2. Smart grids are coming of age.
The technology, the processes and
the tools are being put in place to
make them truly smart and deliver
a wealth of value to utilities, to
consumers, and to third parties
who want to take advantage of
smart grid infrastructures. This
guide outlines the potential—and
the challenges—and demonstrates
why Oracle is the smart grid choice
for OEMs and systems integrators
seeking a true end-to-end solution
for utilities.
3. Foreword
Contents
Carl Ford,
put 1.6 billion dollars into energy storage with over 9 million developers in the Introduction 5
VP of CrossFire Media.
and regional demonstration projects. worldwide market today***. Java
As the invention of
Worldwide the adoption of smart grid is not It’s logical to understand that
represents not only a secure approach Part I: The Evolution of Smart Grids 7
but is well understood, allowing the PC gave new tools —The Infrastructure Era 8
about the benefits to the utilities but the control developing a smart grid requires
application developers to make “an app and the Internet —The Device Era 9
of consumption. Regardless of the any other information technology, but for the
for that” for everything from managing gave us new ways to —The Information Era 10
utilities it requires a change in mindset
environmental or economic discussion the reality from supplier to enabler. Information
the heat to correlating use to user- communicate, the —The Advantages of the Information Era 14
specific goals.
is the market for energy is far more competitive technology changes the dynamics smart grid promise
Part II: The Cornerstones of Smart Grids 17
of supply demand and makes it so This briefing provides the insight to help new ways to control
that it was just six years ago. that demand response solutions are you understand the power of enabling consumption.
— Open and Agile IT Infrastructures 17
— Real-Time Information 20
collaborative and two-way. As the control to the consumer. Whether you
In fact, according to BP’s Statistical consuming more power than the — The Capacity for Change 22
invention of the PC gave new tools are a utility, M2M OEM, or an integrator,
Review of World Energy 2011*, most United States for more than triple the — A Focus on Security 23
and the Internet gave us new ways to putting your energies into delivering
countries have tripled their importing of population, their goal is to deploy 280
communicate, the smart grid promises solutions for the smart grid pays off.
oil and gas from over 15 suppliers, while million smart meters by 2016 (In-Stat Part III: The Essentials of Smart Grids 25
new ways to control consumption.
the suppliers themselves have doubled report**) and to expand their use of You just have to be smart about it. — Gathering Data 25
their international customers. The result renewables which has already reached The goal is no longer to be utility — Analysing Data 26
is a more dynamic economic model 1% with solar and wind technologies. * http://www.bp.com/ — Turning Raw Data into Real Information 28
supplier, but to enable third party
for energy that has a direct impact on multipleimagesection.do?categoryId=6
solutions to use the smart grid to make
In the United States, the promise of 840&contentId=7021557
economies worldwide. decisions. Where will these third parties Part IV: The Reality of Smart Grids 33
the electronic vehicle is creating an
come? From the device standpoint, the ** http://www.instat.com/press. — Open-Platform Wireless Communications 33
To avoid being rip-sawed by competitive opportunity for the consumer to be a
answer is from the M2M community asp?ID=3257&sku=IN1104731WH — Dedicated SIM Platforms 33
markets, countries are mandating that repository for energy as well as a partner
where temperature and energy sensors — Smart Concentrators 34
utilities manage demand response with in avoiding overloads.
dominate the deployments already. *** http://jaxenter.com/how-many-java- — Smart Home Gateways 35
alternative strategies and distribute
To enable distributed generation on From the solutions perspective, the developers-are-there-10462.html — Non-Utility Peripherals 35
their sources with renewable energy.
smart grids, the Depart of Energy has answer is clearly Java which dominates
For example in China, which is now
Part V: The Fastest Route to Smart Grids 36
3
4. Introduction
Smart grids are no longer about simply delivering power. They’re also about
delivering information to utilities that can help them control costs, improve
reliability, and take advantage of additional applications and processes.
