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IEEE Smart Grid March 2012

IEEE Smart Grid Newsletter - March 2012

It Is Time for Power Market Reform to Allow for Retail Customer Participation and Distribution Network Marginal Pricing

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Written by Michael C. Caramanis

The introduction of distribution-level marginal prices promises to have transformational impacts on power systems in terms of electricity costs, infrastructure resilience and the wide integration of renewable generation and sustainable new loads such as the electric vehicles. But to achieve the full range of potential benefits, it will be essential to adopt the right pricing structures and market reforms.

Engineering Smart Retail Electricity Markets

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Written by Christof Weinhardt

Advanced metering infrastructure is a cornerstone of future grids, but the smart grid encompasses much more than the most frequently mentioned features connected with AMI such as increased communication capabilities, monitored infrastructure, improved fault recovery and self-healing capabilities. It also involves completely new processes and schemes to improve economic efficiency in coordinating the interests of all different stakeholders. Through the establishment of well-designed markets on all levels, and on most time horizons, the power system can become more efficient and greener, as well as smarter.

Data Aggregation as a Method of Protecting Privacy in Smart Grid Networks

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Written by Gelareh Taban and Alvaro A. Cárdenas

Data collection in Advanced Metering Infrastructures (AMI) presents new opportunities for utilities but, at the same time, can compromise the privacy of electricity consumers. Data aggregation can alleviate this challenge by combining collected sensitive data into a single representation; however, the accountability of individual smart meter data can be lost because an attacker can falsify aggregates without being easily detected.

Microgrids: An Emerging Technology to Enhance Power System Reliability

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Written by Siddharth Suryanarayanan and Elias Kyriakides

Pilot projects are exploring the potential of microgrids to make power systems less vulnerable to costly disruptions. Yet, if the grid is to be made much more decentralized, large investments in technology and training will be needed, and standards, such as IEEE 1547.4, will have to be developed.

About the Smart Grid Newsletter

A monthly publication, the IEEE Smart Grid Newsletter features practical and timely technical information and forward-looking commentary on smart grid developments and deployments around the world. Designed to foster greater understanding and collaboration between diverse stakeholders, the newsletter brings together experts, thought-leaders, and decision-makers to exchange information and discuss issues affecting the evolution of the smart grid.

Contributors

Michael C. CaramanisMichael C. Caramanis is a professor of mechanical and systems engineering at Boston University.
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Christof WeinhardtChristof Weinhardt has headed the Institute of Information Management and Systems at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)...
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Gelareh TabanGelareh Taban is a security engineer working in Silicon Valley. She received her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Maryland...
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Alvaro A. CárdenasAlvaro A. Cárdenas, an IEEE member, is a research staff engineer at Fujitsu Laboratories of America.
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Siddharth SuryanarayananSiddharth Suryanarayanan, a senior member of IEEE, teaches in the department of electrical engineering and is a Resident Faculty..
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Elias KyriakidesElias Kyriakides, a senior member of IEEE, teaches in the department of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Cyprus...
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