PLC deployment and architecture for Smart Grid applications in Iberdrola

Power Line Communications (PLC) represent a compelling telecommunications technology for two-way management of electric power grids, and as such PLC systems have been used for decades by utilities. This paper presents a novel proposal for Smart Grid communications architecture which focuses on the extensive use of tested PLC technologies, stemming from Iberdrola experience with a real large-scale deployment on its electricity distribution grid. Two main complementary PLC technologies are proposed. Broadband PLC (BPL) systems in MHz bands are considered for telecommunications backbone creation among secondary substations. For this BPL technology, international standardization is only recently available and the number of field ready devices for access grid segment is limited. Narrowband PLC systems are also proposed for Smart Meters access (e.g., PRIME specification as per ITU-T G.9904 recommendation). Network design, planning and results are presented so that utilities find a reference in this paper for their Smart Grid deployments.