Committed to connecting the world

  •  
wtisd

ITU-T work programme

[2013-2016] : [SG5] : [Q17/5]

[Declared patent(s)]

Work item: Suppl.EE for Smart Grid
Subject/title: Analysis of the energy efficiency of telecommunication services used for the needs of smart grid applications
Status: [Carried to next study period]
Approval process: Agreement
Type of work item: Supplement
Version: New
Equivalent number: -
Timing: -
Liaison: IEC SEG2, ITU-T SG15, ITU-T SG11, ETSI EE, Smart Grid Forum, One M2M, ITU-T Focus Group M2M
Supporting members: Huawei, CNIT, Telecom Italia, Climate Associates
Summary: The Smart Grid (SG) paradigm aims at evolving the current electricity supply chain towards more eco-sustainable, reliable and cost effective solutions; to pursue such a goal, the main actions on the Electrical Grid targeted by Regulators, Standard Development Organizations (SDO), Consortia and Industries consist of: o increasing the penetration of renewable energy sources, small generators and storage systems, spread over different sections of the grid, so as to minimize the ecological impact of electricity generation and distribution processes; o improving procedures and technical mechanisms to balance production and consumption so as to minimize energy waste; o enhancing the grid monitoring and control systems so as to improve grid's manageability, reliability and self-healing. To deal with this context of increased complexity of the electrical system, a suitable control infrastructure, based on pervasive Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solutions that permeate the whole electrical supply chain, is required. The functional and architectural definition of the targeted electrical grid functionality and, consequently, the consolidation of the relevant requirements for the related ICT processes and infrastructure are still on-going and currently lack of the needed accuracy. Furthermore, it looks evident that the current on-going activities, focused on the design of the SG, are neglecting one important aspect of the SG deployment, i.e., the energy consumption of the ICT infrastructure itself. As a matter of fact, the additional energy consumption due to the provisioning of a ubiquitous and highly performant ICT infrastructure in support of the SG could considerably jeopardize the energy saving that the same ICT solution has been conceived for. As a summary, the considerations produced above highlight two important challenges for the Telecommunication Infrastructures supporting the SG, which are related to: o the support of tight and demanding performances; o the need to address energy efficient solutions (i.e., solutions that optimize energy consumption while keeping the required high-end performances). The challenge related to the requested high performances could be addressed by designing brand new Telecommunication Network Infrastructures specifically devoted to the SG; nonetheless, such a solution presents evident drawbacks in terms of economic sustainability as well as of overall energy efficiency. As a matter of fact, a solution based on a single multi-service Telecommunication Network Infrastructure able to support SG applications as well other uncorrelated services (as, e.g., voice, broadband access et al.) would likely offer the optimal solution, as it would: o foster the penetration of both SG and other uncorrelated services, by ensuring the maximization of Return of Investment (ROI) for Network Operators and Service Providers; o provide the many SG operators' systems with third party, open, standard, effective, widespread, low cost connectivity services; o optimize the overall energy consumption of the Telecommunication Network by consolidating multiple services on a single hardware infrastructure. The envisaged single TLC Network Infrastructure should smoothly evolve from the currently deployed one by: o improving its energy efficiency to reduce the additional energy burden due to the new SG related services, while matching the Service Levels required by the SG applications o possibly enhancing its performances to fit the demanding SG requirements;
Comment: -
Reference(s):
  Historic references:
-
Contact(s):
Raffaele Bolla, Editor
ITU-T A.5 justification(s):
Generate A.5 drat TD
-
[Submit new A.5 justification ]
See guidelines for creating & submitting ITU-T A.5 justifications
First registration in the WP: 2014-05-23 11:19:33
Last update: 2016-10-16 20:09:28