WAPI Network for Novel Intelligent Services of Substations in Smart Grid. Application Analysis and Overview

With the advancement of the construction of smart grids and digital grids, new smart services represented by smart patrols, smart safety monitoring, and mobile office have emerged in substations. These services generally exhibit the characteristics of “large bandwidth, mobility, and large connections”. Due to the lack of a unified wireless communication access method in the substation, each service terminal communicates with the master station using the communication methods such as WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) and public network 4G provided by the wireless operators or manufacturer, which are insufficient in terms of security, cost, and controllability. This paper proposes the use of wireless LAN (Local Area Network) authentication and privacy infrastructure WAPI (Wireless LAN Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure) network to achieve 35kV and above voltage level substation coverage, and spells the details including service requirements and communication access status, communication technology selection, WAPI network construction and deployment. The implementation effect and other aspects of WAPI network application are analyzed and novel prospects for new intelligent services in substations are carried out to provide reference and reference for wireless communication applications in substations.