Communication Systems

“Smart grid ” generally refers to a class of technology bringing electricity delivery systems into the 21st century, using computer-based remote control and automation. With the growing energy demand, efficient usage of the available energy resources is increasingly becoming a major issue around the world. Smart grid is a step in that direction. Research in the European Union and the United States are currently underway to modernize the existing and aging transmission grid and to streamline the usage of electricity. A typical electricity grid consists of two major entities- the utility company and the distribution control system (DCS). Electricity is generated at the utility company and the DCS is responsible for the distribution of electricity to individual homes/consumers. A smart meter (SM) is an electronic device that measures the electricity consumed at the consumer’s premises and provides added information to the utility company. The data concentration unit (DCU) is a device acting as a communication hub collecting and encoding data from multiple smart meters in a neighborhood and forwarding the data to the utility company. The aim of this project is to design a network for securing the communication between the SM and the DCU in a smart metering network environment. The meter data communicated from the SM to the DCU is very sensitive and in the hands of an attacker, can reveal significant personal information about an individual. Hence it is of at most importance to protect the meter data transmitted from the SM. On the other hand the control signals transmitted from the DCU to the SM, need protection in order to thwart off unauthorized signals (i.e., an intruder can impersonate the DC and send out control signals to the SMs). Hence the SM and the DCU should be authenticated by each other and authorized and the data and/or control signals exchanged between them should be encrypted