I spent last week in Paris for the CIGRE exposition at a conference center just down the street from the famously triumphant Arc de Triomphe. But, while Napoleon’s victories may still be celebrated in the stone arch of the Arc, I was surprised that CIGRE’s exposition showed few victories for the area of transmission and distribution we all hear so much about---the smart grid.
CIGRE stands for Conseil International des Grands Reseaux Electriques---or, in the not-so-queen’s-English: International Council on Large Electric Systems. Established in 1921, the group is one of the leading organizations on electric power systems, covering their technical, economic, environmental, organizational and regulatory aspects. A non-profit association based in France, CIGRE leans heavily toward transmission and pops up in Paris in exhibition form every two years for a week of complicated sessions.
When I first went to CIGRE two years ago in 2008, they were breaking record attendance numbers at 4400. While my contact hasn’t told me what the numbers were yet for this year, I guarantee you they were large, as always. That’s not surprising. They’re always large. What was surprising was the lack of smart grid focus. (There was more on it two years ago, actually.) No long sessions on the subject, few exhibitors touting it. The show was heavy on hardware and light on the PR of the smart grid. Since smart grid is pretty much all anyone talks about with transmission and distribution these days here in the U.S., color me surprised to show up at a large international conference that chats most about overhead lines, audible noise and transformers---that really is all about the basics of the electric grid.
And, yet, it was not a ghost town. The floor was packed. The sessions were full. And, it got me thinking about rabbits.
Yes, rabbits. Well, one rabbit in particular.
After a long day of sessions at CIGRE, I wandered up to the art district by the Sacre Coeur church. I have a soft spot for that area, a place of poets and artists from the turn of the last century. Down a side street is a cabaret called Au Lapin Agile which has been around, in one form or another, since the time of green fairies and Toulouse-Lautrec. (Latrec used to use the owner as a model for some of his posters). There’s a famous story about this spot, translated into The Nimble Rabbit in English. An early 20th century French novelist so hated modern artists like Picasso, so thought them fluff and garbage and a bunch of hooey, that he tied a paintbrush to the tail of a donkey and showed the finished product as art at a salon, naming it “Sunset over the Adriatic.”
France has always been a place of rather pointed commentary, and, while I actually like Picasso and other cubists that the novelist was attempting to skewer with his donkey canvas, I have to admit that the French ability to preach a novel without saying a single actual word seemed poignant given what I’d encountered that day at the conference center. It crossed over to the CIGRE floor and sessions in my overactive imagination. Was the decided lack of smart grid information, smart grid details and smart grid exhibits at CIGRE a commentary on what the smart grid actually is---or, more pointedly, what it actually is not?
Granted, some of this is because the smart grid, as we know it, has focused almost entirely on the distribution end of the game, but, the fact is, that we need to make this grid intelligent from the meter all the way back to the power plant, and, if transmission isn’t in the equation yet (as CIGRE might show us), we have millions of miles to go before we sleep, to steal a bit from Frost’s little poem, which isn't about rabbits at all.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Vegetation management as vegetation melancholy
Yesterday, I wept over my Japanese maple---ok, not literally. But, it’s a nice opening image, isn’t it? A girl in all black crying over a sweeping, pale tree. Very gothic.
Anyway, here’s the true story: I was outside in the heat doing some yard work and noticed that the 100+ heat wave had scorched part of the left side of my favorite, delicate front yard centerpiece. So, I cursed a bit. Then, I climbed a stepladder and tried to trim off the burnt bits.
Before owning a home, I never understood how attached people can get to plants. Vegetarians don’t eat meat because of a variety of reasons, one of which is a sentimental attachment to animals. There is no word for people who don’t eat plants because of a sentimental attachment to them, but I could, yesterday, fully understand where they might be coming from, if we had a word for that.
I’m reminded of my own recent veggie sentimentality because of PPL. Today, they reached a court-approved agreement with the National Park Service that will allow the utility to trim vegetation around a key power line in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area near Bushkill, Pa. Apparently, there was a dispute about whether the right-of-way had been regularly maintained by PPL and whether or not PPL would need a special permit to go ahead with the VM work. And that dispute got so out-of-hand that there were legalities involved.
All I could think was, “It’s all important, I know---every tree, every shrub, every non-aesthetic trim on an aesthetic view---it’s all vitally important … until the power goes out.”