For OEMs and systems integrators, Utilities, meanwhile, want to lower An infrastructure, furthermore, that can
they represent a new opportunity to operating costs and improve reliability. provide a range of add-on services to
develop flexible, future-proof, and secure They are looking to smart grids to make the smart grid truly smart, with
applications and products that will give provide a wealth of invaluable usage robust technology that can be further
each of the three key audiences involved and event data—and ease the load on developed and adapted over time to
major advantages. networks by delivering information to accommodate future demands.
consumers that makes them proactive
The need to conserve resources and But what are the implications of thinking
in adjusting usage.
lower carbon emissions is prompting intelligently about utility infrastructures
governments, for example, to And end users? Increasingly, they and the devices that connect to them?
encourage a change in energy usage are looking for ways to control their
This guide looks at the evolution of
and distribution patterns. In the UK, own energy usage to save costs, as
smart grids, addresses the issues that
the Government has committed to well as access additional information
utilities face in their quest to compete
the rollout of smart meters for both and services.
in an era when information itself is
electricity and gas in all homes and most
To realise all of these advantages, becoming a valuable utility, and shows
small businesses by the end of 2020.
smart grids require an agile yet secure the opportunities opening up for truly
£8.6 billion will be spent replacing some
IT infrastructure that can collect, secure embedded JAVA applications
47 million meters, which are expected to
analyse, and deliver information where and solutions in the Complex Event
deliver total benefits of £14.6 billion over
it is needed, whenever it is needed, Processing (CEP) arena.
the next 20 years.*
whatever it is needed for.
4 * ‘Smarter Grids: The Opportunity’, The UK Department of Energy & Climate Change, December 2009 5
5. Part I:
The Evolution of Smart Grids
Utilities across the globe all face the same challenge: how to support,
maintain, and enhance infrastructures that, by their very nature, are
large, expensive and, once installed, relatively inflexible. Added to
this are environmental, regulatory, and consumer pressures that
vary country by country, region by region, together with the need to
contain costs, improve reliability, and maintain security.
The answer across every utility has been What was smart just five years ago The new demands are, for the first time,
to develop smart grids: infrastructures has become a standard part of utility giving utilities the chance to change the
that help in the supply, metering, and infrastructures. Smart devices that were way they operate, with detailed usage
billing of electricity by automating meter regarded as cutting edge are now seen information, real-time event
reading and delivering information as old-fashioned. The need to conserve data, distributed generation, smart
that can be used to improve business energy is changing the way electricity is switches and relays all bringing their
decision-making. expected to be delivered and controlled. own challenges.
Infrastructures that once had defined
The issue, however, is that as So the first point to address in any
end-points are now extending into
metering technologies, IT systems, discussion about smart grids is how
devices in the home. Additional uses
legislation, and user demands they have evolved—and where they
are being expected from—sometimes,
have advanced and changed, the are now heading.
demanded from—smart grids, with
expectations of what smart grids can
those expectations and demands
deliver has also changed.
varying market by market.
6 7
6. It is estimated that The Infrastructure Era The Device Era
a direct reduction
of 6% in electricity
consumption, with
a range of 1% to In the past, the drivers behind utility The disadvantages of an Modern economies have now entered The advantages are many, such as
10%, can be achieved networks were straightforward. Electricity infrastructure-based approach are the device era, in which the focus is on utilities being able to bill more accurately,
in the residential simply had to be delivered to homes that rather than being designed to smart meters, which communicate the near real-time data contributing to more
and businesses. Cost and ease of deliver, process and analyse data, data they gather back to the utility, either precise forecasting of future usage,
and small/medium
implementation were the biggest factors, such networks simply collect data at wirelessly or using power lines, and can and live usage data encouraging users
commercial building and the networks had to be scalable in thousands of fixed end-points. That data deliver processed information to users. to economise
sectors through order to accommodate new users with has to be read and collated manually and
implementation The drivers that have prompted the The disadvantages are that the
relative ease. is fixed and unchangeable. It is difficult to
device era are increasing regulatory easier collection of data is still seen by
of smart grid add or enhance the data that is gathered,
The advantages are similarly pressures like the EU 20-20-20 target, utilities as the main driver, rather than the
technologies. or the way that it is gathered.
straightforward, particularly when the potential supply issues prompting utilities analysis of it, and utilities remain largely
‘The Smart Grid: An Estimation of the Energy average time in the utility industry for to track consumption far more accurately, unaware of the wider potential of the
and CO2 Benefits’, Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory, January 2010
components to be replaced is 30-40 and utility companies trying to save on two-way connection into homes and
years. Such networks are simple to the cost of collecting meter data. businesses and the consequent need
maintain, with low tech components used for open standards.
throughout that can be easily replaced
should they wear out.
