TITLE:
Sensing the Nation: Smart Grid’s Risks and Vulnerabilities
AUTHORS:
Adedoyin Olayinka Ajayi, Boniface Kayode Alese, Sunday Emmanuel Fadugba, Kolade Owoeye
KEYWORDS:
Power Grid, Conventional Methods, Cyberspace, Smart Grid, Developing Countries
JOURNAL NAME:
International Journal of Communications, Network and System Sciences,
Vol.7 No.5,
May
20,
2014
ABSTRACT:
This paper presents issues and trepidations
associated with transferring from conventional methods of electricity
monitoring and distribution to the cyberspace, especially in developing
countries like Nigeria where current approaches have failed to provide regular,
reliable electric power. The Smart Power Grid is a developing concept already
put to test, successfully, in very advanced countries. The implementation of
the Smart Grid will include the deployment of many new technologies and
multiple communication infrastructures. Connecting the electricity grid to the
Internet can provide a lot of advantages in terms of control, data viewing and
generation. However, in Nigeria, the proposal to transfer conventional methods
to the Smart Grid has perhaps not hit the deck yet because of excessive focus
on power generation, and because of the annotated reservations associated with
the Internet, as the Smart Grid involves circulation and dispersal via
inter-networking structures. This paper describes the key technologies that
support Power Grid substation automation, summarizes the mode of implementation
into the existing Nigerian electrical infrastructure and brings fore issues and
mitigating approaches to provide a seamless and securitised transfer of the
current power grid to the Smart Grid.