Planning should be done first to build a "ubiquitous power Internet of Things"

[Editor's note: In its 2019 Two Sessions report, State Grid Corporation of China proposed to build and operate the "Ubiquitous Power Internet of Things", which has become a key task on par with the strong smart grid. So, why build the Ubiquitous Power Internet of Things? What is the Ubiquitous Power Internet of Things? How to build the Ubiquitous Power Internet of Things? ]

1. Why build a ubiquitous power Internet of Things?

In its 2019 Two Sessions report, State Grid Corporation of China proposed that the important material basis for building a world-class energy Internet enterprise is to build and operate the "two networks" well. The "two networks" here refer to the "strong smart grid" and the "ubiquitous power Internet of Things". The term "ubiquitous power Internet of Things" first appeared in the State Grid Corporation of China's Two Sessions report, becoming a key task on par with the strong smart grid.

First, let's look at what the State Grid's Document No. 1 of 2019 says: In the Document No. 1 of 2019 issued by the State Grid Corporation of China on January 13, 2019, the first priority of the year is to promote the deep integration of the power grid and the Internet and focus on building an energy Internet. The specific content is: "Persistently build and operate a strong and smart grid with UHV as the backbone grid and coordinated development of power grids at all levels... Make full use of modern information technologies and advanced communication technologies such as mobile Internet and artificial intelligence to achieve the interconnection of all things and human-machine interaction in all links of the power system, and create a ubiquitous power Internet of Things with comprehensive state perception, efficient information processing, and convenient and flexible application, so as to provide strong data resource support for the safe and economic operation of the power grid, improve operating performance, improve service quality, and cultivate and develop strategic emerging industries. The strong smart grid that carries the power flow and the ubiquitous power Internet of Things that carries the data flow complement each other and develop in an integrated manner to form a powerful value creation platform, and together constitute an energy Internet that integrates energy flow, business flow, and data flow."

It can be considered that the definition of the ubiquitous power Internet of Things and its important position in the energy exchange network have been clearly explained in the No. 1 document. The second key task of the No. 1 document is to cultivate and expand new development momentum and innovate the energy Internet business model. The specific content is: research and explore new models for the construction and operation of charging and swapping (energy storage) stations and data center stations using substation resources, actively promote the commercial operation of the company's communication optical fiber network, wireless private network and power towers, and expand new service space for customers. Vigorously develop emerging businesses such as electric vehicles, e-commerce, smart chips, energy storage, and integrated energy services, and promote the mutual benefit and coordinated development of emerging businesses and power grid businesses. The third key task of the No. 1 document is to expand open cooperation and sharing and create an energy Internet ecosystem. The specific content is: make full use of the advantages of power grid data, technology, and standards, strengthen cooperation with new economy and Internet companies, actively participate in the development and construction of emerging business fields such as new energy, smart manufacturing, smart home, and smart city, and accelerate the construction of an industrial chain and ecosystem around the development of energy Internet.

It can be seen from the No. 1 document that the State Grid will develop new forms of business related to the Internet economy through the construction of the power Internet in the future, including new businesses such as new energy, smart manufacturing, smart home, and smart city. New forms of business in non-traditional fields have been equally important as traditional power grid business. In fact, the so-called new energy, smart home, and smart city can all be included in the "ubiquitous power Internet of Things". In general, the "strong and smart grid" is still the basic plate of the State Grid's business. It has established business scope in the transmission-transformation-distribution-use-sales links, and has adhered to the traditional position and resisted "external barbarians" against the background of the continuous deepening of the incremental distribution network pilot and the reform of the distribution and sales side. It is the "point-scoring item" of the State Grid's future work; and at a time when the reform of state-owned enterprises is moving into the deep waters, the general trend of power reform is forced, and the new generation of leadership of the State Grid is gradually stabilizing, the concept of "ubiquitous power Internet of Things" is proposed, which is a proactive move to open up new directions and a "focus" for the future work of the State Grid.

