On the Capacity of a Wireless Backhaul for the Distribution Level of the Smart Grid

Many application scenarios envisioned as part of the “smarter” grid depend on an effective underlying communication infrastructure for power distribution. The advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) is one such application scenario where bidirectional communication between electric meters of customers and the utility control center is required for demand response and load control. Several technologies have been suggested to meet communication needs for the backhaul that connects customer data collection points with the utility's control center. In this paper, these technologies are compared with a justification of why wireless communication technologies may be most suitable for the backhaul. A linear chain multihop wireless communication architecture is then proposed, and its ability to meet application requirements of the communication backhaul is evaluated through simulations. Based on capacity limitations first seen in the simulation results, a theoretical analysis is done to understand the data carrying capacity of using linear chain wireless technologies for the communication backhaul. Finally, the AMI application scenario is used as a case study to understand the implications of any limitations imposed by the proposed communication architecture.