Sentimental and aesthetic attachments to greenery can actually pose a big, big problem for utilities. A fear that the utility company will “whack” at trees and trample flower beds brings a lot of uncertainty to vegetation management (VM) programs.
And, if the 2003 Northeast blackout taught us anything, it’s that vegetation management is of fundamental importance in the care and feeding of a power grid. Remember that blackout? Terrorist fears and knee-jerk reactions finally aside, it came down to vegetation in a David-and-Goliath tech battle. And, just like in the Good Book, David won. Unfortunately, in that circumstance, the low-tech, tiny adversary isn’t the one we were all rooting for. We were on the Goliath side of the equation---that long, complicated, high-tech grid system.
But Goliath went out like a light, for a day and half. People were stranded. Businesses were closed. It cost the area billions.
Now, the PPL situation in Pennsylvania is not quite so drastic---and actually fairly uncommon. Usually, if there is VM issue, it’s on a private, individual level rather than a public, widespread one. When doing articles on vegetation management and tree programs, utilities always have a gaggle of stories about homeowners unhappy about or afraid of the utility clearing out and cleaning up around power lines and poles. Some of those individuals are doing things they shouldn’t be (like backyard drug labs, rights-of-way cockfighting farms or illegal shooting ranges) and don’t wish to get caught, but most, like me, are just sentimental and attached to how they’ve grown, sculpted and nurtured their vegetation. Sure, that vegetation might be directly underneath a power line---as my fabulous backyard outdoor room is which I love for its palm tree and adorable seating area perfect for a summer afternoon lemonade---but that doesn’t mean I want that power line to take top priority.
Well, I don’t want it to take top priority until my palm, stretching toward the hot summer sun, tangles itself in the power line and causes an outage. Then, I wouldn’t care if they had to burn that palm, along with the seating area, as a sacrifice to the power gods in order to get that precious electricity back on.
So, when faced with vegetation melancholy and sentimentality about VM, I’m going to take the same position I do on vegetarianism in general: I understand the point-of-view. I even have some empathy for the emotional reaction, but, alas, I just can’t subscribe to the philosophy.
In the end, I love my Japanese maple and my backyard baby palm tree, but, in 106-degree Oklahoma Augusts, I love my air conditioner even more. The utility can come trim in my backyard anytime; I’ll even loan them some clippers, if they need some.
Anyway, here’s the true story: I was outside in the heat doing some yard work and noticed that the 100+ heat wave had scorched part of the left side of my favorite, delicate front yard centerpiece. So, I cursed a bit. Then, I climbed a stepladder and tried to trim off the burnt bits.
Before owning a home, I never understood how attached people can get to plants. Vegetarians don’t eat meat because of a variety of reasons, one of which is a sentimental attachment to animals. There is no word for people who don’t eat plants because of a sentimental attachment to them, but I could, yesterday, fully understand where they might be coming from, if we had a word for that.
I’m reminded of my own recent veggie sentimentality because of PPL. Today, they reached a court-approved agreement with the National Park Service that will allow the utility to trim vegetation around a key power line in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area near Bushkill, Pa. Apparently, there was a dispute about whether the right-of-way had been regularly maintained by PPL and whether or not PPL would need a special permit to go ahead with the VM work. And that dispute got so out-of-hand that there were legalities involved.
All I could think was, “It’s all important, I know---every tree, every shrub, every non-aesthetic trim on an aesthetic view---it’s all vitally important … until the power goes out.”
Sentimental and aesthetic attachments to greenery can actually pose a big, big problem for utilities. A fear that the utility company will “whack” at trees and trample flower beds brings a lot of uncertainty to vegetation management (VM) programs.
And, if the 2003 Northeast blackout taught us anything, it’s that vegetation management is of fundamental importance in the care and feeding of a power grid. Remember that blackout? Terrorist fears and knee-jerk reactions finally aside, it came down to vegetation in a David-and-Goliath tech battle. And, just like in the Good Book, David won. Unfortunately, in that circumstance, the low-tech, tiny adversary isn’t the one we were all rooting for. We were on the Goliath side of the equation---that long, complicated, high-tech grid system.
But Goliath went out like a light, for a day and half. People were stranded. Businesses were closed. It cost the area billions.
