A secure and privacy-preserving approach to communications in smart grids

Secured gateway based communication in heterogeneous SM –neighbourhood area network in smart grid using FPGA design

In this paper, we present a signcryption scheme called CP_ABSC based on Ciphertext-Policy Attribute Based Encryption (CP_ABE)[7] to secure the multicast communications in smart grids that require access control, data encryption, and authentication to ensure message integrity and confidentiality. CP_ABSC provides algorithms for key management, signcryption, and designcryption. It can be used to signcrypt a message based on the access rights specified by the message itself. A user can designcrypt a ciphertext if and only if it possesses the attributes required by the access structure of the data. Thus CP_ABSC effectively defines a multicast group based on the access rights of the data specified by the data itself, which differs significantly from the traditional Internet based multicast where the destination group is predetermined and must be known by the data source. CP_ABSC provides collusion attack resistance, message authentication, forgery prevention, and confidentiality. It can be easily applied in smart grids to secure the instructions/commands broadcast from a utility company to multiple smart meters (push-based multicast) and the data retrieved from a smart meter to multiple destinations (pull-based multicast). Compared to CP_ABE, CP_ABSC combines encryption with signature at a lower computational cost for signcryption and a slightly higher cost in designcryption for signature verification. We also consider the adoption of attribute-based signature (ABS), and conclude that CP_ABSC has a much lower computational cost than ABS.

Summary form only given. The smart grids are electricity networks that can intelligently integrate the behaviour and actions of all users connected to it in order to efficiently deliver sustainable, economic and secure electricity supplies. One of the reasons why smart grid is generating so much interest right now is its ability to enable the integration of renewable energy into the electric power network, leading to a broader generation portfolio and potentially beneficial carbon implications. In this presentation, a general overview of the current power electronic technology that permits the integration of renewable energies into the smart grid will be analyzed. In particular, it will be described the "Smart City" project aims to develop a demonstrator of a smart grid in Malaga city in which customers and distribution companies work together to achieve sustainable energy consumption, by increased use of renewable energy sources, bringing generation closer to customers and making a commitment to rational and efficient consumption. A network of this type is essential in order to deploy electric vehicles.

A survey on smart metering and smart grid communication

The European policy focus on smart grids implies their development as an indispensable part of the future power system. However, the definition of a smart grid is broad and vague, and the actual implementation of a smart grid can differ significantly depending on the stakeholders involved. Smart electricity grids can be defined as electricity networks that can intelligently integrate the behaviour and actions of all end users connected to them – generators, consumers and those that are both – in order to efficiently ensure a sustainable, economic and secure electricity supply. This integration of behaviour is achieved through a two-way information and power exchange between suppliers and consumers using information technology.

Decentralized energy production is meant to reduce generation and distribution inefficiencies, leading to major economic and environmental benefits. This new model is meant to be supported by smart grids, electricity networks that can intelligently integrate the actions of all users connected to them - generators, consumers, and prosumers (those that do both) - to efficiently deliver sustainable, economic and secure electricity supplies. A major research challenge is the design of markets for prosumers in smart grids that consider distribution grid constraints. This paper introduces a novel market that allows prosumers to trade electricity while satisfying the constraints of the grid. Our market's allocation rule is implemented by means of the so-called RADPRO, an efficient dynamic programming algorithm that assesses in polynomial time how much energy each prosumer trades as well as how energy must be distributed throughout the grid. Our empirical results show that RADPRO significantly outperforms both CPLEX and Gurobi in solving time when computing the optimal allocation over acyclic networks. Furthermore, the message-passing nature of RADPRO offers the possibility of running our market in a decentralized (peer-to-peer) manner.

Public-key cryptography (PKC) is widely used in smart grid (SG) communications to reduce the overhead of key management. However, PKC comes with its own problems in terms of certificate management. Specifically, certificate revocation lists (CRLs) need to be maintained and distributed to the smart meters (SMs) in order to ensure security of the communications. The size of CRLs may grow over time and eventually may introduce additional delay, bandwidth, and storage overhead when various applications are run on SG. In this paper, we propose novel algorithms for creating customized CRLs with reduced size for IEEE 802.11s-based advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) networks. Rather than maintaining a huge-size single CRL that introduces unnecessary search time and storage, the idea is to cluster/group SMs within the AMI network and create CRLs based on these groups. The grouping is mainly done in such a way that they bring together the SMs that will be very likely to communicate so that the CRLs will be kept local to that group. To this end, we propose two novel grouping algorithms. The first algorithm is a bottom-up approach, which is based on the existing routes from the SMs to the gateway. Since the SMs will be sending their data to the gateway through the nodes on the route, this forms a natural grouping. The second approach is a top-down recursive approach, which considers the minimum spanning tree of the network and then divides it into smaller subtrees. Via grouping, the length of the CRL for each SM and the corresponding distribution overhead can be reduced significantly. Simulation results have shown that our approach can maintain a balance between the size of the CRL and the number of signatures generated by CAs while guaranteeing security of the communications.

