What ESB Networks was trying to understand, fundamentally, was an answer to the question: “Can utilities deploy software in an effort to offset the investment in traditional assets?” After 70 years of optimization they had seen a 300% increase in instantaneous demand, but this was also localized, so they also knew that they needed sensors and vision into what was occurring and needed to transform sensor data into knowledge. Then, share this knowledge with all actors to avoid congestion, control voltage, advise on frequency, procure services, all while avoiding traditional investment in infrastructure. Additionally, ESB Networks was faced with the typical challenge of many data sources with many owners as can be seen in the figure below.
What ESB Networks was trying to understand, fundamentally, was an answer to the question: “Can utilities deploy software in an effort to offset the investment in traditional assets?” After 70 years of optimization they had seen a 300% increase in instantaneous demand, but this was also localized, so they also knew that they needed sensors and vision into what was occurring and needed to transform sensor data into knowledge. Then, share this knowledge with all actors to avoid congestion, control voltage, advise on frequency, procure services, all while avoiding traditional investment in infrastructure. Additionally, ESB Networks was faced with the typical challenge of many data sources with many owners as can be seen in the figure below.
As part of this effort ESB Networks created Project SERVO – System-wide Energy Resource and Voltage Optimization Platform. This platform implements the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) common information model (CIM) which was used to capture all distribution assets and data into a single model. This platform enabled several use cases:
- Asset management – load visualization and asset reporting
- Operations – increased visibility into the low voltage network
- Capacity optimization – enables DSU participation and investment offset
- System Services – voltage and frequency control
ESB Networks worked with EPRI CIM experts to make sure that their understanding of the underlying CIM model could be accurately represented as the data model was being employed within the SERVO platform.
The new SERVO platform with its underlying CIM compliant data model, provided a web-based system that had automated data feeds as shown in Figure 3. Some of the lessons learned along the way by ESB Networks included as part of overcoming barriers to implementation include:
- Benefits to the business need to be demonstrated
- Briefings, presentations across business to inform stakeholders
- Remind stakeholders that they were not replacing existing systems but enhancing them using new technology and software
- They needed to give examples of what can be achieved
Green Button is a White House initiative by the U.S. Federal Government’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), Department of Energy (DOE), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ).
Green Button promises a common experience for consumers from their energy providers, and encouraging the development of an ecosystem of applications, “apps”, and service providers around the availability of standardized energy usage information (EUI).
Figure A-4 illustrates the primary dimensions of Green Button Data through the applications and services that make use of it:
- Usage – how much energy is consumed during a billing cycle or any other period?
- History – how much energy is used as a function of time intervals – 15 minutes, hours, days, and months?
- Cost – what is the cost associated with energy usage?
Green Button has significant momentum in the United States with its rate of marketplace penetration and the numerous and varied applications the availability of energy usage information has inspired. Canada has followed suit and adoptions are underway in other countries.
Green Button got its start in the UCAIug Open Automated Data Exchange (OpenADE) Task Force which developed an initial set of requirements for automated data exchange between utilities and customer authorized third parties.
In late 2009, the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) established the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP) to facilitate and accelerate the development of standards for the Smart Grid under its mandate from the United States Congress in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Among its early efforts was Priority Action Plan 10 (PAP10) whose goal was to standardize energy usage information.
The PAP10 made the observation that this data was very similar to meter data. A modern object-oriented view of this information was sought. The SGIP itself was not a Standards Development Organization (SDO) and arranged to convene representatives of several relevant SDOs including TC57WG14 to collaborate on the problem. The North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) volunteered to take the lead role in establishing a standard model for Energy Usage Information based on the OpenADE and related sources of requirements. Additionally, ZigBee Smart Energy Profile 2.0 was under development with similar goals but greater scope.
All parties involved recognized that the Common Information Model (CIM) had the potential to be a canonical model of information for many aspects of the Smart Grid. However, the scope of CIM itself was large and its focus was the utility enterprise.
