Why the Smart Grid needs Carrier Ethernet

CEN Feature (Dec 23 2010)

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   At first glance, putting together the modernization of the nation's power grid together with Carrier Ethernet might sound like overkill. However, the so-called "Smart Grid" has unique needs that dovetail quite nicely with Carrier Ethernet.

   A smart (energy) grid could deliver power savings, support electric vehicles, and help develop renewable energy. But there’s a catch.

   “Communications and technology vendors must address several concerns that utilities, enterprises, and governments have in order to gain confidence in the market. By far, the most vital issue is that vendors must be able to ensure the reliability of utility communications networks,” said Heavy Reading Research Analyst Denise Culver in a Dec. 16^th Light Reading article. “Additionally, they must focus considerable resources on ensuring the safety, security, and reliability of utility operations. Smart grid requires high bandwidth, low latency, ubiquitous coverage, and an uninterrupted power supply, and vendors that build proven solutions will be much more successful than those that rush to be first to market without ensuring the quality of their solutions.”

   Hmm, let's see, security, high bandwidth, low latency, and reliability... sounds a whole lot like Carrier Ethernet services to me.

   Jon Arnold, an analyst covering Smart Grid issues and organizer of the Smart Grid conference, took the time early this week to discuss with me the growing relationship between the energy sector and the telecommunications industry.

   “The intersection really comes from the need for utilities to establish real time, two-way communications capabilities, primarily in two areas,” said Arnold. “First, they need this within the grid to monitor and manage network performance, both with wireless and wireline technologies. Second—this is more the emerging opportunity—they need to do the same with their subscribers, in the home or in the business...Utilities face a basic decision here—either keep building out their own networks, or partner with telcos to leverage theirs.”

   Utilities have to decide whether carriers can deliver a network that can do the job, or go build their own network. “Utilities generally think a lot like legacy telcos—their networks are the best and they don't always see value in what others can bring,” Arnold stated. “Just because [utilities] recognize the common elements here doesn't mean they'll want to work with carriers.”

   In order to keep costs in line, utilities may have no choice other than to partner with telecommunications providers and leverage current investments in Carrier Ethernet, especially where SONET is too costly, not flexible enough and when capacity exceeds 10Gb/s. Carrier Ethernet is not only simple and inexpensive, it can also deliver triple play services, support new and legacy equipment at the same time, offer essential resiliency, and provide network visibility. These capabilities make it ideal for utilities as the move into the Smart Grid world.

   The ultimate people paying for smart grid deployments are utility customers and taxpayers -- and those people aren't happy.  Since the costs for purchasing and deploying a smart grid are directly passed along to consumers, many municipalities have turned down Smart Grid projects this year.

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