Added utilization costs associated with different communication architectures for distribution automation and demand side management

A communication system for distribution automation and demand side management typically supports a multi-tasking environment. In such a system, “time” is a precious commodity, and the loss of time due to a dysfunction of the system can be used as a measure of added costs. This paper explores how unforeseen “added costs of utilization” are incurred and what the root causes are. A simple “two-way transaction equation” is derived showing how added costs can be assessed and studied. The paper also points out what remedial steps should be taken to reduce these added costs, and points out that no communication system is immune to outages in the distribution network