A list of power utility use cases leveraging Enterprise Edge.
The list of power utility use cases provided in this section has traditionally been individually fulfilled by fixed-function devices provided as pre-packaged hardware plus software solutions.
System Protection Relaying (real-time requirement)
The industry term “protective relay” refers to a device used to initiate the isolation of a portion of the power grid due to an undesirable condition (or system fault), detected internally within its designated zone(s) of protection. At present, utilities install microprocessor devices that act as “relays” and provide a mix of baked-in protection and control functions running on this proprietary system. They are installed at the grid edge (utility substations) and many individual devices are required to cover the needs of a single site.
VMware’s ESXi hypervisor has the capability to run these same types of applications in software-defined formats. One of the first commercially available is a software appliance developed by ABB (SSC600SW). ESXi facilitates this with the necessary real-time performance, consistently running for long periods of time, independent and unaffected by adjacent workload activity. Now the end-user has great flexibility in how they deploy relay functionality, choosing the right hardware, resiliency strategies, and mix of OEM and custom interoperable applications for their business.
SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition)
Distributed Control System (DCS)
Remote Telemetry Unit (RTU)
Human Machine Interface (HMI)
A SCADA or supervisory system is made up of components that are the “eyes and ears” of the power grid. It ingests many of the same inputs as a protective relay but is purposed to provide centralized systems and manual operators with specific, curated information used to control and maintain a power service provider’s services and assets. While the performance demands of this use case are not as stringent as grid protection, they must still be persistent (not missing any data) and reliable (running uninterrupted for lengthy periods).
Application vendors that have already abstracted their solutions from their hardware offerings, can be applied to ESXi today. These include Emerson, Yokogawa, Subnet Solutions, and others. Some of the local site (or edge) features of a SCADA system (e.g. the RTU and HMI), which may have been provided by a separate device in the past, have now been assimilated by the aforementioned relays as they become more capable.
Asset Control, Management, and Monitoring
Grid assets include any high-voltage equipment owned and operated by a service provider, which is used to safely deliver their product (e.g. electricity or water) within their territory. Much of this equipment is very expensive, has a long procurement lead time, and requires extensive and specialized labor resources to install.
Special monitoring of equipment often requires specialized I/O coupled with unique algorithms which may adapt over time (AI/ML). Typical data may come in the form of fault levels and duration sustained, a number of operations, temperatures, voltages, currents, fluid (oil, coolant, etc.) analysis, corona or infra-red imaging, acoustic emissions, moisture levels, partial discharge, etc. The ‘digital twin’ is often mentioned alongside this topic as an ideal end state for asset optimization. OEMs leading development in these areas today include Siemens Energy, GE Grid Solutions, and Hitachi.
Specialty Metering (Revenue, Power Quality, etc.)
Metering is perhaps the most basic use case for a utility application. For revenue purposes, it seems obvious why it would also be very important to them, and why it needs to be highly accurate as well as secure. A customer meter would be placed on the “front lines” of a provider’s service territory, where the ownership line of demarcation is drawn. The fact that a meter ingests the most basic critical data and does this so close to the point of delivery (load/source to/from the interconnector), coupled with the recent rapid increase in IoT technology capabilities, makes the meter a natural source of great interest and development in the industry.
Use cases for the reporting/recording of metering data include revenue, voltage sag/swell (power quality), load profiling, harmonics detection, transient event capture (high sampling rate necessary), and centralized reporting (e.g. outage detection, WAGES, KPIs, long-term data analysis with AI/ML). Synchronized phasor measurements (aka synchrophasors) are special GPS time-stamped versions of metering data that fit within some of the aforementioned use cases. Applications, which can already be virtualized, are being developed by leading vendors such as SEL, GE Grid Solutions, Siemens, and Eaton.
Event Recording, Fault Detection, Location, and Analysis
The recording of events and detection/analysis of faults traditionally required a separate piece of hardware (from a protection relay and/or SCADA) due to the high sampling rates and the amount of storage necessary or desired. However, this functionality is often built into other devices or software today.
