In this regard, Wireless Logic, a company specializing in managed M2M/IoT connectivity services over licensed wireless networks, offers companies responsible for meter telemetry a solution to adapt to the new requirements of Red Eléctrica (the Spanish electricity grid operator). “With this migration, we are moving from a technology based on 2G voice network circuit switching to one more suited to the 21st century, using TCP/IP connections,” explains Jon Mielgo, director of Wireless Logic Spain.
The migration plan applies to all metering points in Spain where the system operator (SO) is responsible for meter reading and which communicate directly with the Red Eléctrica Main Concentrator, both on the Iberian Peninsula and in the rest of the country. While it is difficult to know the exact number of metering points requiring IP upgrades, this change will affect at least all Type 1 and Type 2 metering points, as well as points where generation, distribution, and transmission interconnect, and generally, all points where energy is fed into the grid.
“The biggest advantage of this change, which—truth be told—has caught a good part of the sector off guard, is that it abandons the CSD (Circuit Switched Data) standard,” says Jon Mielgo. This technology is already becoming obsolete due to the planned shutdown of 2G and 3G networks in Spain in the coming years, a shutdown that has already occurred in other countries.”
Key aspects of the new regulatory framework
Wireless Logic emphasizes that this regulation will establish a new scenario for the Spanish electricity grid. The first consequence will affect all metering points where the system operator is responsible for reading and which also communicate directly with the main metering concentrator, whether they are located on the Iberian Peninsula or in other territories.
The second aspect of the regulations will influence the type of connection, as the requirement stipulates that communications from these facilities will be carried out via public IP addresses and port forwarding, but without the use of VPN tunnels. Additionally, SIMEL (Intelligent Electrical Measurement System) must be enabled to take readings, either using static IP addresses or DNS.
Thus, the firm's experts warn about several aspects that companies should consider when adapting to the change: “On the one hand, we must focus on the security of the new communication system. The use of public IPs means that systems are exposed to unauthorized access attempts and even distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks,” says Jon Mielgo. “On the other hand, we must keep in mind that the available public IP addresses are limited—at least until the IPv6 protocol is effectively deployed—and that contracting one for each measurement point is not practical.”.
Wireless Logic has designed a specific plan that provides a fast and secure solution for this migration. “The first feature of our proposal is the use of private IPs behind the public IP that serves as communication with Red Eléctrica. That is, we assign each device managed by the client an address within a private network, which is not exposed, and we provide them with the public IP of the gateway that they will use to access the meter readings,” explains Jon Mielgo.
This model is based on the use of the NAT-PAT (Network Address Translation - Port Address Translation) protocol, which allows the combination of a public IP address with a port number to identify a specific device on that private network. This format is supported by Red Eléctrica for switching. The system also supports the configuration of a whitelist, a list of allowed IP addresses that blocks access attempts from any other address, ensuring protection against potential attacks.
On the other hand, the new TCP/IP connection reading system that smart meters must comply with allows each installation to use a communications environment tailored to its needs. “For example, 4G, NB-IoT, CAT-1 Bis… and in this regard, our proposal is to take full advantage of our multi-operator SIM cards, which ensure IoT connectivity, achieving coverage in any location and can be managed quickly and easily thanks to our SIMPro platform,” concludes Jon Mielgo.
