Also upload information to PC or web e.g. The Energy Detective (TED):

Connect to meter and appliance to monitor appliance and household consumption, automation, configuration and participate in utility pricing events and DR/load

t il t T d ilcurtailment e.g. Tendril:

Sub metering & HEMSSub-metering & HEMS

C ti d t b li• Consumption data by appliance• A gateway to targeted load curtailment:

- Water heaters- Pool pumpsPool pumps- Refrigeration

A/C ???- A/C ???• Evolution from HEMS to home automation

HEMS a crowded marketHEMS – a crowded market…

Meter communicationsMeter communications

T ti ith RF h NAN b kh l • Testing with RF mesh NAN – backhaul over cellular (3G) networks

l f• Evaluate impact of:- Long Term Evolution (LTE)- WiMax- Fibre-To-The-HomeFibre To The Home- Carrier based versus private?

l h l d• Regulatory changes in telecoms industry

Communications AssumptionsCommunications AssumptionsRequirementsRequirements

Capacity • Normal condition - ~0.20 MB per hour/300 smart meters• Critical/disaster condition – ~2.50 MB per hour/300 smart meters

Message Latency • < 5 seconds for real-time smart meter operations

Coverage • Island-wide available although meter positioning can be an issueCoverage g p g

Reliability • > 98% for smart meter operations

Security • Comply with NIST IR 7628 security guidelines

Communications optionsCommunications options3G RF Mesh PLC

Network Type Operator managed WAN Utility deployed and operated

Utility deployed and operated

Topology Cellular Star, tree and mesh Power line

Spectrum Licensed Unlicensed Power line

Data Rate 1 Mbps Up to 100+ Kbps Up to 100+ Kbps

Latency < 1 sec 1 – 60 sec < 1 sec

Coverage Island wide although k

Up to ~50m Up to several Km’s with d i d t tsome weak areas decreasing data rate

Reliability > 99% successful link establishment

Product and design specific

Dependent on power line quality

Security Application layer security can ensure end-to-end protection

Communications optionsCommunications options3G RF Mesh PLC

Ease of network install & operation

• carrier maintained• strong market driving lower costs

• Utility deployed and operated • Utility deployed and operated

Lifetime • mature technology• still being deployed

• Immature technology• Proprietary with no other known use-cases

• dependent on long-term technology momentum

Capacity & performance

• high capacity with 2+ Mbps data rate today

• low capacity/data rate• performance dependent on

• low data rate that degrades over distanceperformance data rate today

• superior latency performanceperformance dependent on

network designover distance

Low interference with other networks

• licensing of spectrum protects from interference

• Unlicensed spectrum shared by cordless phones, baby monitors, upcoming 802.11ah etc

• possible interference with wireless technologies

etc.

Voice & data availability

• can utilize existing network agreements

• not available • not available

Strong Intermediate Weak / Not supported

Cost comparison e gCost comparison e.g.

Benefits customerBenefits – customerEnhanced customer experience enabling:Enhanced customer experience enabling:• Bill-to-date, web presentment, enhanced

move-in/move-out etc.move in/move out etc.• Pre-payment, enhanced budget billing etc.

S it tifi ti• Security notifications• Faster restoration and improved prioritization

….however, the financial returns are hard to quantifyquantify….

Benefits utilityBenefits - utility• Data, data, data…..Data, data, data…..• Improved customer service

O t t• Outage management• Financial optimization

- Rapid service activation/deactivation- theft mitigation (MDA)theft mitigation (MDA)- flexibility (TOU, Pre-Pay, set & forget)

l ti t t/- real-time cost management/recovery

AMI – evolving capabilitiesAMI – evolving capabilities

Keys to successKeys to success• Customer engagement is critical through education and

d t di f th b fit Di l th F U D !understanding of the benefits. Dispel the F.U.D.!

• Commitment and support from all levels of the organization as many business units must collaborateorganization as many business units must collaborate

• Data & telecoms architecture - invest the effort in the up-front analysis to get this right – after the fact will be p y g gexpensive

• Policy definition. understanding of legal and regulatory requirements economies may form around the datarequirements – economies may form around the data

• Process re-engineering. Situational awareness will drive the evolution from reactive to proactive business pprocesses

“It is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information”

…….quipped Oscar Wilde in 1894.23