Sensing the Nation: Smart Grid’s Risks and Vulnerabilities

Abstract

This paper presents issues and trepidations associated with transferring from conventional methods of electricity monitoring and distribution to the cyberspace, especially in developing countries like Nigeria where current approaches have failed to provide regular, reliable electric power. The Smart Power Grid is a developing concept already put to test, successfully, in very advanced countries. The implementation of the Smart Grid will include the deployment of many new technologies and multiple communication infrastructures. Connecting the electricity grid to the Internet can provide a lot of advantages in terms of control, data viewing and generation. However, in Nigeria, the proposal to transfer conventional methods to the Smart Grid has perhaps not hit the deck yet because of excessive focus on power generation, and because of the annotated reservations associated with the Internet, as the Smart Grid involves circulation and dispersal via inter-networking structures. This paper describes the key technologies that support Power Grid substation automation, summarizes the mode of implementation into the existing Nigerian electrical infrastructure and brings fore issues and mitigating approaches to provide a seamless and securitised transfer of the current power grid to the Smart Grid.