On Reliability of Smart Grid Neighborhood Area Networks

With the integration of the advanced computing and communication technologies, smart grid system is dedicated to enhance the efficiency and the reliability of future power systems greatly through renewable energy resources, as well as distributed communication intelligence and demand response. Along with advanced features of smart grid, the reliability of smart grid communication system emerges to be a critical issue, since millions of smart devices are interconnected through communication networks throughout critical power facilities, which has an immediate and direct impact on the reliability of the entire power infrastructure. In this paper, we present a comprehensive survey of reliability issues posted by the smart grid with a focus on communications in support of neighborhood area networks (NAN). Specifically, we focus on network architecture, reliability requirements and challenges of both communication networks and systems, secure countermeasures, and case studies in smart grid NAN. We aim to provide a deep understanding of reliability challenges and effective solutions toward reliability issues in smart grid NAN.