OpenHAN SRS definition - UCAIug.docx

Definitions of Energy Services Interface (ESI)1. OpenHAN SRS v1.9 definition on page 132. OpenHAN SRS v1.9 Section 2.2.1 on page 23EnergyServices InterfaceProvides security and, often, coordination functions that enable secure interactions between relevant Home Area Network Devices and the Utility. Permits applications such as remote load control, monitoring and control of distributed generation, in-home display of customer usage, reading of non-energy meters, and integration with building management systems. Also provides auditing/logging functions that record transactions to and from Home Area Networking Devices.2.2.1 Energy Services InterfaceThe AMI System provides two interfaces to the premise via the Energy Services Interface. The distinction between the two interfaces is based on the level of interaction, and control. The Utility-Secured Interactive Interface provides confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The second interface, the Utility Public Broadcast Channel, allows for anonymous receipt of information provided by the Utility. Further, the second interface is not secured by the Utility. This second interface is based on the assumption that users need information for conservation and awareness and do not want to exchange information with the Utility.This interface designation creates logical segmentation within the premise. This logical segmentation can be viewed as two separate networks: the Utility-secured network and all other external networks.3. OpenHAN SRS v1.9 Section 4.2 on page 88 - 87ObjectDescriptionPrimary FunctionalityEnergy Services InterfaceThe device responsible for providing gateway, bridging, and general AMI connectivity between the Energy Service Provider and the HANNetwork Control and Coordination4.2.1.2 Energy Services InterfaceThe Energy Services Interface (ESI) is a special class of device. The ESI is network centric and can also be thought of as a gateway. The ESI will provide a secure path between the in-premise HAN and the Utility network. As such, it has additional unique requirements that dont apply to other logical devices. All of these requirements are network related in the areas of: Communications Network management Security PerformanceThe same rules apply to the ESI as other logical devices in that the ESI functions could be coupled with another other logical device, if appropriate.4. NIST Framework and Roadmap for Smart Grid Intnreperabilitv Standards, Release 1.0 on page 413.5.1 Distinction between the Meter and the Energy Services InterfaceThe meter and the ESI have very different characteristics and functions. The logical separation of the meter and the ESI is a very important forward-looking aspect of the reference model. The meters essential functions are to measure, record, and communicate energy usage; communicate information for outage management; and enable automated provisioning and maintenance functions, such as connection or disconnection of service. Meters also measure the flow of power into the grid from distributed generation or storage resources located at the customers premises. Meters have historically been designed with a service life measured in decades, and the cost recovery period set by regulators is at least a decade. Thus, once a meter is installed, it remains there for a very long time as the interface to the electric utility. The meter is owned by the utility and is at the interface between the distribution and customer domains. In the conceptual reference model, it is shown in the customer domain because that is where it physically resides.The ESI serves as the information management gateway through which the customer domain interacts with energy service providers. The service provider may be an electric utility, but that is not necessarily the case. In some states, such as Texas, the market has been restructured so that the service provider is a company entirely separate from the electric utility. Customers have a choice of competing service providers. There also may be third-party service providers that offer demand response aggregation, energy management services, and other such offerings. A telephone company, cable company, or other nontraditional provider might wish to offer their customers energy management services. The standards associated with the ESI need to be flexible and extensible to allow for innovation in market structures and services. Basic functions of the ESI include demand response signaling (for example, communicating price information or critical peak period signals) as well as provision of customer energy usage information to residential energy management systems or in-home displays. However, the possibilities for more advanced services are virtually limitless, so standards associated with the ESI must facilitate rather than impede innovation. The ESI interfaces with the service provider, which, as discussed above, may or may not be the same company as the electric utility.While the ESI and meter are logically viewed as separate devices, this does not preclude the possibility for manufacturers to implement the meter and ESI in one physical device, provided that the flexibility and extensibility to support the Smart Grid vision can be achieved. Most smart meters currently integrate the ESI and meter functionality in one device due to cost considerations. Looking forward, logical separation of the two functions, even if physically integrated, is essential to avoid having the meter become an impediment to innovation in energy services enabled by the Smart Grid.3.5.2 The ESI and the Home Area NetworkOne of the differences between residential environments and commercial/industrial environments is the level of sophistication and customer participation that can be assumed in configuring premises networks to achieve interoperability and security in Smart Grid communications.Many homes already have one or more data networks that interconnect computers or consumer electronic devices. However, this is not universally the case. Furthermore, even in homes that have data networks, consumers who lack the expertise may not wish to spend time or money configuring an appliance like a clothes dryer to communicate over their home network. It should be possible for consumers to obtain the energy saving benefits of Smart Grid-enabled appliances without requiring that they have a home area network or expertise in configuring data networks. Ideally, a consumer would purchase, for example, a Smart Grid-enabled clothes dryer, plug it in, and register it with their service provider through a Web portal or toll-free phone call. That is all that should be necessary to enable a smart appliance to operate on the basis of electricity price information and other demand response signals received from the Smart Grid. To avoid undue expense and complexity for the consumer, the ESI should be able to communicate with Smart Grid-enabled appliances either with or without a separate data network in the home, and such communication should be plug and play and auto-configuring, requiring no technical expertise. Another issue that must be addressed is the need for manufacturers of appliances and consumer electronics goods to cost-effectively mass-produce products that will be interoperable with the Smart Grid anywhere in the country. EISA provides guidance on this issue. Section 1305 of the law advises that the Smart Grid interoperability framework be designed to consider the use of voluntary uniform standards for certain classes of mass-produced electric appliances and equipment for homes and businesses that enable customers, at their election and consistent with applicable State and Federal laws, and are manufactured with the ability to respond to electric grid emergencies and demand response signals. EISA also advises that “such voluntary standards incorporate appropriate manufacturer lead time.There are a large number of physical data communication interfaceswireless and wiredavailable for use in the home environment, and there will be more in the future. Mass-produced appliances and consumer electronics devices can only support a limited number of interfaces on each device. To minimize costs while maximizing flexibility, the ESI should support, at minimum, a defined subset of widely used standard data communication standards chosen from among those discussed in Section 3.3.5 and listed in Tables 4-1 and 4-2 in Chapter 4. Appliance manufacturers can select from this minimum subset and be assured of interoperability in most environments without the need for separate adapters. Additional interfaces that are less widely used can be supported through adapters.Many consumers and businesses are located in multiunit buildings. Any data communication interface supported by the ESI should be capable of coexisting with other data communications technologies that may be used in the customer premises without interfering with each other. The use of IP as a network layer protocol for the ESI may provide a cost-effective solution to achieve interoperability between the ESI and appliances and other energy-using devices in the home. Further definition of a minimum set of interfaces to be supported by the ESI will be addressed by the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel in a new Priority Action Plan in early 2010 in order to enable the appliance industry and other industries to offer Smart Grid-compatible products in late 2011, as planned by several manufacturers.