AEP calls for dedicated wireless system for Smart Grid

Utility Smart Grid Spectrum Allocation advocates dedicated wireless spectrum for utilities, harmonized with Canada. AEP, UTC, and EPRI cite FCC policy, interference risks, bandwidth needs, and reliability versus unlicensed networks for critical power grid communications.

American Electric Power (AEP), one of the largest generators of electricity in the U.S., told the Federal Communications Commission during a workshop on smart grid technology that “dedicated licensed spectrum is sorely needed by utilities.”

In other words AEP supports the idea of having the government allocate wireless spectrum, as the FCC urges smart grid cooperation, specifically for utilities to use for smart grid purposes. This would mean either restricting that spectrum to a few select groups, or making it completely off limits for other types of companies and organizations working on things other than smart grid technology.

The argument behind this call from AEP is that as utilities roll out more and more smart grid services, the utilities will need more and more network bandwidth to support deployments using fiber in the smart grid as well. The fear for some utilities is that heavy use of unlicensed, undedicated wireless spectrum — which can be used by any company if they follow specific rules for using the spectrum — could lead to interference between their smart grid applications and other groups’ uses of the network.

In AEP’s presentation for the FCC, framed alongside goals like achieving more power over the same wires for grid efficiency, it wrote: “Dedicated spectrum is much less likely to receive interference and has a remedy procedure if interference is experienced.”

It’s not a new idea. The Utilities Telecom Council, a trade group made up of utilities and grid vendors, has been advocating for years that utilities “must have access to dedicated radio spectrum.” In the face of all the attention on the smart grid build-out the UTC has increased its efforts to obtain dedicated spectrum for utilities calling for about 30 MHz of spectrum. Canada has allocated about 30 MHz of spectrum, and Canadian spectrum moves have bolstered the UTC’s case as the U.S. should do the same.

AEP also said to the FCC that it agrees with the UTC in that the U.S. should harmonize utility smart grid wireless spectrum with Canada as the grid undergoes a massive transition for renewables and block out 30 MHz. AEP writes: “Common spectrum allocation with Canada supports economies of scale for equipment and service providers lowering overall cost of ownership to utilities and ultimately lower rates to rate payers.”

Many tech vendors, particularly those that sell wireless gear that uses unlicensed spectrum, say interference is not a significant issue and that smart software solved this problem years ago for high-tech distribution systems in practice. Other companies, particularly those selling wireless gear that uses licensed network spectrum, maintain that interference is a reasonable problem for smart grid applications in unlicensed spectrum.

It’s enough of a problem that the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) told the National Institute of Standards in a report that it should put together a group to study the issue of interference in unlicensed radio spectrum for smart grid applications, and related smart grid privacy and security risks for agencies.

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