The PAP10 team capitalized on the thinking and modeling expertise of the CIM committee and derived a profile of IEC 61968-9 that would meet the requirements for EUI. NAESB produced REQ.18/WEQ.19 that is this profile. Then the OpenADE task force brought implementation requirements to NAESB which produced REQ.21 Energy Services Provider Interface (ESPI) which produced a syntax and protocol for RESTful exchange of the semantics of REQ.18. The ESPI standard adds the dimension of customer authorization of third party access to their resources at a utility. It combines the CIM meter data model with the Atom publishing protocol and the OAuth third party authorization protocol to provide these standardized services.
At around the time that this technology was maturing and being ratified in NAESB, Aneesh Chopra, then Chief Technology Officer of the United States, unveiled the Green Button Initiative. Aneesh and the team from OSTP/DOE/NIST collaborated with the three California independently owned utilities (IOUs) to establish Green Button based on the NAESB standards. This was the logical next step in the administrations drive to free up data via web technologies with adequate security and privacy protections, building on the first such effort, Blue Button, which produced an open specification and capability for standardizing personal medical records in the Veterans Administration. Thus, the core information for exchange by Green Button is based closely on the CIM metering model.
The early results have been phenomenal. There are now tens of millions of American consumers with access to this CIM-based data. There are dozens of utilities and third party services providers exchanging data based on this standard. All this was accomplished in less than two years from the start of the Green Button Initiative. As you can in Figure A-5 there is quite a large penetration achieved in a very short amount of time (30+ million customers).
In addition, in 2012, the Department of Energy sponsored a Green Button “Apps for Energy” contest, which challenged the industry to develop innovative new apps that help consumers use their Green Button data to understand their energy usage better and enable them to make energy saving decisions that save them money and reduce carbon emissions. The program was a phenomenal success with over 12,000 people actively following the challenge and dozens of new apps developed that help turn the standards effort into practical applications that help the American people.
In late 2012, Canada followed the U.S lead as the province of Ontario adopted Green Button. At a media event on November 21, 2012, the Honorable Chris Bentley, Ontario Minister of Energy, announced a partnership with MaRS Discovery District to launch a Green Button initiative in the province. Like in the U.S., Green Button adoption in Canada has been rapid, 9 months after the Minister’s announcement; over 2.6 million Ontarians now have access to their Green Button data. Ontario too has seen the value of consumer apps for saving energy, on Sept 8+9, 2013the MARS Discovery District held a Green Button “hackathon” to develop innovative new Green Button apps.
The significant impact of the Green button effort is a testament to the common sense of the solution, the elegance of the technology based on core pieces of knowledge that took years to develop by a cadre of experts (that is, CIM), and the assembly of a voluntary industry collaboration to solve a very real problem in a short amount of time.
Consumers Energy has been adopting IEC CIM standards since 2008 when they started its service gap analysis as part of the AMI solution effort. The intention was to deploy a solution that is based upon existing vendor systems using open industry standards such as IEC CIM where available. The goal was to perform the gap analysis between these vendor applications and standards-based services, and work with vendors to ensure that there is sufficient coverage and support for industry standards from vendor products perspective to deliver an open and integrated AMI solution for Consumers Energy. As a result, interoperability could be achieved among various systems and applications, and common semantics can be established to represent power system objects in the company.
With the current technology landscape changes due to new applications to support ADMS functions, addressing the future demand of DER and Enterprise Analytics with respect to the Network Connectivity Model was going to be required. The challenge was how to ensure a consistent Network Model across all aspects of the enterprise.
The standards that involved are mainly IEC 61968-1, IEC 61968-9, and IEC 61968-100. The IEC 61968-1 Interface Reference Model (IRM) is used to group functional requirements. Its business functions and abstract components are used as actors to describe application/systems interaction using UML sequence diagrams. IEC 61968-9 is the base to define the Metering and Control context models in XML schemas (XSDs) for the integration.
