[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 90 (Tuesday, May 11, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26206-26208]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-11129]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Implementing the National Broadband Plan by Studying the 
Communications Requirements of Electric Utilities To Inform Federal 
Smart Grid Policy

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Request for information (RFI).

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking comments and 
information from interested parties to assist DOE in understanding the 
communications requirements of utilities, including, but not limited 
to, the requirements of the Smart Grid. This RFI also seeks to collect 
information about electricity infrastructure's current and projected 
communications requirements, as well as the types of networks and 
communications services that may be used for grid modernization. 
Specifically, DOE seeks information on what types of communications 
capabilities that the utilities think that they will need and what type 
of communications capabilities that the communications carriers think 
that they can provide.

DATES: Comments must be postmarked by no later than July 12, 2010. 
Reply comments must be postmarked by no later than July 26, 2010.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by ``NBP RFI: 
Communications Requirements,'' by any of the following methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
    E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``NBP RFI: Communications 
Requirements'' in the subject line of the message.
    Mail: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the General Counsel, 
1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 6A245, Washington, DC 20585.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maureen C. McLaughlin, Senior Legal 
Advisor to the General Counsel (202) 586-5281; [email protected].
    For Media Inquiries you may contact Jen Stutsman at 202-586-4940.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    In early 2009, Congress directed the Federal Communications 
Commission (FCC) to create the recently released

[[Page 26207]]

