"CHALLENGES AND ISSUES OF SMART GRID IMPLEMENTATION: THE CASE OF GHANA", A research project conducted by Calebina Fosuaa, Alex Pobi and Derrick Mifetu from University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani, Ghana

1. UNIVERSITY OF ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
CHALLENGES AND ISSUES OF SMART GRID IMPLEMENTATION: THE CASE OF GHANA
BY
TAKYI FOSUAA CALEBINA UE20036715
ALEX POBI UE20035715
MIFETU S.K DERRICK UE20021016
SUPERVISOR: ANDREW QUANSAH
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER AND ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING
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2. OUTLINE
 INTRODUCTION
 OBJECTIVES
 PROBLEM STATEMENT
 LITERATURE REVIEW
 TRANSITION FROM TRADITIONAL GRID TO SMART GRID
 BLOCK DIAGRAM DESCRIPTION
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 COMPARISON OF TRADITIONAL GRID TO SMART GRID
 CHALLENGES OF SMART GRID IMPLEMENTATION
 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
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3. INTRODUCTION
Traditional Power Grid
 Centralized, bulk generation
 Heavy reliance on coal and oil
 Limited automation
 Limited situational awareness
 Consumers lack data to manage energy usage
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4. SMART GRID
A smart grid is an electrical network based on digital technology that is used
to supply electricity to consumers via two-way communication.
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6. OBJECTIVES
 To identify the technical challenges and issues associated with
the implementation of smart grid.
 To compare the traditional power system to smart grid system.
 To incorporate renewable sources (solar and wind) into the
existing grid and examine the outcomes.
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7. PROBLEM STATEMENT
 As our grid system experiences increase in demand of power every
year, many challenges arises in supplying consumers with quality
and reliable power. Due to these reasons there is the need to
expand our current power system and implementation of smart grid
will help solve the challenges faced in our current power system.
 This thesis seeks to review the current gird system in the country
and address the challenges and issues of implementation smart grid
in Ghana.
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8. TITLE TECHNIQUE ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
Smart Grid: An
Overview
By Tamilmaran
Vijayapriy,
Dwarkadas
Pralhadas
Kothari
This paper gave an overview on the aims and
challenges of smart grid systems.
below are some of aims:
 Enable distributed generation and
utilization of renewable energy sources
 Ensure best use of central generation
 Consider appropriately the impact of
environmental limitations
 Enable demand side participation
The Key Challenges for Smart Grids
 Strengthening the grid
 Communications
 Active demand
 Succeeded in
presenting the
general overview
of the aims and key
challenges of smart
grid systems.
 The paper did not give
any solution to the
presented key
challenges.
LITERATURE REVIEW
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9. TITLE TECHNIQUE ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
Smart Grid
Technology And
Integration By
Kingsley Akom,
Benard
Adjei,frimpong And
Kwadwo Ntiamoah
Sarpong.
This project was based on the need
and factors that may affect the
integration of smart grid in Ghana
The need for smart grid integration
mentioned are
 Renewable energy can be easily
added and controlled.
 Consumers will be able to monitor
their power consumption pattern
 With the installation of sensors like
PMU and infrared sensors will help
in wide area monitoring and
controlling of the power system.
Factors that affects the integration of
smart grid that was mentioned by the
authors are
 Poor maintenance of the existing
power system
 The cost that comes with changing
of our current meters to smart meters
 Lack of education about smart gird
on the part of citizens.
 The paper
considered the
need for smart
grid
implementation
and factors that
will affect its
integration in
Ghana.
 Ways to overcome
the factors that affects
the integration of
smart` grid was not
provided.
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10. TITLE
TECHNIQUE
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
Privacy
challenges
in smart
grids by
Florian
Skopik
The author’s project was based on the
privacy challenges that comes with the
implementation of smart grid and also
proposed some solutions to these
challenges.
The following were some of the challenges
considered:
 The privacy of personal information of
the customer
 The privacy of personal behavior of the
customer
Solutions proposed :
 Anomymization of metering data
 Privacy – Preserving metering data
aggregation.
 Anonymaztion of
metering data will
provide the customer
with a unique ID
instead of customers
name. Privacy
preserving metering
data aggregation limits
the amount of data
stored and will protect
customers’ privacy.
 A third party company will
be needed to provide the
unique ID for customers'
smart meters.