After the initial success of the service gap analysis, Consumers Energy started to build an Enterprise Semantic Model (ESM) based on the IEC CIM. Displayed in Sparx Systems’ Enterprise Architect (EA), the UML classes and attributes in the standard became building blocks for message payload definitions for integrations. This model-driven methodology included in Xtensible Solutions’ MD3i Framework was adopted. The framework includes a set of plug-ins that enables users to work within EA’s user interface through each step of the methodology. As a result, a semantically consistent common language is provided for exchanging data information across platforms and systems within the enterprise. Major benefits the company recognized are:
- Eliminating duplicate work on integration
- Maximizing the reusability of a common data model
- Lowering the cost on overall integration and support
- Facilitating the composition and consumption of information across multivendor landscapes
- Leveraging vendor’s CIM-based solutions and SOA approaches for integration
Utilizing this approach and the IEC CIM, the decision was to establish a Network Connectivity Model that will be utilized by different applications and sources. To decouple and minimize the amount of dependency on specific technology or solutions.
As a major contributor to the Open Smart Grid (OpenSG) user group, Consumers Energy also worked closely with other utilities in North America to promote the CIM standards and provide user requirements for CIM model improvement and extensions. Recognizing the need for common Web service definitions (WSDLs), Consumers Energy provided resources working on the IEC 61968-100 and leading the effort on defining common Web service templates for the Implementation Profiles for the standard.
Overall IEC CIM standards fit well in the approach Consumers Energy put together for top-down business process gap analysis, integration services design, and message payload and web service definitions for integration. Consumers Energy has continued to use this methodology and associated tools for integration work even in the generation of a Network Connectivity Model in 2017 and will continue in the foreseeable future.
PSEG-LI embarked on a SmartGrid program that comprises the implementation of new applications and the integration of these applications with legacy applications.
Key business drivers are to reduce the cost and complexity of the development and maintenance of integration solutions and data repositories, enable the ability to integrate PSEG-LI data among multiple service providers and implement “Best of Breed” applications.
Some of PSEG-LI’s architectural goals are (a) an event-driven enterprise and (b) provide a robust yet agile and loosely-coupled architecture along service-orientated architecture (SOA) principals. The loosely-coupled architecture provides the following benefits:
- Changes to one system have minimal impact on other existing systems
- Allows flexibility and agility to implement improved or new functionality at much reduced cost/effort/risk
- Allows the assimilation of data required for holistic decision making, analysis, planning, risk management, and so on.
- Also allows for the development of new reports and functionality not previously available in any of the off-the-shelf applications
PSEG-LI avoids proprietary integration solutions, rather targeting and embracing semantic interoperability that leverages standards-based architecture to drive down effort and cost for new integration and integration maintenance. This semantic interoperability is key to enabling this de-coupling of the architecture.
The PSEG-LI approach comprises an end-to-end model-driven methodology for designing and implementing a “common model” based on the IEC Common Information Model (CIM) to provide the targeted loosely-coupled system integration. This is consistent with the goals of the International Electrotechnical Committee (IEC) Technical Committee (TC) 57 Working Group (WG) 14.
LIPA has solved many of the challenges that utilities will face when adopting the “common model” approach and implement a scalable solution for the governance, processes, and methodology of managing this solution in a real-world environment with multiple changing pieces.
PSEG-LI selected Xtensible Solutions’ MD3i 2.0 methodology and framework for implementing its integration and data warehouse solutions. Key characteristics of this approach are:
- End-to-End Model-Driven approach
- Paradigm Shift compared with the conventional approach
- Bridges the chasm between design, development, and run-time
- Increased Agility, Responsiveness, Speed
- Decreased Time, Cost, Risk
- Enabler for implementation of new functionality, processes, and analytics solutions
Key components of the methodology are:
- Processes and Governance
- Centrally Managed Semantic (Data) Model (EXM) based on IEC CIM
- Heterogeneous interfaces mediated through the common model
- Capability to manage private extensions and other modifications needed to the standard CIM model
- The ESM also supports all design of database projects, to ensure consistent semantics between data-in-flight and persisted data.
