Modelling Latencies of Broadband Powerline Communication Networks for Smart Grids

The intense integration of Advanced Metering Infrastructure into distribution grids leads to an increasing demand for appropriate communication networks. Broadband Powerline Communication is a technology that is well-suited for the task of last-mile connection for deep-indoor coverage. Research is focused on the technology’s capabilities to fulfill increasing requirements and its future role in Smart Grid connectivity. An important Quality-of-Service parameter for network planning is the end-to-end latency. Although real-time meter reading and grid operations are crucial tasks in the near future, planning tools are not capable to take latencies into account yet. Our work introduces a software model for quasi-stationary latency calculation that enables planning tools to estimate the link performance. To provide first insights into latency dependencies and bottlenecks in Powerline networks, we performed a case study including a sensitivity analysis towards the network properties.