Software-defined energy communication networks: From substation automation to future smart grids

Energy communication networks (ECNs) play an integral role in electrical substations. Substations host many Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs) that monitor the state of the electricity infrastructure. This critical data is packaged and transmitted between multiple IEDs for proper system monitoring and control. The modern network that interconnects IEDs, while a significant improvement over the historic serial interconnection, has many challenges which have yet to be addressed - ranging from setup complexity to security policies. In this paper we propose that software-defined networking can alleviate many of today's problems and create a network which can evolve with changing technologies and needs. We demonstrate an auto-configuring substation network which eliminates many substation network management issues. Our prototype is built using a Ryu-based, software-defined network controller and tested with actual IEDs used in substations. We also discuss how our software-defined energy communication network (SDECN) architecture not only solves problems of today, but enables substation networks to easily evolve with the rapid evolution of the smart grid.