There is a certain consensus and sense of urgency within the State Grid regarding the company's development and business adjustments, which are mainly concentrated in the following aspects: First, with the increase in the proportion of new energy power generation, the grid is becoming more and more complex, and the evolution mechanism of power flow and grid failure is constantly evolving from predictable to unpredictable, which puts higher requirements on the safe and stable operation of the power grid; second, the advancement of power reform and the government and society's requirements for lowering electricity prices have led to bottlenecks in corporate operations; third, with the vigorous development of the Internet economy and the digital economy, the social and economic forms are undergoing profound changes. As the reform is about to enter the deep water zone, if the development and transformation in the next few years are not done well, the difficulties faced by communication operators now may be the future of the State Grid. And with the help of the "ubiquitous power Internet of Things", whether to continue to deepen the traditional power sector and strengthen informatization, or to focus on developing new businesses such as electric vehicles and integrated energy services, a strong planning program is needed as a guide.

2. What is the “ubiquitous power Internet of Things”? What kind of ubiquitous power Internet of Things should be built?

The concept of the Internet of Things was first mentioned by Kevin Ashton of MIT in 1998, who pointed out that the Internet of Things could be constructed by applying RFID technology and other sensor technologies to everyday objects. The Auto-ID center, which was established the following year by Kevin Ashton, gave a clearer description of the application of the Internet of Things: relying on global RFID tags to access the Internet wirelessly, millions of items from razors to euro banknotes to car tires can be continuously tracked and audited.

The power industry understands the "Internet of Things" as a network system that can identify, perceive, interconnect and control power grid infrastructure, personnel and the environment. Its essence is to combine various information sensing devices with communication information resources (Internet, telecommunications network and even power communication network) to form a physical entity with self-identification, perception and intelligent processing. The coordination and interaction between entities enable the relevant objects to perceive and feedback control each other, forming a more intelligent power production and living system. This has led to the concept of ubiquitous smart grid - full-service ubiquitous power Internet of Things based on communication technology - ubiquitous power Internet of Things.

All countries have used the Internet of Things in the process of building modern power grids, but the focus of their applications is different. In Europe, improving power supply security, energy conservation and emission reduction, and developing a low-carbon economy are the main reasons for countries to actively develop smart grids. Under this driving force, the European power industry is more inclined to the application of the Internet of Things in the direction of clean energy and environmental protection; in Japan, renewable energy access, energy conservation and consumption reduction, and demand response are the main driving forces for Japan's development of smart grids. The application of the Internet of Things in the Japanese power industry is mainly in the fields of monitoring and forecasting of new energy power generation, smart metering, and microgrid system monitoring; in China, the Internet of Things technology provides technical support for improving power grid efficiency and power supply reliability. RFID technology, various sensors, positioning technology, image acquisition technology, etc. enable warehouse management, substation monitoring, emergency repair positioning and dispatching, inspection positioning, fault identification and other services to achieve flexible, efficient and reliable intelligent applications.

At present, the State Grid has not yet formed a specific definition of the ubiquitous power Internet of Things. The informatization of all links of traditional power production, transmission and consumption can be called the ubiquitous power Internet of Things. In terms of the current technical reserves of the State Grid, enhancing the perception, communication, computing and analysis capabilities of the power grid is its foreseeable development direction. At the State Grid Information and Communication Work Conference in 2018, the work goal of "building a full-service ubiquitous power Internet of Things, building smart enterprises, and leading the construction of world-class energy Internet enterprises with outstanding competitiveness" was proposed, and the technical plan for building the State Grid-Electric Internet of Things SG-eIoT (electric Internet of Things) was proposed. It is expected to comprehensively use new information and communication technologies such as "big cloud, things, mobility and intelligence", penetrate and deeply integrate with the new generation of power systems, connect people, machines and things in all links of energy and power production and consumption in real time online, and fully carry and connect power grid production and operation, enterprise management and external customer service and other businesses. At the terminal layer, it is manifested as the connection capability of the Internet of Everything, at the network layer, it is manifested as the ubiquitous and omnipresent communication capability, and at the platform layer, it is manifested as the ability to control panoramic equipment and data. According to the plan made at the State Grid Information and Communication Work Conference in 2018, the entire "SG-eIoT" system will be technically divided into five major systems: terminals, networks, platforms, operation and maintenance, and security. It will connect five major business scenarios, including transmission, substation, distribution, electricity consumption, and operation and management. Through a unified IoT platform, it will access the smart IoT devices of each business segment, formulate unified channels, data models, and access methods for various power terminal access systems, and realize plug-and-play of various terminal devices.