The Network: The Foundation for the Smart Grid

The successful evolution of the power grid into a two-way, more intelligent smart grid depends in large part on the capabilities of the underlying network. Silver Spring has specifically designed its network to support the broad cross-section of smart grid applications, deployed at scale and in whatever order suits the energy effciency utility.

The United States could save $1.2 trillion by the end of 2020 through investments that increase energy efficiency such as smart grid projects, replacing old inefficient household appliances, and improving building insulation.

McKinsey and Co., Aug. 2, 2009

Interconnected meters present a new source of potential risk. Unprotected, such online meters could mean that breaking into one would give a hacker full access to the rest of the smart grid network. Silver Spring ensures that such wholesale attacks are not possible – the network interfaces in each meter and the firmware running on them have strong authentication and authorization. So these devices will communicate with and accept firmware from only trusted devices. Silver Spring also incorporates tamper detection and resistance technologies to reduce the risk of even a single meter being compromised.

A variety of network technologies will be needed to meet the regulatory and spectrum allocation realities of different geographies over time. To date, Silver Spring has delivered an RF mesh network that operates in the 900 MHz band. But regardless of the spectrum in use, Silver Spring always ensures its smart grid platform delivers energy efficiency solutions along with the following design principles:

Open

Using standards-based networking technology brings a wide range of assurances to smart grid adoption. It enables utilities to mix and match products from different vendors and ensure interoperability across intelligent endpoints, network technology, and backhaul options.

Standards also enable the industry to leverage a much broader time investment in smart grid technology. Silver Spring’s use of the IP standard immediately brings to bear millions of development hours in security, routing, addressing, and other smart utility network attributes. Proprietary techniques, in contrast, depend on investment by a single vendor and can never reproduce the same breadth of capability.

Secure

The move to interconnect devices across the smart grid has understandably given rise to security concerns. With every device linked to each other and data continually streaming over this IP network, the logic goes, the smart grid must be as vulnerable as the Internet.

Utilities are absolutely right to demand comprehensive answers to how vendors secure the devices on and operation of the smart grid network. Silver Spring has designed its Smart Energy Platform with the most stringent security techniques – all built in from the beginning and spanning the entire life cycle of devices and network communications.

Intelligent endpoints such as meters are subject to authentication and authorization techniques. The firmware, which supports over-the-air upgrades to augment functionality across smart grid hardware and software, relies on digital signatures and private keys to prevent unauthorized access or activity. The energy efficiency system also supports end-to-end encryption for communications across the smart grid.

Far from an after-thought, security is built into every layer of interaction within and across the Silver Spring Smart Energy Platform.

Flexible

Utilities are unique. Their regulatory concerns, service territories, rate cases, and smart grid technology adoption levels all differ. To meet the varied demands of these disparate customers, Silver Spring has developed a highly flexible set of network, software and service elements.

The Silver Spring platform operates successfully in downtown, suburban, and rural environments, always ensuring high coverage rates. This energy efficiency system is designed to support the full range of smart grid applications, from Advanced Metering to Distribution Automation to Demand Response and Electric Vehicle programs.

The UtilityIQ application suite relies on standard web services to interface to utilities’ home-grown or customized back-office applications. And the Silver Spring services model ranges from fully hosted and managed by Silver Spring to fully owned and run by the utility, with incremental options along that spectrum.

Proven

Most importantly, utilities across the world rely on the Silver Spring Smart Energy Platform to enable a range of smart grid applications. Many are deploying multiple smart grid initiatives at once, spanning from Advanced Metering to Distribution Automation to Demand Response. The Silver Spring Smart Energy Platform has demonstrated its coverage in reaching 99.9% of meters, its scale in enabling utilities to deploy as many as 50,000 meters a week and its performance in supporting two-second polling rates for Distribution Automation.

The proven, demonstrated quality of our smart grid network is, in turn, a major driver for additional utilities to deploy the Silver Spring Smart Energy Platform. Our customers and their willingness to share their experiences are our greatest advocates.