E NERGY E FFICIENCY IN C OMMUNICATIONS A Secure Decentralized Data-Centric Information Infrastructure for Smart Grid

Abstract

In recent years the power grid has been under- going transformative changes due to the greater penetration of renewable energy sources and increased focus on power demand shaping. These innovative transformations on the grid require a flexible IP-based communication grid that is reli- able and secure. In this article we describe an IP- based decentralized and data-centric information infrastructure that can reliably, securely, and cost- effectively support the operation and innovative applications of the next generation grid. The pro- posed infrastructure differs from a typical dis- tributed system since it addresses the specific requirements of power applications such as secu- rity, distributed data sources, latency sensitive data transactions and real time event updates. The work presented here paves the way for a future data-centric power network infrastructure.