Design of an intelligent electronic device based on TivaC platform for smart grid applications

Smart Grid (SG) can be defined as a modern electric power grid infrastructure for improved efficiency, reliability and safety, with smooth integration of renewable and alternative energy sources, through automated control and modern communications technologies. The increased need for more effective control on electrical power systems has led to the development and the increased research interest on SG. The construction of SG involves the positive transformation of traditional electricity networks, with one-way power flow, to a system with a new technology, by adding intelligent sensors, distributed generation and storage system, back-end information systems, smart meters and communications networks, to permit two-way power flow with communication and control. All this information should be obtained from the network. So, the development and implementation of Intelligent Electronic Device (IED) improves the efficiency, reliability and security of the electric power system. This paper presents the development of an IED, based on TivaC platform for Smart Grid applications, with high capacity processing, communication features, portability/versatility, low cost, easy integration (interoperability) and maintenance. For the communication the proposed IED uses the Hybrid Network Architecture (HNA) concept and open source programming.