Utility revenue protection activities are not like they used to be. Advancements in meter technology, reading, and data collection have had a major impact on revenue protection department operations, and for some utilities, present opportunities for a paradigm shift.

Utilities contemplate investments of tens to hundreds of millions of dollars for the procurement of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and smart grid systems. Their objectives vary from power system optimization to preparation for the utility of the future, where customers become actively engaged in managing both energy consumption and production, such as photovoltaic systems and plug-in vehicles that put power onto the grid.

Complicating matters, utilities are investing in nascent or, in some cases, continually evolving smart grid technologies, which have been produced in relatively smaller quantities when compared with full production volumes. While many AMI/smart grid companies, including meter manufacturers, communication developers, and software companies, have been working on their solutions for a long time, the validated use of these individual products together as a large-scale integrated AMI/smart grid system over time has yet to be accomplished.

Distributed generation (DG) is being implemented across the nation’s electric grid in ever-expanding ways. During the last few years alone, we have seen major increases in grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) DG. Nearly 1 GW of installed PV capacity is now distributed across the country’s electric grid. The Solar Energy Industries Association reported that grid-installed PV capacity doubled in 2010 to 878 MW, and it had the largest single-quarter growth in the third quarter of 2011.

Integration of distributed PV with the electric utility system can still pose major challenges, however.

As more devices are implemented throughout the power system, the amount of information exchange increases, as well as the demands on transmission and distribution (T&D) infrastructure. Utilities not only face the challenge to process data into practical, efficient instructions, but also to integrate these new technologies so they are interoperable—work together to form the smart grid.

Testing a smart grid product for compatibility and compliance with existing standards and specifications often involves only the product and associated test equipment in a sterile environment. To realize the smart grid vision, networks, systems, products, and applications must be able to exchange and use information securely and effectively—they must be interoperable.

When you add interoperability into the mix, testing poses a greater challenge.