On August 30th, the global power network is accelerating its upgrade to a smart grid, and information and communication are rapidly moving towards the 5G era. There are some wonderful chemical reactions occurring between the two rapidly evolving super infrastructure.

5G injects new energy into the smart grid

ITU has defined three major scenarios for 5G, namely Enhanced Mobile Bandwidth (eMBB), Ultra High Reliable Low Delay Communication (uRLLC), and Large Scale Machine like Communication (mMTC), which have varying degrees of application in various aspects of power generation, transmission, transformation, distribution, consumption, and emergency communication in the power system.

5G injects new energy into the smart grid

On the power generation side, the main scenarios for 5G applications include new energy power prediction and state perception, decentralized wind power network management and control, and so on. These scenarios have high requirements for the number of connections and latency of wireless communication. Among them, centralized new energy monitoring requires millions of connections, and the blade pitch control of wind power requires a low latency of no more than 20 milliseconds.

In the transmission section, the main scenarios for 5G application are transmission line status monitoring and drone inspection. This type of scenario requires a high number of connections and bandwidth. Among them, online monitoring of transmission lines requires the connection and management of tens of millions of sensors, and unmanned aerial vehicle inspection lines require a large bandwidth of 100Mbps.

At the substation end, the main scenario for 5G application is intelligent inspection of substations. By using intelligent robots to replace manual entry for mobile operations in substations, risks can be reduced and efficiency can be improved. This type of scenario requires a large bandwidth of 100Mbps to support the robot's playback of high-definition videos.

On the distribution side, 5G is widely used, covering the entire process from fault monitoring and positioning to precise load control. These applications have very high requirements for low latency, among which distribution network protection and control, intelligent distribution network micro synchronous phasor measurement all require an ultra-low latency of less than 10 milliseconds, and load control based on user response also requires a low latency of no more than 20 milliseconds. At the same time, the number of connections that need to be managed in this stage is also relatively large, mostly in the millions and tens of millions.

In terms of electricity consumption, 5G is also widely used, involving various aspects of electricity measurement and management, such as electricity information collection, distributed energy and storage, electric vehicle charging stations, smart homes, etc. The most prominent requirement for this layer of application is wide connectivity, which is generally in the tens of millions or even billions.

In addition, in terms of emergency communication, 5G can better support scenario applications such as voice scheduling and video surveillance, providing greater bandwidth and wider connections to meet the explosive needs of temporary scenarios.

Four typical applications of 5G+smart grid

Currently, around the entire process of power generation, transmission, transformation, distribution, and consumption in the power system, based on 5G's large bandwidth, low latency, wide connectivity characteristics, and unique "network slicing" technology, power industry companies, operators, and equipment providers mainly focus on the following four typical applications when promoting the implementation of 5G+smart grid applications:

One is differential protection. With ultra-low latency, 5G can replace optical fiber as a differential protection for distribution networks, significantly reducing costs. The power distribution network consists of distribution stations and transmission lines, with transmission equipment, transformers, distribution protection devices (DTUs), etc. If differential protection is deployed in a wired connection throughout the entire network, the demand for optical fibers and the difficulty of deployment will greatly increase the cost. With an ultra-low latency of less than 10ms, 5G networks can replace optical fibers for differential protection, achieving cost reduction and efficiency improvement.

The second is unmanned inspection. In medium to low speed mobile scenarios such as substation robot inspections in power production management, 5G networks with large bandwidth characteristics can not only control the movement/flight of inspection robots, reduce labor costs and safety risks, but also significantly improve inspection efficiency. On the other hand, high-definition video images can be promptly transmitted back to the command center for analysis and processing, improving operation and maintenance efficiency.

The third is advanced metrology. With the increasing awareness and management demands of households and business users for electricity consumption and pricing information, power measurement needs to evolve from traditional measurement to advanced measurement. A 5G network with wide connectivity features can connect a large number of smart meter devices, increase collection frequency, enrich collection content, achieve two-way interaction, and ultimately meet the needs of customers for intelligent electricity consumption and personalized services.

The fourth is safety isolation. The unique customizable network slicing technology of 5G can ensure the high isolation application of the power grid end-to-end, better meet the demand of the power network for the "industry specific network", and provide differentiated network service capabilities for different businesses of the smart grid. For example, the three major types of scenario applications mentioned above can coexist in 5G networks, meeting users' multiple needs for security, reliability, and flexibility.

Standard escort 5G+smart grid development

Behind the scene fit is the "collision" between 5G and smart grids at the standard level. Chinese power industry companies actively participate in the development of 3GPP 5G power demand standards, working together with operators and Huawei to incorporate smart grid demand into 5G international standards. As of now, 18 power demand proposals have been submitted to 3GPP, covering 5G network timing, 5G load-bearing distribution network differential protection, network capacity opening, network slicing management, terminal secondary authentication, etc. Among them, 9 have been adopted, Incorporated into four 3GPP international standards. The proposal for electricity demand is integrated into the 5G standard, guiding and ensuring the development of 5G+smart grids.

Joint efforts from multiple parties to promote the implementation of 5G+smart grid applications

Since 2018, Chinese power industry companies, operators, and Huawei have actively collaborated in various aspects of production, education, research, and utilization, achieving a series of fruitful results in the field of 5G+smart grid, and continuously promoting the "integration and integration" between the two major super infrastructure.

5G injects new energy into the smart grid

Last May, China Southern Power Grid signed a 5G enabled smart grid MOU with China Mobile and Huawei. In June, the three parties jointly released the "White Paper on 5G Assisting Smart Grid Applications" and signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement, clarifying that 5G can better meet the security, reliability, and flexibility needs of power grid business, and achieve differentiated service guarantees. In November, the three parties completed the differential protection testing of the laboratory distribution network and completed the end-to-end construction of the Shenzhen outfield testing network.

In February of this year, the three parties jointly completed the field testing of 5G smart grid, verifying the safety isolation ability of 5G low latency and end-to-end slicing. In the real and complex network environment of this outfield test, the 5G low latency end-to-end reached within 10ms, demonstrating good stability and meeting the differential protection and distribution automation requirements of the power grid.

In June of this year, the three parties jointly completed the end-to-end slicing verification based on the SA architecture. The first slicing carries the power distribution automation business of the first and second zones, ensuring low latency and transmitting power; The second slice carries the business of the third and fourth zones of electricity, ensuring large bandwidth and transmitting video monitoring services of electricity; The third slice carries public business. The end-to-end verification of the core network, transmission, and wireless networks does not affect the safe and reliable operation of power business in the event of excessive public traffic. Facing the future, the three parties have stated that they will complete the validation of more application scenarios and work together to create a demonstration area for 5G smart grids, promoting the commercialization of smart grids.

The 5G application of State Grid is also booming. Last June, State Grid of China, China Telecom, and Huawei jointly demonstrated the industry's first smart grid business based on 5G network slicing during the 2018 World Mobile Conference in Shanghai. The comprehensive improvement brought by 5G network slicing to smart grid was demonstrated from the perspectives of end-to-end SLA guarantee, business isolation, and operational independence. In June of this year, State Grid of China, China Telecom, and Huawei jointly released the "Business Feasibility Analysis of 5G Network Slicing Enabling Smart Grid" industry report, which explored the commercial feasibility of 5G power slicing from a quantitative perspective for the first time.

From technology to business, from imagination to practice, the changes brought by 5G to the power industry are happening. I believe that with the efforts of multiple parties, the 5G+smart grid will deliver a perfect answer sheet of 1+1>2.