- Centrally Managed Exchange Model (EXM)
- Service Definition, Semantic Mapping, and Business Rules
- Orchestration and Exception handling
- Integrate and Reuse Business Rules, transformations, mappings
- Automate gap analysis, documentation
- No coding is performed, it generates “ready-to-go” services for deployment
- Centrally Managed Development and Run-Time Deployment
- Generate ready-to-go SOA services
- Continuous testing
- Deploy into any Java runtime environment
- Automate impact analysis on change, across all deployed services and the common model (ESM)
In addition, PSEG-LI has implemented a Solution Development Life Cycle (SDLC) used on projects, enabling PSEG-LI to control projects and ensure that the LIPA architectural goals are not subverted.
The methodology has helped PSEG-LI establish a layered and loosely-coupled architecture with the business benefits of being more agile and responsive to business and regulatory changes, leveraging services on new projects (enabling re-use with minimal refactoring).
Projects comprised integration solutions and persistent data stores (ODS’s and Data Warehouses).
The PSEG-LI Model-Driven Semantic Integration approach has consistently performed under budget and on time under complex and challenging conditions. Changes to implemented solutions are done in a fraction of the time traditional SOA approaches would take.
All new projects are adopting the architecture and methodology. The trend of reduced cost and improved delivery speed is based on:
- Model-driven approach + governance + processes + tools for “automated/integrated” development, testing, implementation, and maintenance of the model
- Reuse of data and interfaces across company systems and SOA
When Idaho Power Company (IPC) began to transform its business with the implementation of Smart Grid capabilities, it became apparent that they would first need to put in place a robust system integration framework to handle all the new system interactions resulting from the multiple planned system replacement projects. Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) coupled with mature interoperability standards seemed to be the best approach to achieve a scalable and extensible solution.
IPC quickly realized that key to a successful outcome was to have in place a set of governance policies and practices prior to starting the first integration project, which was to replace their Outage Management System. A critical component of governance was the choice of international standards for all system interactions; standards that are independent of any particular vendor’s proprietary platform. The CIM standards, as recommended by NIST, were selected for further evaluation to see if they could be used to not only handle the information exchanges for each system interaction point, but that the tools to develop and maintain the multiple system interaction definitions needed by IPC were available with good vendor support.
The CIM standards comprise an information model and multiple profiles (or message definitions) that are derived from the model, ensuring a single source definition of each data element for all information exchanges. Based upon the CIM UML model, IPC developed an Enterprise Semantic Model (ESM) which provided the capability to include private extensions and other modifications needed to the standard CIM model. The CIM-based ESM then provided a common set of semantics and data definitions from which all needed system interactions could be defined as XML schemas. The integration framework, then, comprised an Enterprise Service Bus (that is, TIBCO) with data adapters at each system interface to transform the data from the internal system representation to the ESM representation.
To develop, manage and maintain the ESM and message definitions based on the ESM, IPC selected Xtensible’s MD3i Framework operating on the Sparx Enterprise Architect (EA) platform, which is also used by the IEC standards body to manage and maintain the CIM UML model. After first conducting a proof of concept project using MD3i, Xtensible was selected to:
- Develop a version of the MD3i process to meet the needs of IPC’s integration design process
- Develop a multi-user, Oracle server-based Enterprise Architect (EA) modeling tool environment for use by IPC system analysts to develop and maintain the ESM and system interactions
- Provide training on the CIM and UML modeling within EA using the MD3i Add-Ins to execute the integration design process for ESM modeling and design
- Provide guidance and advice as well as development of selected system integrations following the IPC integration design process The XML schemas for each system interaction were then used to create the System-to-ESM mappings for the ESB system adapters.
The development of an integration design process and governance policies built around a CIM-based ESM and system interface definitions was key to managing multiple system integration projects. Since each new system integration is able to build off the existing ESM from earlier projects through reuse, the amount of work to define system interactions decreases with each new project. The consequence is that the CIM standards, with the proper tools to manage their use, provide not only a scalable, maintainable integration framework, but one that becomes more cost effective with each new system integration.
A demand for Enterprise Analytics within the utility space has continued to grow, from customer engagement to asset management, to an increased demand in grid operations with the growth of DER and the market changes. The challenge exists that each technology solution(s) provides analytics that sites on top of each given solution, not necessarily across different domains within an organization. Thus, limiting the perspectives in which the data and be view and insights generated.