Smart Grids (SG) may be the most significant technological change in the history of electric grids, that can help curb the looming energy crisis worldwide, with intelligent generation, transmission and distribution of energy using a robust communication network. Power lines are a very promising solution for carrying data to serve as broadband access network in the context of SG, along with the wireless communication techniques. This paper investigates the design and simulation of a digital communication system optimized for Power Line Communication (PLC) in Smart Grids. For the proposed PLC transceiver, we consider Discrete Multitone (DMT) modulation based on a modified bit loading technique for the subcarriers. Our results reveal that the proposed incremental bit loading algorithm enhances data rate, and reduces computation time, as compared to the originally proposed incremental bit loading algorithm for PLC.

The smart metering and communication methods used in smart grid are being extensively studied owing to widespread applications of smart grid. Although the monitoring and control processes are widely used in industrial systems, the energy management requirements at both service supplier and consumer side for individuals promoted the evolution of smart grid. In this paper, it is aimed to disclose in a clear and clean way that what smart grid is and what kind of communication methods are used. The developing generation, transmission, distribution and customer appliances are discussed in terms of smart grid integration. The communication technologies are introduced as wire line and wireless classification where the key features are also tabulated.

Electricity theft presents a significant financial burden to utility companies globally, amounting to trillions of dollars annually. This pressing issue underscores the need for transformative measures within the electrical grid. Accordingly, our study explores the integration of block chain technology into smart grids to combat electricity theft, improve grid efficiency, and facilitate renewable energy integration. Block chain’s core principles of decentralization, transparency, and immutability align seamlessly with the objectives of modernizing power systems and securing transactions within the electricity grid. However, as smart grids advance, they also become more vulnerable to attacks, particularly from smart meters, compared to traditional mechanical meters. Our research aims to introduce an advanced approach to identifying energy theft while prioritizing user privacy, a critical aspect often neglected in existing methodologies that mandate the disclosure of sensitive user data. To achieve this goal, we introduce three distributed algorithms: lower–upper decomposition (LUD), lower–upper decomposition with partial pivoting (LUDP), and optimized LUD composition (OLUD), tailored specifically for peer-to-peer (P2P) computing in smart grids. These algorithms are meticulously crafted to solve linear systems of equations and calculate users’ “honesty coefficients,” providing a robust mechanism for detecting fraudulent activities. Through extensive simulations, we showcase the efficiency and accuracy of our algorithms in identifying deceitful users while safeguarding data confidentiality. This innovative approach not only bolsters the security of smart grids against energy theft, but also addresses privacy and security concerns inherent in conventional energy-theft detection methods.

The electric power industry is facing unprecedented transformations and challenges with the implementation of the smart grids. This new grid paradigm has arisen to build a flexible electric power system that better coordinates energy resources and loads aiming at efficiently delivering sustainable, economic and secure electricity supplies. As a part of the smart grids (SGs), microgrids (MGs) have been developed to exploit the full benefits from the integration of distributed energy resources, especially distributed renewable generation based on variable and intermittent sources, such as wind and solar. Nevertheless, meeting all these goal requires the implementation of innovative energy storage technologies integrated with high efficiency and very fast response electronic power conditioning systems to interface with the electrical grid. Power electronics systems play a key role in regulating the raw energy from energy storage systems (ESSs) and connecting to the electrical grid. Hence, this paper performs a comprehensive analysis of major technologies in electrical energy storage systems and their electronic interface for applications in smart grids. The work provides a complete study of the technology profile of both energy storage and power electronics suitable for applications in the evolving grid.

Smart Grid (SG) is defined to provide power grid with more choices of information services. To efficiently implement modern communication techniques into SG, LTE is widely considered to be most competitive candidate. Although LTE performs well in nowadays mobile communication industry, it still needs optimization during the implementing process. A feature that makes SG communication different from mobile communication is that the Smart Meters, which is considered to be the users in SG-LTE network, don't deserve strictly fair service in the network. In this paper, we proposed a priority-based LTE packet scheduler. Simulation result shows that the proposed solution efficiently improved high priority users' performance. Along with some acceptable system performance cost, the proposed scheduler is suitable for SG communication environment.

Reducing the power supply-demand gap and increasing reliability of power supply are the challenges of current energy management. Implementation of smart grid, smart meters and smart metering can be a possible solution for power demand reduction, efficient power supply management, and optimization of management resource usages. Smart meters include sophisticated measurement and calculation hardware, software, calibration and communication capabilities. For interoperability within a smart grid infrastructure, smart meters are designed to perform functions, and store and communicate data according to certain standards. In this work we discuss smart meter and various elements of smart metering, current state of the technologies related to smart grid, smart meter, advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), and meter data flow in smart grid. We also discuss standards related to smart meter, meter data format and data transmission, functions of smart meter, and functionalities of smart meters, currently deployed by utilities around the world.

Enabling Secure and Privacy Preserving Communications in Smart Grids

The advanced metering infrastructure of the smart grid presents the biggest growth potential in the machine-to-machine market today. Spurred by recent advances in M2M technologies, SG smart meters are expected not to require human intervention in characterizing power requirements and energy distribution. However, there are many challenges in the design of the SG communications network whereby the electrical appliances and smart meters are able to exchange information pertaining to varying power requirements. Furthermore, different types of M2M gateways are required at different points (e.g., at home, in the building, at the neighborhood, and so forth) of the SG communication network. This article surveys a number of existing communication technologies that can be adopted for M2M communication in SG. Among these, the most reliable technology to facilitate M2M communication in the SG home area network is pointed out, and its shortcoming is also noted. Furthermore, a possible solution to deal with this shortcoming to improve SG communications scalability is also presented.