Event recording, by itself, is typically a regulatory requirement for most regions today. Fault detection and analysis may not be but is highly desirable (especially if it can be performed quickly and accurately) for utilities to respond to system problems. Central management systems can often perform these duties today, with augmentation from edge device I/O. Again, some applications are already software-defined and can be deployed from OEMs such as SEL, GE Grid Solutions, and etap.
Microgrid Integration
A microgrid is a self-describing term referring to a small version of a power system that can sustain itself. Typically, it will have the option to connect to/interact with a large grid or operate completely independent of a connection to the “outside world”. Being a grid of its own means the microgrid necessitates limited implementations of all of the aforementioned protection, automation, and control functions with the addition of specialized capabilities at the point of interconnection with the larger power system (if it exists).
A system such as this usually leverages small protection relays and the built-in functionalities of the connected sources (e.g. solar, wind, and/or battery storage inverters) in conjunction with a holistic controller. This controller then performs state analysis to optimize operations both technically and financially, forecasting future conditions/scenarios, and safely interacting with a large utility grid connection. Leaders in applications performing these functions include etap, SEL, Schneider Electric, and Emerson.
Distributed Energy Resource (DER) Integration
When it comes to DERs, size matters. Most utilities have thresholds for interconnections, based on their capabilities or output. A residential system, for instance, would not (typically) require functionality beyond what the inverter already has built in. However, in large quantities (especially when clustered together within a specific geographical area) small DERs add up to special consideration by the regional operator(s). Traditional determination of protection and control functions no longer works when the flow of power becomes dynamic. Therefore, wider area solutions are better suited to facilitate future grids with a high penetration of renewables.
A large-scale DER, which would likely be directly connected to an existing power system, must also participate in the wider area control systems. But, they also have a mix of traditional devices performing protection, automation, and control (PAC), along with disaggregated power inverters. The commercial providers of PAC or centralized management system support are listed in the surrounding use case categories. The OEMs of large-scale inverter systems include SMA, SolarEdge, Enphase, Sungrow, Solis, Apsystems, and Fronius.
Centralized or Distributed Control Systems
Looking at centralized control systems, most utilities now have evolved what were their central operations centers into advanced management systems, leveraging SCADA data with high-powered compute. Like any generalized control system, the quality of the output of these systems is entirely dependent on the quantity and quality of the inputs. This is one of the main drivers for increased intelligence and flexibility at the edge (utility substations). Facilitating a growing number of use cases with both raw and curated (pre-processed) data is key to success.
Distributed control systems are smaller versions of what was described above, typically found within a large-scale generation facility or a microgrid. Each type of campus would have many groups of devices reporting to an operations center. Examples of intelligent management system software providers at present are Yokogawa, Honeywell, Rockwell Automation, Emerson, Siemens, ABB, and GE Grid Solutions. Many of these have already been implemented on ESXi within utilities.
Physical Security
Security in the physical realm refers to the devices and systems used to protect a utility’s physical sites and facilities. In most regions, there are regulations specifying minimum requirements. Not unlike any other industry, elements used to protect a power service provider’s infrastructure includes cameras, multi-factor authentication devices, intrusion detection, etc. The unique aspects of these items are the relatively harsh environments they may be installed in.
Leading vendors for these types of solutions are well-documented within other industries (including retail and manufacturing).
Cyber Security
Security in the cyber realm refers to the intangible aspects of the business related to compute, networking, and other technology. Again, in most areas of the world, there are regulations specifying the bare minimum that a utility must meet. Traditional protection for the many separate devices mentioned above has been a security zone (or electronic security perimeter) formed by networked firewalls, residing within a physically protected area. If an attacker manages to breach though, they now have free reign inside this network.
It is worth mentioning here that real-time (or time-sensitive) Layer 2 traffic is typically isolated and or protected separately from all other types of utility data, and is therefore exempt from regulations. Then, in regards to all other data types, moving to a zero-trust model can be accomplished with VMware and partner products available today, and uses policies, whitelisting, certificates, and other technologies to restrict movement anywhere within the network. VMware’s NSX and Carbon Black portfolios provide monitoring, threat detection, isolation, and response, and advanced network analysis. End users have also already been deploying third-party applications from the likes of Dragos, Tenable, and Splunk to perform network scanning, detection, and analysis.