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11. TITLE TECHNIQUE ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
Communication Needs
and Integration
Options for AMI in the
Smart Grid
By
Vinod Namboodiri
 The author presented on the various
communication technologies that can
be used to improve the communication
standards in the smart grid
infrastructure and gave its spectrum,
data rate, coverage rate, applications
and limitations. This is shown in the
table below:
 Highlighted
Some of the
communicat
ion
technologies
used in
smart grid
communicat
ion
 A detailed
method of
communicatio
n was not
given
Technology Spectrum Data rate Coverage
range
Applications Limited
GSM 900-
1800MHz
Up to
14.4kpbs
1-10km AMI, Demand
response,
HAN
Low data
rates
GPRS 900-
1800MHz
Up to
170kpbs
1-10km AMI, Demand
response,
HAN
Low data
rates
3G 1.92-
1.98GHz
2.11-
2.17GHz
384kbps-
2Mbps
1-10km AMI, Demand
response,
HAN
Costly
spectrum
WiMAX 2.5GHz,
3.5GHz,
5.8GHZ
Up to
75Mbps
1-
50km(LOS)
1-
5km(NLOS)
AMI, Demand
response
Not
widespread
PLC 1-30MHz 2-3Mbps 1-3km AMI, Fraud
detection
Harsh, noisy
channel
environment
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12. TRANSITION FROM TRADITIONAL GRID TO SMART GRID
 Smart Grid is essential to provide services that are reliable,
secure, cost-effective, efficient, safe, and environmentally
responsible. To achieve the vision of the Smart Grid, a wide
range of technologies must be developed and implemented.
 Integrated Communication
 Advanced Smart Meter
 Modern Control & Instrumentation (I&C)
 Smart Software
 Distributed Generation
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13. SYSTEM DIAGRAM
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14. COMMUNICATION
 Smart Grid is the digital and Wi-Fi enabled power meters
that enable communication between the appliances in your
home or business, with the power provider.
 This communication can be through any of the below media:
Power Line Carrier
Wireless
Radio Frequency
GSM/GPRS
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15. POWER LINE CARRIER
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16. POWER LINE CARRIER
 Proper care has to be taken to guard carrier equipment and
persons using them against high voltages and currents on
the lines.
 Reflections are produced on lines connected to high voltage
lines. This increases attenuation and creates problem.
 High voltage lines have transformer connections, attenuate
carrier currents. Sub-station equipment adversely affect the
carrier currents.
 Noise introduced by power lines is far more than in case of
telephone lines. This is due to the noise generated by
discharge across insulators, corona and switching processes.
DISADVANTAGES
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17. WIRELESS COMMUNICATION
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18. WIRELESS COMMUNICATION
 Continuous communication network should be available.
 During emergency situation, network congestion or
performance are big challenges in smart grid system.
 Cellular network providers do not provide guaranteed
service in abnormal situations such as wind storm, heavy
rain and lightening conditions.
 Some smart meters can be hacked which can be used to
increase or decrease the demand for power.
 It is expensive to install smart meter compare to traditional
old electricity meter. .
DISADVANTAGES
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19. SIMULATION STRUCTURE
Power system simulation in MATLAB/SIMULINK
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20. POWER CHALLENGES
With consistent increase in demand, the need then arises for the integration
of Renewable Energy sources so as to cater for peak and or maximum
demands.
These REs integrations results in effects which do not favor the entire
network with respect to security, stability and reliability
As systems grow smart and high efficiency is expected, power
electronic devices tend to be the trusted partner.
And since these types of devices draw non-linear current from
the source, harmonic contents then rises above the preferred
limits thereby affecting the quality of the power and the system
at large 20

21. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
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22. COMPARISON OF TRADITIONAL GRID TO SMART GRID
TRADITIONAL GRID SMART GRID
One way communication Two-way communication
Few sensors Sensors throughout
One way energy transfer Two way energy transfer
Centralized energy Distributed energy
Low efficiency Relatively high efficiency
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23. GENERAL CHALLENGES OF SMART GRID
IMPLEMENTATION
o Inadequate Infrastructure
o Communication Issues
o Cyber Security
o Integration of renewable energy in to grid system
o Data Management
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24. CONCLUSION
The main aim of the project was to identify the technical
challenges of implementing smart grid. A simulation using
MATLAB/SIMULINK has also been used to examine the
effect of integrating renewable (solar/wind) into the
conventional power system. A comparison of the traditional
grid and smart grid has also been done. The objective of
this project has been achieved.
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