The focus is on the infrastructure with each The focus is on devices with smart meters
element siloed and separate from the others. installed in homes for remote meter reading.
Generation Transmission Distribution Consumers Generation Transmission Distribution Consumers
8 9
7. The Information Era
Utility companies, OEM partners, Smart meters, for example, are Overall, smart grids in this 5. The deployment of smart 9. The development of standards for
and integrators are now talking about becoming true smart meters that information era differ from smart technologies for metering, communication and interoperability
smart grids in which information and can send and receive actionable grids of the past in ten key ways: communications concerning of appliances and equipment
connectivity become a utility, multiple information to and from a variety of grid operations and status, and connected to the grid
1. The increased use of digital
levels of functionality exist, and further other devices equipped with machine- distribution automation 10. The lowering of unreasonable or
information and controls technology
functionality can be added as the to-machine (M2M) communication in 6. The integration of smart appliances unnecessary barriers to adoption.
need arises. a secure environment. 2. The optimisation of grid
using embedded technologies
operations and resources,
The crucial point is that, just as utility In addition to the connectivity to the with full cyber security 7. The deployment and integration
infrastructures deliver electricity smart meter, the move to distributed of advanced electricity storage Analysis of 350 smart
3. The deployment and integration of
wherever it is required, so smart grids processing at the substation will also and peak-shaving technologies,
distributed resources and generation, metering/demand
should deliver information wherever bring about actionable analysis, relying including plug-in electric and hybrid
it is needed, in whatever form it is on new applications that must be
including renewable resources
electric vehicles, and thermal-
response initiatives in
needed, whenever it is needed. And, developed—applications that are both 4. The incorporation of demand storage air conditioning more than 50 countries
as importantly, the kind of information standards-based and secure. response, demand-side resources,
8. The provision to consumers of timely
represented 500
they gather should change as the and energy efficient resources
information and control options million smart meters
environment changes. that could be deployed
within the next decade.
Smart Metering, Market Dynamics Report,
Q2 2011
New sensors / distribution computing on transmission Smart Meters and Home Networks help
and distribution lines alert operations, fix problems, customers use energy wisely, mitigate peak
integrate large-scale renewables generation. demand, integrate local renewables.
10 Generation Transmission Distribution Consumers 11
8. Summary Table
The drivers that have encouraged The advantages of such smart grids Basic Utility Infrastructures Smart Grids
interest in the new era of smart grids are: are that they can change and adapt as Users are uninformed and non-participative. Users are informed, involved, and active.
required, providing to utilities masses
„ An increasing need to save electricity Dominated by central supply, with many obstacles Many distributed energy resources with plug-and-play
Utilities need to of usage data such as voltage, energy to the connection of distributed resources. convenience, and a focus on renewables.
whenever possible
choose technologies supplied, and time of usage (TOU),
Limited wholesale markets, not well integrated, Mature, well-integrated wholesale markets,
that are interoperable „ The emergence of M2M devices together with event data such as power
with limited opportunities for users. and growth of new markets for users.
in home appliances like washing outages, tampering alerts, and service
so that the larger Focus on supply with a subsequent slow response Quality is a priority with a variety of quality/price options,
machines and air conditioning diagnostics. This wealth of information
grid can be built. to quality issues. and the rapid resolution of issues.
systems that allow them to be turned allows applications and uses to be added
‘Smart metering – a review of experiences off by the utility provider at times of and removed as required. Little integration of operational data with asset Greatly expanded data acquisition and analysis capability,
and potential across multiple geographies’,
peak demand, the utility gaining by management, resulting in business-process silos. reaching beyond traditional parameters.
Datamonitor, November 2009
having control over demand in peak The disadvantages are that they are A focus on protecting assets following faults. Automatic detection and response to problems,
periods, the user gaining from off- more complicated to specify, configure, with a focus on prevention, minimising impact to users.
peak tariffs implement, and maintain. The number of
Vulnerable to malicious acts of terror and natural disasters. Resilient to attack and natural disasters with
potential M2M devices and applications rapid restoration capabilities.
