Implications of power-line communication on distributed data acquisition and control systems

Automated meter reading, energy billing and energy management are applications that are based on and require remote access to control networks. Such applications are intrinsically linked to power-lines and as such suggest using the power distribution grid not only for energy transport but also as the communication medium. This paper describes a data acquisition and control system for energy distribution and consumption using power-lines and IP-based networks for communication. The primary application is meter reading with fine-grained resolution both in time and location of consumption. The paper describes the communication architecture and the services provided by the system and shows how the peculiarities of especially the power-line communication influence the design of the interconnection between the two network types. Security aspects of the system are an important issue and are also discussed.