National Broadband Plan (NBP).\1\ As Congress instructed, the NBP makes 
recommendations to various government entities, including Executive 
Branch agencies like DOE. In particular, the NBP recommended that DOE, 
in collaboration with the FCC, should conduct a thorough study of the 
communications requirements of electric utilities, including, but not 
limited to, the requirements of the Smart Grid.\2\ As the National 
Broadband Plan correctly notes, understanding the evolving 
communications requirements of electric utilities and other energy 
infrastructure entities will help in developing informed Smart Grid 
policies for the nation. Therefore, DOE seeks to collect information 
about current and projected communications requirements in sustaining 
and modernizing the grid, as well as the types of networks and 
communications services that may be used. Specifically, DOE seeks 
information on what types of communications capabilities that the 
utilities think that they will need and what type of communications 
capabilities that the communications carriers think that they can 
provide.
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    \1\ Fed. Commc'n Comm'n, The National Broadband Plan: Connecting 
America, http://www.broadband.gov (last visited Apr. 26, 2010).
    \2\ Id. at Recommendation 12.6.
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    A Smart Grid uses information and communications technologies to 
improve the reliability, availability, and efficiency of the electric 
system. In Smart Grid projects today, these technologies are being 
applied to electric grid applications, involving devices at the 
consumer level through the transmission level, to make our electric 
system more responsive and more flexible.
    The potential promises \3\ of the Smart Grid include, improved 
reliability and power quality, reduction in peak demand, reduction in 
transmission congestion costs, the potential for increased energy 
efficiency, environmental benefits gained by increased asset 
utilization, increased security, ability to accommodate more renewable 
energy and increased durability and ease of repair in response to 
attacks or natural disasters.
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    \3\ A smart meter is a good example of an enabling Smart Grid 
technology that can empower both utilities and consumers to extract 
value from two-way communications and real-time access to usage 
data. Smart meters play an important role in the success of the 
Smart Grid because they can generate an array of useful data 
including historical energy consumption data, real-time data, convey 
pricing and control information, and enable a variety of demand 
response approaches to reduce peak load.
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    But in order to provide these, and other, benefits that the Smart 
Grid can offer, utilities and other participants in the nation's 
electricity infrastructure need to employ adequate communications 
technologies that serve their needs from both a critical infrastructure 
and business standpoint. This RFI thus focuses on enhancing DOE's 
understanding of both what these needs are and how they might best be 
met.
    This RFI seeks to create a dialogue that will help DOE study the 
communications requirements of electric utilities in order to better 
inform Federal Smart Grid policy.
    The Smart Grid will have many new applications for consumers, 
retailers, utilities, and others, and it will be composed of several 
vast, developing, and interrelated systems. The communications 
requirements of these systems will be a critical component of both the 
Smart Grid and the other technologies that will evolve and change how 
electricity is produced, consumed, conserved and distributed. Moreover, 
just as there is no ``one-size-fits-all'' utility solution, illustrated 
by investor-owned, municipally-owned, and rural electric cooperatives--
we also cannot expect any ``one-size-fits-all'' communications solution 
to accommodate all reasonable Smart Grid implementations and 
applications.
    One of the key technology areas of the Smart Grid is integrated 
two-way communications, which make the Smart Grid a dynamic, 
interactive, real-time infrastructure. An open architecture creates a 
plug-and-play environment that securely networks grid components and 
operators, enabling them to talk, listen and interact.\4\
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    \4\ Dep't of Energy, What the Smart Grid Means to You and the 
People You Serve (Aug. 31, 2009), available at http://www.oe.energy.gov/DocumentsandMedia/Utilities.pdf.
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    Request for information: DOE seeks information about current and 
projected communications needs for the Smart Grid from electric 
utilities, regional transmission operators and other interested 
parties, as well as the types of networks and communications services 
they use.
    DOE recognizes that many communications and networking technologies 
can be used in Smart Grid applications, including, but not limited to: 
fiber optic; microwave; copper lines; satellite; broadband wireless; 
unlicensed wireless mesh; licensed point-to-point and point-to-
multipoint, low latency wireless; Power Line Carrier and Broadband over 
Power Line; Internet; and, wired broadband. These and other networking 
technologies can be used by a variety of Smart Grid applications, 
including, but not limited to: Home Area Networks (HAN); Phasor 
Measurements and wide area situational awareness; Substation SCADA; 
Distributed Generation Monitoring and Control; Protective Relaying; 
Demand Response and Pricing; and Plug-in Electric Vehicles.
    DOE also recognizes that while it may be possible to estimate the 
current required communications needs of the entities now deploying the 
Smart Grid, it may be unrealistic to precisely quantify their future 
communications needs, as the Smart Grid is not fully developed and its 
future requirements or applications may dramatically increase or 
change. Nevertheless, even unavoidable uncertainty should not deter 
either DOE, utilities or other interested parties from assessing both 
current communications needs and the best-available estimates of 
whether or how they may evolve.
    For example, certain Smart Grid and demand response applications 
have been deployed by utilities for many years.\5\ These applications 
use a variety of communications technologies, and these technologies 
may vary from implementation to implementation. These technologies have 
traditionally involved private networks. Utilities have cited higher 
rates of survivability following a natural disaster,\6\ the ability to 
maintain service throughout a utility's service territory,\7\ the lack 
of priority of services when outages occur,\8\ and the cost of service 
\9\ as reasons why commercial services cannot adequately replace 
private networks.
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    \5\ Fed. Energy Regulatory Comm'n, Assessment of Demand Response 
and Advanced Metering, 8, 65 (Dec. 2008), available at http://www.ferc.gov/legal/staff-reports/12-08-demand-response.pdf.
    \6\ United Telecomm. Council, Hurricanes of 2005: Performance of 
Gulf Coast Critical Infrastructure Communications Networks, 2, 24 
(Nov. 2006).
    \7\ S. Co. Serv. Inc., Comments--National Broadband Plan Public 
Notice #2, GN Docket No. 09-47, 09-51, and 09-137, 15, 21 (Oct. 2 
2009).
    \8\ Util. Telecomm. Council, Comments--National Broadband Plan 
Public Notice #2, GN Docket No. 09-47, 09-51, and 09-137, 11, 24 
(Oct. 2 2009).
    \9\ Sempra Energy Util., Comments regarding the Implementation 
of Smart Grid Technology, GN Docket No. 09-47, 09-51, and 09-137, 
13, 22 (Oct. 2 2009).
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    While it appears from comments filed with the FCC that many 
commenting utilities want to use private, non-commercial networking 
options, some utilities have also commented that dedicated utility 
spectrum may be beneficial, but perhaps not essential to continue 
current Smart Grid deployments like backhaul for meters in an AMI 
system.\10\ One commenter