„ Recognition that information can
that could connect to smart grids, for
become a tool to drive down costs, Uses traditional fuels and sources. Uses cleaner supply technologies and reduced CO2 emissions.
example, is extremely wide and diverse
provided it is accessible Limited information provided by single-use, proprietary devices. A wealth of information available from M2M devices that
and there is a danger of information
and actionable are re-programmable and re-purposable.
overload or blockage. There are also
„ The emergence of mobile phone and increasing concerns about the security of
PC apps that allow users to control information held within smart grids.
The evolution of Smart Grids
their energy use remotely
„ The adoption of wind turbines and Summary Electricity
Time of use MicroGrid
bills storage
other devices in the electricity arena pricing balancing
Smart meters
turning users into generators as well Automated Home area
meter reading Advanced networks
as consumers. Real-time
metering
Demand pricing
infrastructure Smart
Advanced
response appliances
distribution
Critical peak management Electric
Distribution systems Distributed
automation pricing generation vehicles
10 years ago Now Future: 10 years
12 13
9. The Advantages of Businesses
The Information Era Businesses can track energy usage to identify
Systems Integrators
potential savings, switch additional services on
and off quickly and easily, and take advantage Systems Integrators can plan for any requirement
of new services as soon as they are introduced, in a new or existing infrastructure, introduce new
with middleware managing the complex task of services quickly and easily, and repurpose M2M
collating information from a multitude of systems. devices as required, with open standards removing
Consumers compatibility problems and speeding the process.
Consumers can monitor their energy usage, save
money by using high-demand appliances off-peak,
sell energy back to the utility, plug in third party
devices like health monitoring systems, and access a OEMs
range of additional information services in the future. Distribution OEMs can design smart
All through flexible and agile devices and applications
that can change as the market changes.
Network meters and other M2M
Operators devices that are flexible,
re-purposeable, and
Distribution Network Operators
secure, and that can be
can track real-time usage
integrated into future M2M
permanently, allowing them
devices, offering real long-
to adapt the infrastructure to
term value to utilities.
suit local demands, identify
potential weak spots and move
from reactive management to
proactive monitoring.
Utilities
Utilities can track usage in real time, even out peaks
in demand, identify network issues immediately, bill
customers accurately, and respond to changes in the
14 supply environment quickly and easily, with a flexible, 15
agile infrastructure that can adapt to new demands.
10. Part II:
The Cornerstones of Smart Grids
The journey to the smart grid in the information era, while
worthwhile for utilities, OEMs, and integrators, means
that any smart grid deployment has to be based on four
essential cornerstones, all of which are critical for success.
Open and Agile In order for smart grids to be truly
IT Infrastructures smart, therefore, the IT infrastructure
underpinning them needs to be open
With traditional infrastructures, the life
and agile, providing a common platform
expectancy of components is 30-40
for the many emerging components,
years, during which what they can do
technologies, and applications in
and the information they deliver does
different areas.
not change.
Planned correctly, the infrastructure can
Smart grids are different because
deliver a constant stream of data through
the applications they need to access,
a variety of devices and applications.
collect, deliver, and return back to
both the user and the utility have to be
flexible, future-proof, and secure.
16 17
11. If smart grids come to fruition,
consumers will flock to:
62% In-home displays
for real-time
access to usage
Key to the success of such an approach as asset utilisation and management, Distributed Intelligent Agents fast load flow analysis; system and cost data
are integrated, scalable, proven, and work management, outage Distributed Intelligent Agents are performance monitoring,
standards-based technologies that management, and GIS-based systems. adaptive, self-aware, self-healing, and simulation and prediction; 51% Smart
will contribute to the flexibility of the semi-autonomous control systems condition-based maintenance; appliances
Advanced Control Methods
infrastructure at every stage: that respond rapidly at the local level to outage management; and
The communication infrastructure
unburden centralised control systems asset optimisation. 31% Mobile device
Integrated Communications supporting today’s emerging smart portals
and human operators. Several of
With a fully integrated data grids consists of a wide spectrum of Decision Support
communications architecture, smart technologies patched together. The
these agents are often combined to
In smart grids, complex and 18% Distributed
grids can capture, distribute, process, required information is transmitted
form a multi-agent system with peer-
extensive system information
energy
and analyse large amounts of real-time from the sensor to the control systems,
to-peer communication.