Now, the PPL situation in Pennsylvania is not quite so drastic---and actually fairly uncommon. Usually, if there is VM issue, it’s on a private, individual level rather than a public, widespread one. When doing articles on vegetation management and tree programs, utilities always have a gaggle of stories about homeowners unhappy about or afraid of the utility clearing out and cleaning up around power lines and poles. Some of those individuals are doing things they shouldn’t be (like backyard drug labs, rights-of-way cockfighting farms or illegal shooting ranges) and don’t wish to get caught, but most, like me, are just sentimental and attached to how they’ve grown, sculpted and nurtured their vegetation. Sure, that vegetation might be directly underneath a power line---as my fabulous backyard outdoor room is which I love for its palm tree and adorable seating area perfect for a summer afternoon lemonade---but that doesn’t mean I want that power line to take top priority.
Well, I don’t want it to take top priority until my palm, stretching toward the hot summer sun, tangles itself in the power line and causes an outage. Then, I wouldn’t care if they had to burn that palm, along with the seating area, as a sacrifice to the power gods in order to get that precious electricity back on.
So, when faced with vegetation melancholy and sentimentality about VM, I’m going to take the same position I do on vegetarianism in general: I understand the point-of-view. I even have some empathy for the emotional reaction, but, alas, I just can’t subscribe to the philosophy.
In the end, I love my Japanese maple and my backyard baby palm tree, but, in 106-degree Oklahoma Augusts, I love my air conditioner even more. The utility can come trim in my backyard anytime; I’ll even loan them some clippers, if they need some.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Do mere meters define the smart grid future?
This week, research company Berg Insight predicted that installed smart meters will shoot past the 300-million mark worldwide by 2015. That’s a lot of meters. A whole lot. But, are we circling, here? Smart meters may be the heart of the smart grid, but where is the rest of the infrastructure we were promised? How is it developing? Are we going to get that intelligent overlay all the way up the path to the power plant, or is the concept of smart meters the only bit of fruition in our smart grid dreams?
The smart grid, overall, has had a lot of setbacks here in the U.S. recently: Boulder’s SmartGridCity project is facing serious doubts and extreme cost overruns (not to mention regulatory issues), utilities like Baltimore Gas & Electric have had their smart grid dreams shattered by public utility commissions that don’t share the vision, and many other utilities have significantly scaled back their smart grid plans to reflect growing consumer fears and economic issues.
But, apparently, the meter is just gonna keep on keeping on, keep on beating. It’s going to shed its problematic smart grid outer shell and emerge new and fresh and victorious.
According to Berg, during the next five years, penetration rates for smart metering technology are projected to increase from around 15–20 percent today to nearly 50 percent in Europe and North America, while Asia-Pacific is projected to soar from less than 1 percent to 25 percent by 2015.
Granted, a lot of this is helped by two things (at least in Europe and Asia): state-run utilities (especially in China and Korea) and regulation. While the regulatory bodies here in the U.S. balk, the regulatory bodies in Europe push. As even Berg admits, the key role in this meter overload is government. Even here in the U.S., while we don’t have the EU legislation demanding change, we do have an administration investing in grid technology as part of the stimulus, a suggested path, if not a push. And, the single most proven part of smart grid technology is, indeed, the smart meter.
“Smart metering is now a globally accepted mature mainstream technology,” said Tobias Ryberg, senior analyst with Berg Insight and author of the report on this meter influx. “All over the world we can see how IT and telecommunication has transformed the metering industry from a business of mechanical devices and manual labor to an arena for state-of-the-art technology in everything from wireless networking to data warehousing and complex system integration.”
Additionally, Berg Insight believes that a number of places around the world may near the 100% smart meter mark by 2020. While that’s all fine and dandy, it still leaves us to wonder where the rest of the smart grid tin man resides. Smart metering may be the heart he’s seeking, but it seems like the bulk of him is still significantly lost, running behind, forgotten along this yellow brick road to meter penetration.
The smart grid, overall, has had a lot of setbacks here in the U.S. recently: Boulder’s SmartGridCity project is facing serious doubts and extreme cost overruns (not to mention regulatory issues), utilities like Baltimore Gas & Electric have had their smart grid dreams shattered by public utility commissions that don’t share the vision, and many other utilities have significantly scaled back their smart grid plans to reflect growing consumer fears and economic issues.
But, apparently, the meter is just gonna keep on keeping on, keep on beating. It’s going to shed its problematic smart grid outer shell and emerge new and fresh and victorious.
