Secure wireless data communications for distribution automation in the Smart Grid

For many utilities operators, making their electric grid smarter is an increasingly important task with the goal of creating a system that is optimized for efficient delivery of electricity. Automation has been the primary driver and many electric utilities have already implemented SCADA systems for control over transmission-level equipment. At the distribution automation layer, many critical functions and actions are automated, such as the monitoring of critical feeders, fault detection, isolation and restoration to reduce the duration and impact of outages, supporting the shifting of loads between sources to help avoid or alleviate overload conditions or controlling capacitor banks. There is no single technology that satisfies all of the requirements of system managers, especially for SCADA systems as complex as those for the Smart Grid. The recent increase in copper theft, often impacting data communication lines, makes wireless data communication solutions an attractive alternative to Copper and Fiber.