needs to be rendered into
resources
data from sensing and measurement
devices. This acquisition and transfer of
processed by the control systems,
and then transmitted to the controlling
40% of CO2 emissions formats quickly understood by
system operators so that they
11% Plug-in hybrid
electric
data supports the grid’s ability to detect, devices. This is too limited to support come from power can understand the overall vehicles (PHEVs)
analyse, and respond autonomously to the high-speed requirements and generation. By status of the grid at a glance and
adverse trends and conditions. broad coverage needed by Advanced 2020, Europe has lend support to the self-healing 10% Electricity
Control Methods, and does not aspect of the grid. storage
The data and information made available
provide the networked, open
committed to
Oracle Survey of 150 North American
using integrated communications
architecture format necessary for the cutting these New applications such as
C-level utility executives, 2010
technologies additionally benefits other advanced pattern recognition, —Executives asked to select the top two
processes and technologies, such
continued enhancement and growth emissions by 20%, holographic video, geospatial
advances they believe will take off fastest.
of smart grids.
producing 20% reporting, and dashboard
In true smart grids, Distribution of energy from presentations can all improve
automation (DA) technologies can be visualisation and thus increase
renewable sources,
used to monitor and operate devices the human operator’s
installed throughout the distribution and increasing understanding and speed
system, thereby optimising station energy efficiency of comprehension.
loadings and reactive supply, by 20%.
monitoring equipment health,
identifying outages, and providing In smart grids, these multi-agent
more rapid system restoration. systems are capable of reaching goals
difficult to achieve by an individual
system and can be used for ultra-
18 19
12. Real-Time Information quality. On top of this, other data such The challenge for OEMs and
as network outage notifications, tariff systems integrators is to develop
The second and perhaps most important
issue for utility companies is the fact
updates, and firmware updates also solutions for utilities that offer: Utilities must support smart grids with the
need to be transferred to and from smart
that real-time information becomes a „ An open standards architecture additional processing power needed to:
meters. And that’s before other M2M
utility. And, like a utility, the sheer scale of that optimises future flexibility and
applications are even considered.
information flowing to, through, and from freedom of choice
„ Continually assess power or feeding customer-owned
a smart grid will be vast. Estimates from A pre-requirement of a truly smart grid „ M2M devices that similarly speak the delivery and available distributed generation into the
The Electric Power Research Institute is therefore a resilient, scalable system same language and can interact with
(EPRI) indicate a growth of 800% over capable of communicating with and
feeder capacity grid through net metering
each other faster and more easily
what utilities experience today. processing all of the messages from a
„ The ability to capture, store, analyse, „ Analyse sensor data to „ Size the network to optimise
large mixed smart meter estate within a
In traditional infrastructures, for example, distribute, and manage the large mitigate feeder problems available capacity and limit
finite processing window.
meter readings are taken at defined volumes of data involved in the before they occur line losses
periods and customers are billed That data must then be turned into management of a smart grid
based on those readings. With the something that is actionable and „ Prepare bills that reflect „ Provide near-real-time views
„ Reliability, scalability, security,
need for smart grids to deliver real-time usable across the business from flexibility, and manageability of and explain to customers of usage and costs that
information, it is generally accepted forecasting to program development the IT systems the complex pricing models empower customers to make
that usage and event data needs to be to asset management. It is here that
acquired at 30-minute or even 15-minute the importance of platform integration
„ High performance in real-time data that encourage them to shift the best usage decisions for
intervals, and then processed, stored, transactions, transaction speed, and optional electricity use to off- their situation.
and open architecture really comes into
data volumes
and made available. play. There are large financial benefits to peak hours
efficiently leveraging available enterprise „ System resilience in terms of In order to handle the massive
Even at the lower limit of 30 minutes,
information with real-time smart grid automatic back-up and fail-over „ Manage rebates and incentive increase in data, it is critical that
48 separate items of usage data alone
operational data through data sharing procedures architected in to processes for customers application architecture uses
need to be parsed, verified, validated,
between legacy systems. the system purchasing and installing building blocks that are open,
and securely stored for every customer
every day. If a large utility has 10 million There are also many advantages of using
„ Robust data management systems energy-efficient equipment flexible, adaptable, and scalable.
