On the Use of LEO Satellite Constellation for Active Network Management in Power Distribution Networks

Abstract

2 ically large, including rural, urban, suburban and some very remote sites covering customers numbering a few million to a few thousand or even fewer with different degrees of communication availability. Satellites can reach and provide data service over all these areas regardless the geographical conditions. 2) Current communication infrastructures in utilities were built with the most available technologies at the time resulting in an end-to-end path consisting of channels with diverse communication media and physical characteristics (e.g. leased digital fibre, private wire, telephone lines, satellite and mobile radio). Frequent transitions between different media degrade the communication availability and reliability. Adopting a satellite based system as the key technology effectively removes such deleterious impacts.3) The defined control regions across the power distribution network may be very diverse in terms of the number and type of network elements, e.g. DGs, substation transformers and feeders, which results in data traffic over the underlying communication system with different demands and characteristics. Satellite networks have high flexibility and efficiency in bandwidth utilization to meet the requirements of bandwidth-on-demand capability and dynamic channel allocation. 4) Current power distribution networks continue to grow with an increasing number of monitoring and control devices. Satellite networks are flexible enough for easy expansion and reconfiguration to incorporate and manage communication with newly added power network devices by simply installing system interfaces at device premises with a low installation and maintenance cost. II. RELATED WORKSatellite-based systems have been adopted in power utilities for years and the majority of the research effort (e.g. [10]- [12]) has focused on the use of Geo-stationary (GEO) satellites as a part of the communication infrastructure to provide communication services in power utilities.In [10], a terrestrial-GEO satellite hybrid communication infrastructure is proposed to support dedicated data services for power utilities. In [11], the authors discussed the use of a satellite-based system for wide-area measurement, command and control of power systems and suggested its application to improve the dynamic thermal rating of overhead transmission circuits. In [12], the authors reviewed the incorporation of GEO satellites into existing monitoring, protection and control systems in Energy Management Systems (EMS) and SCADA systems of power utilities. In the aforementioned proposals, the satellite component is expected to operate in areas where terrestrial communication is not available. As a result, it plays a complementary rather than a central role in the overall infrastructure as many critical aspects of GEO technology, notably excessive propagation delay (approximately 250 ms) and high costs, have an effect on the overall performance. On the other hand, recent advances in LEO satellite systems provide several outstanding advantages over GEO bas...

Satellite Communications Supporting Internet of Remote Things

“…Moreover, the use of LEO constellations could help in meeting more stringent latency requirements in case of voice and video transmission [16], [17].…”

“…The conclusion was that Globalstar can barely meet the stringent delay requirements for time critical applications in smart distribution networks due to its limited bandwidth and orbit altitude. A different conclusion was drawn in [16], where a LEO satellitebased network infrastructure is proposed to support a recently suggested active network management solutions, the Autonomous Regional Active Network Management System (AuRA-NMS) control. However, the analysis in [16] was not limited to a specific existing LEO-based constellation, but they presented a general analytical model for the network delay and the loss behavior of a LEO network.…”

“…A different conclusion was drawn in [16], where a LEO satellitebased network infrastructure is proposed to support a recently suggested active network management solutions, the Autonomous Regional Active Network Management System (AuRA-NMS) control. However, the analysis in [16] was not limited to a specific existing LEO-based constellation, but they presented a general analytical model for the network delay and the loss behavior of a LEO network. In [16], several IP data services with diverse traffic characteristics and patterns over LEO networks have been evaluated for both regular and emergency operational scenarios under a range of delay and loss conditions.…”

“…However, the analysis in [16] was not limited to a specific existing LEO-based constellation, but they presented a general analytical model for the network delay and the loss behavior of a LEO network. In [16], several IP data services with diverse traffic characteristics and patterns over LEO networks have been evaluated for both regular and emergency operational scenarios under a range of delay and loss conditions. The performed feasibility study has shown that a LEO-based solution can meet the requirements in terms of bandwidth, availability and latency of the new network management solution.…”

“…However, further studies should be stimulated to provide an answer to the abovementioned question. The paper [16] also outlined two other important elements to be taken into account when considering the application of LEO constellations for the power distribution network: 1) even if the trend for the "power utility Intranet" will be, almost certainly, independent of the public Internet, it will be most likely IP-based; 2) any satellite-based solution must properly interface with legacy wired/wireless systems to provide backward compatibility and transparent communication service. The use of IP over satellite and the interoperability with terrestrial systems will be further discussed in next Sections.…”