Actual Electricity Utility Factor of Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles in Typical Chinese Cities Considering Charging Pattern Heterogeneity

The actual energy saving effect of plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) is usually evaluated by the electricity utility factor (UF) in a standardized charging pattern. To further evaluate the impacts of the charging pattern heterogeneity of PHEV, actual vehicle travel data are adopted to classify the charging pattern in seven typical Chinese cities and derive its impacts on actual UF. Additionally, UF curves are fitted as power exponential functions. The result shows that during daily usage, UF can reach over 0.8 for 50 km all-electric-range PHEVs for the 77% frequently charging adopters, while it is as low as 0.1 for the 3% rarely charging adopters. Comprehensive UF values at an actual charging pattern are 0.53 and 0.68 for the 50 km and 80 km all-electric-range PHEVs, and the values are 0.03 and 0.04 smaller than the standard UF, respectively.

Pattern Recognition using Support Vector Machines as a Solution for Non-Technical Losses in Electricity Distribution Industry

Contending with Non-Technical Losses (NTL) is a major problem for electricity utility companies. Hence providing a lasting solution to this menace motivates this and many more research work in the electricity sector in recent times. Non-technical losses are classed under losses incurred by the electricity utility companies in terms of energy used but not billed due to activities of users or malfunction of metering equipment. This paper therefore is aimed at proffering a solution to this problem by first detecting such loopholes via the analysis of consumers’ consumption pattern leveraging Machine learning (ML) techniques. Support vector machine classifier was chosen and used for classifying the customers’ energy consumption data, training the system and also for performing predictive analysis for the given dataset after a careful survey of a number of machine learning classifiers. A classification accuracy (and subsequently, class prediction) of 79.46% % was achieved using this technique. It has been shown, through this research work, that fraud detection in Electricity monitoring, and hence a solution to non-technical losses can be achieved using the right combinations of Machine Learning techniques in conjunction with AMI technology.

Cluster-Based Method to Determine Base Values for Short-Term Voltage Variation Indices

This paper proposes a methodology for establishing base values for short-term voltage variation indices. The work is focused on determining which variables best describe the disturbance and based on that, establish clusters that allow a more adequate definition of base values for the indices. To test the proposed methodology, real data from 19 distribution systems belonging to a Brazilian electricity utility were used and consequently the index presented in the country standard was considered. This study presents a general methodology that can be applied to all distribution systems in Brazil and could serve as a guide for the regulatory agencies in other countries, to establish base values for their indices. Furthermore, the objective is to show through the results that, with the database used is possible to establish clusters of distribution systems related to the voltage sag and with these establish a base impact factor, distinct for each distribution system.

How Does the Spillover among Natural Gas, Crude Oil, and Electricity Utility Stocks Change over Time? Evidence from North America and Europe

Our study analyzes the return and volatility spillover among the natural gas, crude oil, and electricity utility stock indices in North America and Europe from 4 August 2009 to 16 August 2019. First, in time domain, both total return and volatility spillover are stronger in Europe than in North America. Furthermore, compared to natural gas, crude oil has a greater volatility spillover on the electricity utility stock indices in North America and Europe. Second, in frequency domain, most of the return spillover occurs in the short-term, while most of the volatility spillover occurs over a longer period. Third, the rolling analyses indicate that the return and volatility from 2009 to late 2013 remained stable in North America and Europe, which may be a result of the 2008 global financial crisis, and started to fluctuate after late 2013 due to some extreme events, indicating that extreme events can significantly influence spillover effects. Moreover, investors should monitor current events to diversify their portfolios properly and hedge their risks.

Security gaps assessment of smart grid based SCADA systems

Purpose Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems security is of paramount importance, and there should be a holistic approach to it, as any gap in the security will lead to critical national-level disaster. The purpose of this paper is to present the case study of security gaps assessment of SCADA systems of electricity utility company in the Sultanate of Oman against the regulatory standard and security baseline requirements published by the Authority for Electricity Regulation (AER), Government of Sultanate of Oman. Design/methodology/approach The security gaps assessment presented in this paper are based on the security baseline requirements that include core areas, controls for each core area and requirements for each control. Findings The paper provides the security gaps assessment summary of SCADA systems of electricity utility company. Practical implications The summary of threats and vulnerabilities presented will help stakeholders to be proactive rather than reactive in the event of any attack. Originality/value This case study discusses the various security challenges in smart grid based on SCADA systems and provides the summary of challenges and recommendations to overcome the same.