Advanced Transmission (incl. PMU, WAMS, FACTS etc.

) Advanced transmission and distribution includes new technologies that enhance throughput, reliability, security and management of electricity on the transmission (from generation source to substation) and distribution (from substation to consumer) systems. The Indian power system covers a Large Geographical Area with the Northern, western, eastern and north eastern regional girds operating as one synchronous grid and the southern region connected through HVDC link. The interregional power transfer capacity is presently about 20800 MW. There is an increasing stress on the power transmission system due to factors such as interconnected operation, open access, power trading etc. The existing tools are not adequate to monitor and control the power system so as to ensure safety, security and adequacy. There is a need for real-time monitoring of the power system using wide area measurements (WAM) and Phasor measurement Units (PMU) in order to make the system ?observable? from the point of view of stability. While the central Transmission Utility is implementing a couple of Pilot projects in India in this area, there is a need to provide a strong framework for coordination of all stakeholders for adoption of Smart Grid technologies for Indian Power Sector for conceptualization & implementation of future Smart Grid Projects. Advanced Distribution (incl. SCADA / DMS, Distribution / Substation automation, Power Electronics, FLISR, islanding, self healing, distributed generation/renewables, etc) Reducing transmission and distribution costs are critical for technology adoption. In this context, it is necessary to compare the current state of the Indian Distribution system to the expected future Smart grid scenario. Adoption of new technologies has to consider developments in Distributed energy resources (DER) based micro grids, High-efficiency Distributed generation (DG), advanced energy storage, power electronic devices and systems etc. In a smart grid environment, the Distributed energy resources (DER) are an attractive option to supplement the conventional generating stations for a variety of reasons. DER technologies like solar and wind power obviate the need for an expensive transmission system and minimize transmission and distribution losses. However, DERs require additional infrastructure and investment to connect them to the grid. Advanced transmission & distribution solutions like Flexible AC transmission (FACTS) can mitigate the negative impacts of the DERs like intermittency and improve the efficiency and reliability of the overall system. With the increasing difficulty in establishing large power plants (either coal fired, hydro or nuclear), switching to distributed small-scale generation of power will soon become a high priority exercise. A viable option for many households would be to invest in solar panels (PV or thermal) and produce heat and electricity, especially for peak periods. They could then act as suppliers to the grid over some periods of the day and buy back their required consumption during the night. With the right pricing incentives, given a sizeable fraction of the population of consumers (home as well as industrial customers) could choose to generate their own peak power and sell the surplus to the grid, the challenges to those managing the grid increases considerably. The Working Group on Advanced Distribution will evolve guidelines on adoption of new technologies in the context of implementation of Smart grid programs in India

Communications Communications are the keystone of a smart system, with every node requiring fast, predictable, and secure communications to all the appropriate nodes, sometimes nearby, sometimes far. Beyond the need for technical design and standards for smart grids, communications requires examination of modularity, interoperability, and ease of management and configuration. When fully deployed, a Smart Grid will have many more nodes than even India?s Internet. The Working Group can examine options for layered architectures that allow modularity or utility-wise choices in terms of chosen technologies. E.g., a Smart Meter should be agnostic of whether it requires radio or cellular or optical fiber or power line carrier for communications upstream. Of course, each of these has performance and cost implications, which might vary case to case. Communications extends to into the home, where we find load control as well as renewable integration as other functionalities requiring Working Group effort. Security is paramount, and any use of Internet Protocols, if desired, has security implications which the Working Group can deliberate upon and make recommendations. Metering The evolution of meters from electro-mechanical to digital is just the start of the added functionality (?intelligence?) that smart meters can allow. Digital meters can not only store more data with greater resolution, they become the key interface edge between consumer and utility, with advanced features such as bi-directional communications, remote controllable connect/disconnect switch, load control signaling (in theory, inside the home), etc. This extends functionality far beyond remote automated meter reading (R-AMR). The Working Group can focus on available technologies and best practices as well as identifying gaps in exsiting solutions from an Indian perspective. It is worth mentioning that for R-APDRP metering applications the IEC 62056 (DLMS/COSEM) is chosen as the standard metering protocol. CPRI has the test facility for carrying out conformance test for this protocol standard. What the Working Group can extend is additional design and standards, e.g., inside the home. Consumption and Load Control (Demand Response, Home Automation, Appliances, Storage, Vehicles etc.) This working group will focus on issues of load management, and will necessarily work closely with distribution, policy, communications, and other groups as required. Load management and control is not only a key part of global smart grid efforts, with goals of peak reduction and peak shifting, in India the mandate is dramatically higher given the shortfall in supply scenario and annual year-over-year load growth of 8-10%. As more dynamic and incentivizing tariffs become available, starting with time of use, loads will shift from Demand Side Management (DSM) to Demand Response (DR), which is capable of reacting to both economic and criticality signals. Suggested specific initial outputs of the Working Group include scoping load control feasibility, technologies and designs for such load control, a roadmap for integrated and standardized smart loads (appliances). Policy and Regulations (incl. Tariffs, Finance etc.)

All stakeholders in the Smart Grid space are guided by policies and regulations. For utilities, there can be mandates to move to specific technologies or pricing schemes, e.g., time of use tariffs. For consumers, incentives (which are often pricing driven) will determine their participation in a Smart Grid. The Working Group will identify and scope the ranges of tariff and affiliated policies and their possible impacts on a Smart Grid. In addition, other policy issues that the Working Group can focus on include policies for experimentation, innovation, and R&D, and policies and support for pilot projects. As appropriate, the Working Group can also examine policies and make recommendations for how to handle choices such as social welfare transfers (subsidies) ? this becomes a factor since a Smart Grid will likely create a shift in terms of ? winners? and ?losers? compared to the status quo. Architecture and Design (Standards, Interoperability, Security, CIM etc.) Under the smart grid regime many intelligent systems staring from Head (delivery point) end to Utilisation (Customer) end would be required to exchange information in accordance with set policies and functions. This exchange would be viable only when standardization is put in place so the Interoperability of various intelligent systems become a reality. There is a lot of work to be done in ? Standards and Protocols. India must, leverage on global open standards for power sector and apply them for the present context. Interoperability - IEEE defines interoperability as the ability of two or more systems or components to exchange information and to use the information that has been exchanged?. A latest says interoperability as ?The measure of ease of integration between two systems or software components to achieve a functional goal.? As interoperability influences integration allied practices on security, digital architecture, CIM (Common Information Models) are gaining support as a means for managing various modules and functionalities for interfaces in modern power systems, spanning not only the back-end but power markets, control, etc. in a layered manner. The Forum would identify or, if required, develop architectural standards for Smart Grids in India, encompassing interoperability, security, etc. The standards would be based on existing and/or emerging standards from organizations such as IEC, IEEE, NIST, CIGRE or others. It would select suitable and relevant standards for India and provide a guide (manual) on their adoption. One possible starting point is IEC?s TC57 Framework.