customer accounts, this would equate that are able to categorise data in
embedded technologies which offer high
to 480 million pieces of data. Per day. terms of its latency, priority, currency,
performance and functionality yet low
And this does not include additional accuracy, recoverability, and longevity.
latency, and can be relied upon in the
data channels that utilities now want to long-term for ongoing support.
collect such as event alerts and power
20 21
13. What smart grid components
will see wide-scale utility
adoption most quickly?
The Capacity for Change meters are expected to collect, process, monitoring systems that can be installed 63% Smart metering A Focus on Security of smart meters or concentrators on
The thinking behind smart grids, in
and respond to. quickly and easily. Once again the smart
48% Demand The concern for many utilities when
the grid. Instead a common security
terms of what is possible and what
grid is the highway that can be used by response and considering smart grids is to contain
standard has to be adopted for every
Inside the home, smart appliances like
third party companies and M2M devices. critical peak smart meter and device at every
can be delivered on a large scale, is washing machines and air conditioning costs and improve reliability. A
pricing endpoint, with embedded security as
changing all of the time. Hence, smart systems that modify their energy So far more will be expected from major issue that always lurks in the
the rule, not the exception.
meters and other M2M devices need to
be designed so that they can adapt to
consumption during times of peak
demand are already being developed.
the smart meters and smart devices
of tomorrow than today. OEMs and
38% Smart background, however, is the security of
the grid itself. Similarly, once data is processed and
distribution and/
the shifting environment around them. Fridges will follow, and domestic integrators need to be thinking about or transmission analysed within the utility, customer and
Every day, every utility has to defend
heating boilers, and audio visual it now, however, because embedded operation employee access to information needs to
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), itself from countless cyber attacks,
equipment and… think of a device that technologies will be key in extending the devices be streamlined with automated access
for example, may also be seen by the intrusions, and hackers who want to
consumes energy and the likelihood is lifespan of infrastructures for utilities and and identity management, and next-
network as a battery source that can,
at times of peak demand, be used
that M2M technologies will emerge to the commercial opportunities that 30% Integration of destabilise the distribution grid. With
new devices in smart grids providing
generation consumer energy portals.
even out demand. will arise. renewables
to help supply electricity rather than more data, utilities are being exposed Issues like this require OEMs and
(hydro power
consume it. So smart meters have to The driver for consumers will be to more security challenges than ever integrators to use a platform for the
and wind energy)
be able to accommodate this change lower tariffs when demand falls, once before. And this is only the beginning. smart meters and any other M2M
by, for instance, running backwards again requiring those smart meters to 26% Increase in Future developments of smart grids devices that is utterly secure in order
when electricity is being supplied, or by be adapted. smart sensors will see them extend into areas inside to reassure users, yet agile enough to
reducing supply if such battery-stored on the network homes and businesses, where the grids reduce the time and cost of compliance
power is fed directly into the house. In order for a UK become highways for other services. by rapidly adjusting to new regulations
smart grid to work,
21% Accommodation These services will, by their very nature, and mandates.
Once price and legislation allows, many of plug-in carry sensitive data that has to be
more consumers will invest in wind the smart meter hybrid electric protected at every point in the grid. In order to guarantee commercial
turbines and become power generators
system alone will vehicles (PHEVs) success in the information era, therefore,
as well as power users, selling electricity It is not enough for each smart meter the focus needs to be on inherent and
back to the grid and changing the way
need to process Oracle Survey of 150 North American C-level
and M2M device to promise its own integrated security throughout smart
utility executives, 2010—Executives asked to
power grids are controlled. a minimum of select up to three smart grid components. security protocols, independently grid infrastructures using proven,
The increasing use of batteries for
2,256,000,000 separate developed and tested. Nor is it sufficient established technologies with an existing
for M2M devices to trust in the security support ecosystem.
storage will additionally localise supply data items per day.
as well as demand, placing yet more
demands on the information that smart Healthcare too is in the spotlight, with
smart grids acting as the backbone for
22 23
14. Part III:
The Essentials of Smart Grids
Smart grids, by their very nature, have complex infrastructures comprised
of many components, lots of which are concerned with carrying electricity
to consumers safely and with minimum loss. The key concern for OEMs
and systems integrators developing solutions for gathering and analysing
data, and transforming that data into valuable information, is to ensure that
those solutions integrate seamlessly with the smart grid.