According to Berg, during the next five years, penetration rates for smart metering technology are projected to increase from around 15–20 percent today to nearly 50 percent in Europe and North America, while Asia-Pacific is projected to soar from less than 1 percent to 25 percent by 2015.
Granted, a lot of this is helped by two things (at least in Europe and Asia): state-run utilities (especially in China and Korea) and regulation. While the regulatory bodies here in the U.S. balk, the regulatory bodies in Europe push. As even Berg admits, the key role in this meter overload is government. Even here in the U.S., while we don’t have the EU legislation demanding change, we do have an administration investing in grid technology as part of the stimulus, a suggested path, if not a push. And, the single most proven part of smart grid technology is, indeed, the smart meter.
“Smart metering is now a globally accepted mature mainstream technology,” said Tobias Ryberg, senior analyst with Berg Insight and author of the report on this meter influx. “All over the world we can see how IT and telecommunication has transformed the metering industry from a business of mechanical devices and manual labor to an arena for state-of-the-art technology in everything from wireless networking to data warehousing and complex system integration.”
Additionally, Berg Insight believes that a number of places around the world may near the 100% smart meter mark by 2020. While that’s all fine and dandy, it still leaves us to wonder where the rest of the smart grid tin man resides. Smart metering may be the heart he’s seeking, but it seems like the bulk of him is still significantly lost, running behind, forgotten along this yellow brick road to meter penetration.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
To worry or not to worry about icky worms
Viruses, worms and Trojans are an unfortunate part of the computerized present—albeit not a pleasant part, which Siemens has been finding out all too personally this summer. But, should we really be all that worried about our smart grid’s cyber security, or are we panicking ourselves unnecessarily?
The Siemens thing: In June, the company discovered it was the specific and directed target of some nasty malware which uses a Microsoft Windows loophole dealing with shortcut files to latch on and download secure information from supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems using a leaked Siemens password. The sticking point, though, is that the worm is rather low-tech (relatively) in its delivery: The computer has to be physically connected to an infected USB stick (although there is also a possibility of it spreading via CDs and file-sharing). If someone views an item from that infected stick, the worm sneaks on out into the system, searching out information to copy.
Named the Stuxnet worm, it seems to be hitting Middle Eastern and Asian countries the most. (Symantec Corp. revealed that over half of the systems impacted were specifically in Iran, but Indonesia and India have also seen a large set of Stuxnet issues, according to one IDG News Service report.)
The worm itself was discovered by an antivirus company in Belarus named VirusBlokAda, which has labeled the worm “very dangerous” and noted that it could lead to a “virus epidemic” on the company website. But, how dangerous is it if I need to connect an infected part and then open something up by hand to create this issue? That doesn’t really sound like a system issue as much as a personnel issue, really.
Right now, according to Siemens spokespersons, the Stuxnet worm has not yet impacted any power generation SCADA system nor any T&D SCADA system.
“To our knowledge, only two industrial systems were affected by this [malware],” a Siemens spokesperson told me, and the fact that power-system SCADA networks weren’t impacted reveals the hearty backbone of those systems, according to Scott Gosnell, CMO with Tatsoft, a developer of software tools, products and services.
“This particular attack shows the strengths of current security technologies and protocols—the worm didn’t come in through a network vulnerability,” he noted.
Industry insiders warn, however, that utilities should not assume they are out of the woods just yet, even if the Stuxnet worm has avoided corrupting power systems this round. It is still spreading, and it won’t be the last threat by far. And, of course, there are other issues recently brought up around smart grid security, including a recent Pike Research report that points to smart meters as “the weakest link in the smart grid security chain” filled to the brim with juicy data that “could be successfully eavesdropped.” (Pike report: Smart Meter Security. Easy to find on their website pikeresearch.com.)
So, what’s a smart grid planner to do? Can he think ahead to the next malware? Can he plug all the security holes? Well, maybe he can’t do it all, but it seems that it is expected that he give it the ol’ college try, really.
“This is not the time to stick your head in the sand and say ‘it can’t happen here,’” said GarrettCom President Frank Madren. “Cyber attacks on industrial control system are happening now and will probably increase.” Madren suggested best practices to prevent damange include a multi-pronged approach of good industry standards, technology and personal, targeted recommendations to fill in holes in a utility’s security program. It’s all about repetition. Never assume that all the holes have been covered. Always go back and check again and again. (In this way, malware is a lot like a zombie horde---always trying to get in a forgotten opening, an unchecked back door, an open window.)
