Advanced metering infrastructure design and test bed experiment using intelligent agents: focusing on the PLC network base technology for Smart Grid system

Today, the power line communication (PLC) is being used for the configuration of Home-Network or factory automation. Due to the improvements in both the stability and the transmission speed resulting from recent digital PLC method, its field of applications is getting broader. Meanwhile, the PLC has been studied widely for it is considered to be the low-cost communication solution that utilizes power distribution network and suitable for the Smart Metering systems. However, involved costs and limited geographical application must be solved to commercialize this technology. On the other hand, the positive economic aspects and potentials in future applications should be recognized. External control of household appliances and automated monitoring and power management can be achieved with the technology. Once such system is implemented and utilized, it will not only contribute to energy conservation but also be able to cope with the power system abnormalities remotely. Despite of these advantages, the PLC technology still reveals its vulnerability in achieving stable communications. Its low-reliability problem caused by the signal interference and attenuation are being discussed and the solution has been described in this study with the results obtained from the test bed experiments.We expect that our system proposed in this paper will become a foundation technology for the Smart Grid.