Real-Time Data Integration Platforms
In the case of real-time integration platforms, Indra predicted the need for these kinds
of tools in the energy domain for implementing the (back then) novel concept of the
Smart Grid based on its extensive knowledge and experience in implementing similar
solutions in other areas and domains, such as air traffic control (ATC), defence and
railway operations.
Compared to the current electricity networks, designed to operate according to a
unidirectional flow, future Smart Grids will enable the integration of distributed
bi-directional load flow, enabled by the wide application of information technology
devices. This radical change in the way of generating, transporting, distributing and
consuming energy creates many challenges that affect the entire business model around
electricity. One of these challenges is the transformation of the current monitor and
control chart from a Central Control Centre (where the intelligence required to manage
network infrastructures is provided by human operators and control systems) into a
management architecture based on distributed intelligent devices capable of performing
enough to perform complex event processing and simulations as well as to execute
high-level technical and business rules. This challenge will transform the network
operation process from a top-down approach to a distributed control perspective,
providing new services to final users, optimising the use of energy resources and
gaining significant knowledge on the generation and demand trends in these very dynamic
and volatile environments.
As Indra saw it, these new requirements demand an electric grid with "distributed
intelligence" that has the potential to significantly increase the operational
efficiencies of the electric power system resulting in benefits realisation through
additional cost savings. Consequently, the modern grid must be able to adapt from
proprietary, isolated and single-function (a.k.a. siloed) centralised management systems
to a multi-function and integrated distributed grid management system that will
simultaneously employ both decentralised and centralised systems in a highly coordinated
manner. In Indra's view, this distributed system should support the ability to quickly,
reliably, and securely collect, organise, and analyse large volumes of data and develop
actionable information without overwhelming the centralised systems. An information
system consisting of a hybrid of both centralised and decentralised processing systems
can help provide this functionality. This distributed information system will help with
processing, resolving, and delivering the large amount of actionable data needed to
effectively manage and control the electric power system. In addition, it will be able
to support immediate near real-time decision making based on locally available
information and also deliver appropriate trending and other actionable information to
other information systems. Distributed intelligence will allow the dynamic analysis of
information and the relaying or sharing of important information, while discarding
redundant or non-important information.
In general, the energy domain is starting to understand that this future scenario will be
realised through the deployment of real-time integration platforms that are inherently
distributed and based on loosely coupled architectures into what is increasingly being
called Open FMB (Field Message Buses). From this point of view, Indra's vision was ahead
of the time, as it supported and encouraged this conceptual vision which is clearly
aligned with the growing global trend towards the computing paradigm supported by the
processing of information in the field nodes where the data is acquired, in what is
becoming known as "edge computing", or alternatively "fog computing". This is the
paradigm behind much of the current effort on the IoT (Internet of Things).
This paradigm is based on distributed computing nodes conforming a layer of intelligence
at the edge of the network to process some analytics and take some decisions there,
instead of processing everything in the cloud. In this sense, this concept represents an
intermediate layer between the sensors and devices in the field and the computing
capacity in the cloud, as shown in the graph. Regarding the energy domain, the
implementation of this computing paradigm in the near future will imply that a
substantial part of the decision making will take place at different levels of the
electric grid topology by independent but coordinated nodes.
In the case of Indra, the development of this kind of platform for the energy domain was
in its road map since 2008, and part of the development of such a platform was included
in the scope of the projects Nemo&Coded, Imponet and DiCoMa. The resulting product,
iSPEED, has proven to be first of its kind and is currently being implemented in utility
companies from different parts of the world, such as Elektro in Brazil, or generating
interest in organisations such as NRECA (National Rural Electric Organisation) or the
SGIP (Smart Grid Interoperability Panel) in the USA, among others. For Elektro, the
iSPEED platform will be used for the monitoring and control of the entire distribution
network, which is comprised of more than 170,000 transformers and serves more than 2.4
million customers in a rural and urban hybrid environment. Elektro is a subsidiary of
Iberdrola and the holding company is closely monitoring the results of this
implementation project with the idea of extending the use of iSPEED to other
subsidiaries and to Iberdrola itself. In this future short-term scenario, the combined
number of customers for the Iberdrola group indirectly served by this platform, by
monitoring and controlling the distribution network servicing them, will be in excess of
25 million worldwide.