Tatsoft’s Gosnell would add man to Madren’s best practices equation---keep him tech savvy and on top of things, ready for the onslaught.
“This [attack] also demonstrates that operational risks are an inherent part of running these systems,” Gosnell added. “One of your biggest potential problems comes from poor processes and policies at the human level. Maintaining good security hygiene at the human and social level complements good technical hygiene.”
Madren noted that North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s Critical Infrastructure Protection (NERC CIP) regulations help protect power utility substations from a variety of security issues, including worms like this one. They are incredibly comprehensive and offer a great amount of defense.
“However, no system is completely immune from creative new incursions. Constant vigilance is required,” Madren said.
So, worry? Yes. Panic? Not helpful. Just keep one eye open … and try not to fall asleep and unconsciously let in those zombie malware hordes.
The Siemens thing: In June, the company discovered it was the specific and directed target of some nasty malware which uses a Microsoft Windows loophole dealing with shortcut files to latch on and download secure information from supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems using a leaked Siemens password. The sticking point, though, is that the worm is rather low-tech (relatively) in its delivery: The computer has to be physically connected to an infected USB stick (although there is also a possibility of it spreading via CDs and file-sharing). If someone views an item from that infected stick, the worm sneaks on out into the system, searching out information to copy.
Named the Stuxnet worm, it seems to be hitting Middle Eastern and Asian countries the most. (Symantec Corp. revealed that over half of the systems impacted were specifically in Iran, but Indonesia and India have also seen a large set of Stuxnet issues, according to one IDG News Service report.)
The worm itself was discovered by an antivirus company in Belarus named VirusBlokAda, which has labeled the worm “very dangerous” and noted that it could lead to a “virus epidemic” on the company website. But, how dangerous is it if I need to connect an infected part and then open something up by hand to create this issue? That doesn’t really sound like a system issue as much as a personnel issue, really.
Right now, according to Siemens spokespersons, the Stuxnet worm has not yet impacted any power generation SCADA system nor any T&D SCADA system.
“To our knowledge, only two industrial systems were affected by this [malware],” a Siemens spokesperson told me, and the fact that power-system SCADA networks weren’t impacted reveals the hearty backbone of those systems, according to Scott Gosnell, CMO with Tatsoft, a developer of software tools, products and services.
“This particular attack shows the strengths of current security technologies and protocols—the worm didn’t come in through a network vulnerability,” he noted.
Industry insiders warn, however, that utilities should not assume they are out of the woods just yet, even if the Stuxnet worm has avoided corrupting power systems this round. It is still spreading, and it won’t be the last threat by far. And, of course, there are other issues recently brought up around smart grid security, including a recent Pike Research report that points to smart meters as “the weakest link in the smart grid security chain” filled to the brim with juicy data that “could be successfully eavesdropped.” (Pike report: Smart Meter Security. Easy to find on their website pikeresearch.com.)
So, what’s a smart grid planner to do? Can he think ahead to the next malware? Can he plug all the security holes? Well, maybe he can’t do it all, but it seems that it is expected that he give it the ol’ college try, really.
“This is not the time to stick your head in the sand and say ‘it can’t happen here,’” said GarrettCom President Frank Madren. “Cyber attacks on industrial control system are happening now and will probably increase.” Madren suggested best practices to prevent damange include a multi-pronged approach of good industry standards, technology and personal, targeted recommendations to fill in holes in a utility’s security program. It’s all about repetition. Never assume that all the holes have been covered. Always go back and check again and again. (In this way, malware is a lot like a zombie horde---always trying to get in a forgotten opening, an unchecked back door, an open window.)
Tatsoft’s Gosnell would add man to Madren’s best practices equation---keep him tech savvy and on top of things, ready for the onslaught.
“This [attack] also demonstrates that operational risks are an inherent part of running these systems,” Gosnell added. “One of your biggest potential problems comes from poor processes and policies at the human level. Maintaining good security hygiene at the human and social level complements good technical hygiene.”
Madren noted that North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s Critical Infrastructure Protection (NERC CIP) regulations help protect power utility substations from a variety of security issues, including worms like this one. They are incredibly comprehensive and offer a great amount of defense.
“However, no system is completely immune from creative new incursions. Constant vigilance is required,” Madren said.
So, worry? Yes. Panic? Not helpful. Just keep one eye open … and try not to fall asleep and unconsciously let in those zombie malware hordes.
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