Wireless communication technologies for smart grid (WAMS) deployment

Highly flexible, secured and bi-directional communication infrastructure for power system data exchange is the stepping stone for the success of smart grid vision. Traditionally, wired communication is the first choice for monitoring, protection and control systems. With advent in communication technologies, the wireless technologies have also emerged as potential contender for data communication in various industrial applications. Wireless technologies have distinct advantages over wired in terms of higher mobility, lower installation cost and faster deployment among others. The deployment of wireless technologies for monitoring and control systems of Smart Grid namely WAMS has been largely unexploited area. This paper devises a systematic approach that identifies the communication requirements of WAMS, defines the capability of various wireless technologies such as Wireless LAN (WLAN), Wi-Max, Wi-Fi, GSM, GPRS etc. based on performance criteria and selects the potential wireless communication technologies for WAMS based on closest match. The WAMS communication requirement specifications have been arrived based on Indian Smart Grid case studies. The paper also discusses the challenges and hence opportunities associated with implementation of wireless technologies for Smart Grid.