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Torontonians expect reliability, security and efficiency in their electricity delivery and service, and Ryerson's Centre for Urban Energy (CUE) is helping the Toronto Hydro Electric System Limited ensure it is able to meet those expectations well into the future.

The project to modernize the Toronto Hydro network involves the integration of systems through enhanced and advanced communications architecture. The goals are to develop a data-rich, scalable and interactive smart grid that provides customers with more direct control over their electricity use and to give the utility company improved planning, measurement and response tools.

Toronto Hydro's communication infrastructure is challenged by lack of common backhaul medium for data collection, large volumes of data which may cause system overloads, unavailable real-time monitoring and control and the need to implement real-time decision making. Advanced applications and future demands, including Distributed Generation (DG), electric vehicle charging and Community Energy Storage (CES) require reliable two-way communications between the utility company and customers, something the current system is not able to provide. 

Ling Guan, CUE's principal investigator for the Toronto Hydro research, is working with Jelena Misic and Yifeng He on "Secure and Reliable Data Communications for Smart Grid." Several Ryerson graduate students are also involved in the project.  Their participation will give them experience and qualifications to work in Canada's competitive energy industry.

The CUE-Toronto Hydro research partnership is focused on two areas. One is the architecture of the integrated network which must support multiple applications in the smart grid, taking into account various system requirements including interoperability, functions, protocols, vendor-neutrality and cost-benefit trade-offs. The other main focus is optimization of the network to ensure efficient routing protocols with high reliability, scalability and efficiency; network security to protect the communication network against attacks; quality of service (QoS) that classifies traffic flows and treats them in differentiated ways; and data compression to compress the grid data.

Enhancing smart grid communications will be challenging due to geographical distribution within the city.  Toronto Hydro plans to develop its own communication system to ensure security, reliability and scalability. The Ryerson CUE team will help shape the future of Toronto's electricity system by developing a proposal for the architecture of a unified communication system that integrates the existing fibre-optic systems and new wireless communication systems.   "Data compression, information security, and QoS are essential elements for success of the project," says Guan.   

"The challenge is to provide efficient security tools that safeguard the integrity of the data," says Misic.  "The integrity and authenticity of the data must be protected against both passive attacks such as eavesdropping, and active interventions like injecting false information or changing data."