The CIM standards comprise an information model and multiple profiles that are independent of the technology solution(s); rather thus focusing on the business functions that a utility. Although very extensive in the Marketing Operations, Transmission and Distribution areas, so parts of the IEC CIM are less developed for example Customer. The solution was to utilize the IEC CIM areas that are fully defined and harmonize it with other models and establish a physical implementation of the model that can be utilized for enterprise analytics, the OUDM. Partnering with Xtensible’s utilizing the MD3i toolset and standards, a model was established and created a foundational layer of 3NF, thus giving a path to developing the analytics layer which then can be presented in a technology-agnostic presentation layer.
The end solution includes the following components based on the IEC CIM:
- Logical Data Model, Physical Data Model (3NF and STAR schemas)
- Pre-build OLAP
- Pre-built Mining Model
- Intra ETL among schemas
- Intra ETL for OLAP and Mining Workflow
- Base with Reference and Aggregate
- Metadata
- Dashboard and Reports
The development of the OUDM has resulted in an CIM based model that can be physically implemented on a box that “connects the dots” between data sources across different business areas within the organization. This allows for developing Enterprise Analytics through a standards-based IEC CIM approach. Warehousing and data lake efforts are supported, providing a jump-start to Enterprise Analytics initiatives.
Sempra Energy Utilities (SEU) goal is to manage its vast business data, information, and knowledge as corporate assets. To that end Sempra established an Enterprise Information Management (EIM) strategy and business case in 2007 to realize the value of these corporate assets in support of optimized business performance.
Sempra IT established their Service Delivery Program (SDP) in support of two large business programs (OpEx 20/20 and Smart Metering) to ensure that IT services across all current and future programs are consistent and sustainable. A key part of the SDP service portfolio is process integration and information management capabilities using Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) supported and directed by the EIM strategy.
Sempra realized that key to the success of the service orientated architecture (SOA) integration in delivering sustainable process integration and business intelligence for OpEx 20/20 and Smart Metering was adopting a “common model” approach for defining common interface definitions, providing loose-coupling at the data level.
The CIM standards comprise an information model and multiple message definitions that are derived from the model, ensuring a single source definition of each data element for all information exchanges. Based upon the CIM UML model, Sempra developed its own Enterprise Semantic Model (ESM), referred to as the SIM, which contained all the required extensions and other modifications needed to the standard CIM model. The CIM-based ESM then provided a common set of semantics and data definitions from which all needed system interactions could be defined as XML schemas
The Sempra integration framework comprised an Enterprise Service Bus (Oracle). The integration pattern used most of the time comprised data adapters at each system interface to transform the data from the internal system representation to the ESM representation.
Sempra engaged Xtensible Solutions as a trusted advisor for developing the EIM strategy and associated business case. Based on the EIM strategy, Xtensible Solutions was engaged for the Smart Metering and OpEx 20/20 programs to provide support to the SDP for the SOA-based integration delivery. To this end, Xtensible implemented Xtensible’s MD3i framework to manage, develop and maintain the Sempra SIM (Sempra Information Model) which is based on the IEC Common Information Model (CIM). The framework and methodology comprised:
- Governance and processes to manage the SIM extensions, as needed
- A toolset: plug-ins running on Sparx Enterprise Architect (EA) that manages the multiple reference models, common model, data lineage and mapping Xtensible also helped train Sempra resources in order to establish a data modeling function within the data architecture group.
The methodology supported the implementation of new applications such as Asset Management, Work Management, Mobile Workforce management, Outage Management. The development of an integration design process and governance policies built around a CIM-based ESM and system interface definitions was key to managing multiple system integration projects. Since each interface definition is based off the SIM common model, and each adapter transformed the proprietary interface to the common model representation, Sempra achieved the de-coupling of applications they desired. Sempra have also achieved re-use of services through this approach which has saved time and cost. Since each new system integration is able to build off the existing ESM from earlier projects through reuse, the amount of work to define system interactions decreases with each new project.
As part of the NIST SGIP PAP10 drive to define a common format and protocol for exchanging energy usage information, groups within UCAIug OpenSG and NAESB needed an information model that stakeholders from a wide variety of companies, industries, and backgrounds could agree on.
