Resilient Consultants

Jul 30, 2018 | Blog

By: Aaron Snyder, Director of Grid Technology Consulting
aaron@enernex.com
865-218-4600 x6147

 

 

My laptop was stolen!

My hard drive crashed!

My laptop was detained by CBP!

Are you ready for these?

Resiliency is a hot topic for the electric industry, but it can also be a personal lifestyle aspiration. Those who travel for work are particularly tied to devices (laptop, mobile phone) but how tied are they to particular laptops or phones? Can you do your job while away from the office if any of the these scenarios happens?

Doing a bit of foreign travel always gets me nervous about my devices. Particularly, I was wondering what the rules/laws were when traveling out of the country. I was surprised to learn this:

“This Directive governs border searches of electronic devices – including any inbound or outbound search pursuant to longstanding border search authority and conducted at the physical border, the functional equivalent of the border, or the extended border, consistent with law and agency policy.” (emphasis added)

(Section 2.3, CDP DIRECTIVE NO. 3340-049A, BORDER SEARCH OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES,

https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2018-Jan/CBP-Directive-3340-049A-Border-Search-of-Electronic-Media-Compliant.pdf)

Note that it mentions “outbound search”. You may not have your laptop for the duration of your trip! How long can they keep it?

“An Officer may detain electronic devices, or copies of information contained therein, for a brief, reasonable period of time to perform a thorough border search. The search may take place onsite or at an off-site location, and is to be completed as expeditiously as possible. Unless extenuating circumstances exist, the detention of devices ordinarily should not exceed five (5) days.

Are any of us ordinary? 

I keep critical work files, in particular daily iterations of key deliverables, copied to removable flash storage. This lets me work on them with any computer that has the same applications. That computer could be a friend’s laptop or a hotel business center computer, for example. This would not mitigate the stolen or seized device problem, nor help me if I need any special software applications.

I keep my project files in a cloud repository, giving me access from just about any device I can find, for sure for reading, almost universal for editing. This lets me work on them with any computer that has connectivity. This was useful for a 5am client conference call during my vacation last year that I made from the hotel business center. This mitigates all three scenarios above, but can be extremely impractical for large file collections. In a pinch, I could use a personal laptop, though I don’t have all the special software application licenses that I might need.

I backup my work files to our corporate network as that data store is automatically backed up for use. I can do this at any time either in the office or off site through our VPN. This protects me from all three scenarios and keeps me a short time from doing useful work (we have several shared computers in our office plus some spare/emergency laptops). I could get from our generic device image to special applications installation in less than an hour and have immediate access to my files. 

I backup my work laptop at home with an external USB drive. This keeps a copy in a safe location away from work so if there is a major issue I can get my files from that drive and the cloud. I might need to install some special software applications on my personal laptop, but that is minor compared to losing recent project work. 

I am prepared to drive to a big box store and buy a laptop if needed. Since my files are in the cloud or on our corporate network, I am not a far virtual distance from them. Those computers can usually be returned within 14 days and if I leave the files in the cloud or on a USB flash drive, I’ve not really done anything to it that would keep me from being able to returning it.

It would be painful, but I could edit documents on my phone or tablet. Well, it would be very painful, and not all software applications I might need run on those devices so I might be restricted to documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.

If I completely shatter my phone, AGAIN, I can text and call using my tablet. When I travel outside the country I have a dual-SIM 3G international phone for which I simply get country-specific SIMs for the trip duration, leaving behind my day-to-day phone. This minimizes cost to the client versus using an international rider on my mobile plan. It also gives me a throwaway phone, that is not my day-to-day phone, if needed when going through all the security and customs points.

In short, you’ve paid me to travel and work for you and I’ve minimized my barriers to doing so from the technology standpoint. How well are you setup for your travel?

 

 

Smart Metering (SM) and Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI)

Smart Metering and AMI is a transformational process addressing multiple business and technical needs of the utility enterprise. This is more than just smart meters and communications networks; it includes all of the back end applications that can leverage the meter assets, such as outage notification, demand response, call center optimization, disputed billing process handling, pre-payment opportunities, and service connection management methods and procedures, to name a few.

Implementing SM and AMI faces the same business, engineering, and operational challenges as any other across-the-utility information technology endeavors – most notably risk associated with embracing proprietary technology, missing functionality and early obsolescence. Effective SM and AMI development, implementation, and operation relies on a marriage of electric power engineering with information technology expertise: a key component of EnerNex’s expertise and experience.

EnerNex provides an array of engineering and consulting services geared towards intelligent and effective implementation of SM and AMI. This covers all phases of project development, starting with capturing system requirements where our experts leverage a “Use Case” centric view of activities needed to be accomplished and their interaction with systems and other users. Subsequent project steps typically examine other critical areas, such as: modeling of business cases, building inter-department consensus, assembling and assessing system functional requirements and non-functional requirements, developing a system design, hardware and software specifications and standards, complete procurement services including RFI and RFQ process support, supplier rating system, response evaluation methodology, deployment management, and training of office and field personnel.