Gathering data Not every appliance in the home has will play a growing interactive role in
the potential to be ‘smart’, however. energy-efficient homes in smart grids,
In every smart grid, it is the last mile in
Component costs and market price by communicating with and controlling a
particular where there is the opportunity
points dictate that smaller devices with range of smart appliances and devices.
for OEMs and systems integrators to
no user interface and a limited response
develop new technologies and products Smart Meters
requirement are unsuitable from a cost
that can help utilities gather more data. Smart meters are the real hub of
as well as complexity perspective.
Smart Appliances information in smart grids. Instead
A lot has been written about how usage Smart Apps of being relatively dumb devices that
data from smart appliances like washing At the next level up, a widening range monitor and report energy usage and
machines, freezers and air conditioning of applications on tablet PCs, smart little else, modern smart meters gather
systems can be gathered and used to phones and other devices are gathering more information, more frequently.
have a real and lasting impact by moving information and showing users energy Giving utilities the ability to access
usage and energy consumption to off- usage in real time, whenever and many different channels of usage and
peak periods. wherever they want it. With increasing event data—and enhance and expand
regulation and mandates for energy- that data as the environment and
efficient white goods, smart apps needs change.
24 25
16. Turning Raw Data into The Intelligent Choice Outage Management and Distribution Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management
Real Information The first foundation for many Management capabilities) and world- can serve as the foundation for a smart
organisations seeking to exploit class Oracle Fusion Middleware to metering initiative, integrating with
There are many reasons for choosing
information and intelligence is Oracle. handle complex event processing, multiple advanced metering solutions
technologies to support a smart grid.
Oracle offers mission-critical software batch operations, the streamlining and acting as a central data repository.
But for OEMs, systems integrators,
applications, a proven operational of business processes, alignment of It provides validated, ‘clean’ data for
telcos, and other parties involved in
software suite, high-performance business applications, exponential data downstream systems such as billing,
the planning, design, configuration,
servers and storage, and world-leading growth, and visualisation for embedded customer care, network management
and implementation of smart grids for
middleware and embedded technology spatial capabilities. and more, feeding processed and
utilities, several questions remain.
that can help address every smart grid formatted data to the Oracle Utilities
Oracle’s smart metering software,
What technology should be trusted and smart meter challenge. applications that support smart metering.
similarly, is a solution set that offers new
in the development of smart meters
As importantly, Oracle provides end- ways to conserve energy, potentially
and other M2M devices? Will the
to-end solutions with the world’s most reducing bills and carbon footprints.
choice of a particular technology over
complete set of software choices that
another end up restricting choices
help utilities address emerging customer
in the future? Is there a technology
needs, speed the delivery of utility- As well as understanding the
that can be integrated with existing Oracle utility industry solutions complexity around smart grid
specific services, increase corporate
technologies to enhance smart
administration efficiency, and turn initiatives and implementations,
grids? Does the technology use the
Common Information Model (CIM), now
business data into business intelligence. Application for utilities Oracle provides a complete footprint
recognised as the data standard for Oracle’s smart grid software, for
of flexible, innovative technology and
smart grids? How can that technology example, is a solution set that is based
Middleware for utilities applications that increase efficiency,
be employed to gather masses of usage on the Common Information Model and improve stakeholder satisfaction,
Database for utilities
and event data—and then turn that data uniquely positioned to provide utilities future-proof organisations, and turn
into actionable, usable information? with the end-to-end applications to help information itself into a powerful
Operating system for utilities
solve their technology needs.
utility. Making Oracle the smart grid
Virtual machine for utilities
The role of operational applications choice for utilities everywhere.
starts with the distribution management Servers for utilities
features of Oracle Utilities Network
Storage for utilities
Management System (which includes
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