SCE engaged Xtensible Solutions to support OpenADE and NAESB groups working on the Energy Services Providers Interface (ESPI)/Green Button specification. The goal was to choose objects from the meter reading package of the IEC’s CIM as the basis for the objects to be exchanged. Some of the advantages included:
- Technology Neutral – Because the model is defined in UML, it can be translated into a variety of implementation languages. XML was chosen for the payload representation.
- Extensibility – The ability to adapt the CIM objects allowed it to be used with the ATOM publishing protocol. This defined the exchange mechanics using a commonly supported RESTful open standard, using XML over HTTP/S.
- Compatibility – Another advantage of the CIM was that it was familiar to utilities and meter manufacturers. In addition, the Smart Energy Profile 2.0 for Home Area Networking (HAN) communications was also using the CIM as the basis for messaging, making it easier to translate between the two protocols.
- International Support – There are many ways to build an information model. Because the CIM is built using a consensus development process, the groups did not have to spend time inventing something new.
- Community/Tools – Because the CIM has a mature community, efficient ways to use the model had been developed through several iterations of tools and processes. SCE and PG&E funded Xtensible Solutions to help lead and refine the model within these Smart Grid HAN standards.
With assistance and guidance from SGIP and other groups, UCAIug is developing a testing and certification program for Green Button standards to ensure that implementations are interoperable with each other. This program will allow energy consumers to grant access to automated periodic transfers of their data to allow for active management of smart appliances and other energy management services.
Though the industry is just at the beginning of this new frontier, millions of customers from many utilities now have access to their usage data in a standard format. In 2012, SCE, along with PG&E and SDG&E, were among the first utilities to implement the standard, making usage data available to most Californians. This data can be shared with a growing number of providers of energy services.
Modern electric power distribution systems include growing numbers of automated devices and systems generating increasing amounts of data.
In addition, distribution systems are becoming more complex and operationally challenging with increasing penetration of distributed energy resources. This situation calls for a new generation of distribution system planning, operations, control and management applications that are able to take full advantage of the growing quantity of data and that can do so while reducing the time and cost to integrate and deploy the applications.
GridAPPS-D has been developed as an open-source, standards-based platform for development of this new generation of applications. The WG14 IEC 61968-100 based platform provides integrated access to data with a uniform application programming interface based on the Common Information Model and the use of the Java Messaging Service (JMS) publish – subscribe mechanisms. The conceptual design of the platform is shown in the figure below.
The 61968-100 standards-based data bus uses triple-store database technology to address the challenge of querying a variety of network models. Triple-store technology directly matches the IEC 61970-501 (CIM-XML) RDFS form of subject-predicate-object triples associated with EMS (61970) and DMS (61968) CIM representations, enabling the possibility of portable applications that can be applied across a multitude of distribution networks. GridAPPS-D uses triple-store technology from blazegraph™ combined with conventional relational database technology for meta-data and with InfluxDB an open-source tool supporting distributed real-time data acquisition and management that include CIM-based universally unique identifiers (mRIDs) used to federate and cross-reference data collected across the GridAPPS-D data bus.
GridAPPS-D development began in September 2016. Version 1.0 was released in May 2018 offering core functionality as defined in the GridAPPS-D functional requirements specification. Several example applications are being developed and will be tested in late 2018 to document the benefits of taking advantage of the variety of data available in a modern electric power distribution system for problems such as Volt/VAR optimization, improved load forecasting, advanced microgrid control, state estimation and transactive energy systems.
The use of the CIM to standardize the application programming interface and messaging along with triple-store technology enables the possibility of portable applications. Applications developed using this approach should be able to be deployed at lower cost on any vendor system or platform that complies with the GridAPPS-D programming model. By establishing a common approach, the benefits of advanced applications should be available to a wider variety of utilities. GridAPPS-D is available at https://github.com/GRIDAPPSD/GOSS-GridAPPS-D and http://gridappsd.readthedocs.io/en/latest.
Development of GridAPPS-D has been funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability’s Advanced Grid Research Division.