Demand Response (DR)

Demand response can be as simple as load interruption directed by the energy supplier in response to severe demand requirements, to complex customer defined load management in response to price signals. DR is one of the components of a “Non-Wires Alternative” that many utilities are effectively using to avoid expensive distribution fortification or upgrade.

 

Often the success and/or failure of demand response programs can be linked to program implementation challenges such as rate/tariff design rate structures communication (e.g. price signals) or ineffective incentives used by utilities to encourage customers to accept operational change. The issues of program design, rate structure and customer impact have a tremendous influence on the success or failure of load management initiatives. Demand response has traditionally been used as a tool of the energy industry to ensure system stability. However, the introduction of microelectronics, communications, home automation and the Internet of Things (IoT) has led to the development of cost effective solutions that have the capability to allow the consumer to take control of managing their energy load and ultimately, the price they pay for energy.

EnerNex has the experience and skills to turn your DR program into a successful operational asset and customer engagement process that can deliver value to all parties.

Energy Assurance Planning

Natural and man-made disasters cause an estimated $57B in average annual costs for all parties; large single events have resulted in losses of $100B or more. Events, such as the World Trade Center disaster, Hurricane Katrina, and most recently Hurricane Helene, have demonstrated an acute need to revisit, revise and implement an effective energy assurance plan. Energy assurance plans assess the functionality and interdependencies of buildings and infrastructure systems and the role they play in sustaining service and rapidly restoring critical services to a community following a hazard event.

 

EnerNex assists our clients in developing comprehensive energy assurance plans that mitigate and minimize the impact of energy disruptions. Our experts assess critical infrastructure risks and evaluate appropriate mitigation strategies and can help in developing an effective business continuity/disaster recovery (BC/DR) plan for utilities and your customers.

Microgrid Development

As the electric grid becomes more distributed and interactive, microgrids are playing an increasingly important role in our energy future. Decision makers at military bases, corporate and institutional campuses, residential communities and critical facilities across the world are exploring and implementing microgrids to meet economic, resiliency and environmental goals. Utility-grade microgrids are being deployed to meet transmission constraints, reliability requirements and safe-havens in the event of a significant storm event.

Microgrid_development Graphic steps to support grid modernization

Bringing together a portfolio of distributed energy resources into a controllable, islandable microgrid comes with its own set of challenges. The key to solving these challenges is in architecting a system to support information exchanges between components across well-defined points of interoperability (interfaces) in a technology independent manner. This interoperability ensures that the system is resilient to technology change. Modern systems engineering techniques must be employed to ensure that individual sub‐systems are clearly identified, their functions enumerated, their data requirements known, and the points of interoperability clearly specified, along with the commensurate monitoring, command and control that is needed to ensure grid stability. With such architecture, we can apply best of breed technology available today to support those information exchanges at interface boundaries but be free to upgrade / change the implementation technology later without causing a ripple effect throughout the system.

Enterprise Architecture

Enterprise Architecture focuses on aligning an organization’s business strategies with its anticipated, desired and planned technology enhancements. Enterprise Architecture provides a framework to cost-effectively transition from a current “as-is” technology to future enterprise-wide technological solutions. An effective Enterprise Architecture program aligns business investments with long-term business strategies while minimizing risk and providing superior technological solutions. EnerNex’s key asset is its highly skilled and experienced staff who are closely connected to both the smart grid and EA standards and practices. We provide clients with the insight necessary to operate a fully functioning smart grid, which is flexible, scalable, and vendor independent.

Grid Modernization Roadmap

Utility companies across the globe are continually modernizing their grid. Each company often has different rationales, objectives and priorities. Frequently, smart grid plans are developed for individual, incremental initiatives, rather than as a part of a whole, intelligent and interoperable infrastructure. Planning may be developed around technology choices rather than business and technical requirements. The result of incremental and flawed planning leads to increased cost and risk, lost opportunities, disconnected expectations and dead ends.

 

EnerNex’s approach to grid modernization roadmap development follows a proven, industry-standard approach to grid modernization planning by collaboratively working with the utility to develop a set of prioritized and time-phased grid modernization initiatives unique to its business strategy and objectives. The roadmap developed is holistic, requirements-based, business value driven and actionable. It often builds on and leverages existing applications and infrastructure, and incorporates industry standards to ensure interoperability, flexibility and reduced cost and risk.

Utility Communications

Utility communication and control systems are increasingly interconnected to each other and to public networks and as a result, they are becoming increasingly more susceptible to disruptions and cyber attacks. EnerNex has experience with the various issues relating to development, implementation and optimization including feasibility analysis, design, software development and customization, project management and acceptance. Our expertise extends from being involved in the development of the fundamental standards that support utility communication and automation, through deployment and securing of those resources. EnerNex personnel were heavily involved in development of such standards and protocols as IEC 61850, IEC 60870-5 and DNp3. Our staff played a key role in the EPRI Utility Communication Architecture (UCA) project and the IntelliGrid Architecture effort.

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