[[Page 26208]]

expressed the need for greater industry collaboration to build a better 
case for dedicated spectrum.\11\
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    \10\ Util. Telecomm. Council, Comments in response to the 
National Broadband Plan Public Notice 2, GN Docket No. 09-
47, 09-51, and 09-137, 3, 24 (Oct. 2 2009); Nat'l Rural Elec. Coop. 
Ass'n, Comments in response to the National Broadband Plan Public 
Notice 2, GN Docket No. 09-47, 09-51, and 09-137, 12, 14 
(Oct. 2 2009).
    \11\ S. Co. Serv., Comments in response to the National 
Broadband Plan Public Notice 2, GN Docket No. 09-47, 09-51, 
and 09-137, 15, 21 (Oct. 2 2009).
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    Utilities have also expressed a need for dedicated spectrum for 
fast power restoration in an emergency or natural disaster, reliable 
service, and for protection from a cyber attack on the electric 
grid.\12\ DOE thus seeks to better understand this need for dedicated 
spectrum; what compels the need for additional spectrum in addition to 
the increased amount of data that utilities are expected to handle as 
the deployment of Smart Grid applications multiplies.
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    \12\ Nat'l Ass'n of Regulatory Util. Comm'rs, Comments in 
response to the National Broadband Plan Public Notice 2, GN 
Docket No. 09-47, 09-51, and 09-137, 3, 11 (Oct. 2 2009).
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List of Questions

    The following list of questions represents a preliminary attempt to 
identify and respond to the issues that have been raised in the 
National Broadband Plan regarding the Smart Grid and DOE, as outlined 
in the summary of this Inquiry. This list of questions does not 
represent a determination of the final list of topics that should be 
addressed to best carry out the recommendations of the Plan. Rather, 
this list is intended only to assist in the formulation of comments--
not to restrict the issues that might be addressed in the comments.
    In addressing these questions or others, commenters must also 
recognize that this RFI is intended to assist and inform DOE's efforts 
to address the aspects of these questions that most directly implicate 
the duties and responsibilities assigned by law to DOE and the 
Secretary of Energy. This qualification is important because all 
interstate information technologies, including the Smart Grid, 
inevitably implicate the jurisdiction and expertise of the States and 
many other federal agencies--a few of the most obvious examples include 
federal law-enforcement agencies, the Department of Homeland Security, 
and the FCC. DOE fully intends to respect the jurisdiction and 
expertise of these and other governmental entities. Consequently, 
comments directed to matters deemed more relevant to the jurisdiction 
and expertise of other governmental entities will provide little 
assistance relevant to this RFI.
    (1) What are the current and future communications needs of 
utilities, including for the deployment of new Smart Grid applications, 
and how are these needs being met?
    (2) What are the basic requirements, such as security, bandwidth, 
reliability, coverage, latency, and backup, for smart grid 
communications and electric utility communications systems in general--
today and tomorrow? How do these requirements impact the utilities' 
communication needs?
    (3) What are other additional considerations (e.g. terrain, 
foliage, customer density and size of service territory)?
    (4) What are the use cases for various smart grid applications and 
other communications needs?
    (5) What are the technology options for smart grid and other 
utility communications?
    (6) What are the recommendations for meeting current and future 
utility requirements, based on each use case, the technology options 
that are available, and other considerations?
    (7) To what extent can existing commercial networks satisfy the 
utilities' communications needs?
    (8) What, if any, improvements to the commercial networks can be 
made to satisfy the utilities' communications needs?
    (9) As the Smart Grid grows and expands, how do the electric 
utilities foresee their communications requirements as growing and 
adapting along with the expansion of Smart Grid applications?

    Issued in Washington, DC, on May 5, 2010.
Scott Blake Harris,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2010-11129 Filed 5-10-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P