Network-integrated load-management collaborative computing for smart distribution system operations

Prospect residential secondary services (smart metering, time-of-use scheduling, dispersed generation tracking, etc.) may account for potentially thousands of devices through networked load-management-collaborative (LMC) computing to realize smart distribution systems. Although TCP/IP-based networks can provide communication infrastructure for these devices, a severe security issue will present, as these devices are vulnerable to cyber-attackers. Use of a disjoint protocol such as DNP3 for SCADA networks provides an effective solution to the security issue. However, DNP3 does not have adequate peer-to-peer networking to support LMC computing. This paper proposes an extension protocol layer for DNP3 to facilitate the LMC computing, without altering DNP3 specifications. This extension offers a routing mechanism that utilizes a variable address structure to create a routing path between communicating devices but eliminates protocol overhead typically associated with network layers. This paper also proposes a new network architecture for integrated LMC computing and over-hundred feeder nodes monitoring.