Smart Energy International Podcast

As electricity systems around the world digitalise in order to transition to renewable energy sources, they become increasingly vulnerable to cybersecurity attacks. How do we address these cyber security vulnerabilities? Experts from Networked Energy Services (NES), OSGP Alliance and the Danish utility Cerius share their insights in this podcast episode.

Policymakers and utility operators are fighting a much-sophisticated battle in order to keep any potential threat far away from their systems and customers. Which are the most common threats and what is the new profile of your average cybercriminal? And more importantly, is your utility ready to prevent a cyberattack?

Our host, Smart Energy International editor and Enlit Europe content director, Areti Ntaradimou, speaks with:

Jon Wells | Chairman of the OSGP Alliance | Technical Committee

The OSGP is a global non-profit association dedicated to promoting the adoption of the Open Smart Grid Protocol (OSGP) and infrastructure for smart grid applications towards a future proof modern smart grid. Jon has 25 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, moving into the similar industry of smart grid a 5 years ago. Through this time, Jon was involved in helping telecommunications network operators align to the relevant O&M standards, including TeleManagement Forum (TMF) and IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL). He can bring the experience of the telecommunications industry into the arena of smart grids, quickly drawing upon the parallels to assess opportunities for cost reduction, efficiency improvement and customer experience improvement through the application of standards and use this to develop relevant and practical business cases for DSOs. Jon has held director roles in technical consulting, business consulting, and business development and is currently VP of Customer Solutions for Networked Energy Services.

Emil Gurevitch | Senior Security Architect | Networked Energy Services (NES)

Emil is a member of the OSGP Alliance, the global non-profit association dedicated to the adoption of the Open Smart Grid Protocol. He helps promote, architect, and deploy secure smart grids. Emil has over 18 years of experience in identifying and remediating cybersecurity vulnerabilities in critical systems, most recently in power grids. Emil was Smart Grid Security Lead at a large utility in Europe, helped develop cryptographic security solutions at IBM, and holds an MSc in Computer Science specialising in Information Security. Today, he is Senior Security Architect at NES, where he helps develop secure Smart Grid products and threat detection solutions.

Bo Danielsen | Head of Metering and Installation | Cerius

Bo has been in the utility industry for the last 10 years working on the implementation and rollout of smart meters and relates headend and MDM systems. He has a technical background as a certified electrician and has been working in the industry for his entire 30 years career in different positions. He also holds a bachelor degree on the commercial and business side

Today, Bo serves as Head of Meters and Installations at th Danish utility Cerius and is responsible for 1,4 million meters together with the customers' support.

This podcast is brought to you in partnership with Networked Energy Services (NES).

More about cybersecurity

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"If we’re going to succeed in the energy transition, we have to bring every customer along with us," says Marzia Zafar, Head of Strategy and Policy at Kaluza. In this podcast episode, she shares her opinion about how we can move the industry forward, together.

From the Southern California Gas Company to the World Energy Council and from there to Kaluza, Marzia Zafar seems to have a holistic view regarding what makes the energy sector tick. And with a strong attitude towards the environment, equality issues and the role of the consumer, she is a prominent voice in the current debates.

Listen to the conversation between our host, Areti Ntaradimou, and Marzia Zafar about the human condition in the energy transition.

Don't forget to read more about Marzia Zafar in her 'Women in Energy' interview.

Guest:

Marzia Zafar | Head of Strategy and Policy | Kaluza

Host:

Areti Ntaradimou | Enlit Europe content director for data and editor Smart Energy International

Music by NSAT

How could the use of AMI data assist in providing situational awareness to grid ops? Experts from OSIsoft and PowerRunner discuss this topic in detail in the latest podcast episode.

With more and more electric meters being replaced with smart meters on AMI, there is an increasingly big amount of data collected on a daily basis. One could call this a potential gold mine for utilities, but it is not easy to get operational value from the vast data collection. Data latency and the complexity of managing such a big data set are two issues that are holding utilities back from using the data insights to their full potential.

In this episode of the Smart Energy International podcast, our host Areti Ntaradimou speaks to Kevin Walsh (Industry Principal for Transmission and Distribution at OSIsoft, now part of AVEVA) and Dan Garvey (Director, Sales and Marketing at PowerRunner) about this issue and how their collaborative technology solution is providing situational awareness to grid operators.

This episode is brought to you in partnership with OSIsoft.

Music by NSAT

The next quarter-century in the power and energy industry will be driven by global efforts to decarbonise the sector, powered by clean energy policies, new technologies and empowered consumers. What other innovations are on the horizon?

The evolution of the energy sector over the past 25 years has surpassed every expectation and today, energy forms a key pillar of political and social strategies in many of the world’s economies. And given the continuous development and advancement of new technologies such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality, we can assume that the next 25 years are also going to surpass our wildest dreams.

The evolution of the energy sector over the past 25 years has surpassed every expectation and today, energy forms a key pillar of political and social strategies in many of the world’s economies. What are the milestones that got us where we are today?

This year, we celebrate the 25th anniversary of Smart Energy International. Part of celebrating an important happening is taking a moment to reflect on the past. Therefore, our host Claire Volkwyn invited Areti Ntaradimou (Enlit Europe content director for data) and Kevin O'Donovan (technology evangelist) to discuss the important moments from the past 25 years in the energy sector in this episode of the Smart Energy International podcast.

How do you tackle the issue of last mile communication? Experts from the PRIME Alliance share their insights.

Power line communication (PLC) has long been considered the most suitable and natural technology to provide the needed telecoms performance, even in complex underground electricity grids. But what do you do when it’s not?

In this episode of the Smart Energy International podcast, experts from the PRIME Alliance will be exploring the PRIME Hybrid solution that combines PLC and RF communication technology.

The Prime Alliance is an Alliance of technology manufacturers and utilities focussing on providing technology solutions for the smart grids utilising an open (license free), interoperable (certification), reliable (proven) communication protocol.

PRIME Alliance members Alfredo Sanz (Technical Fellow on Smart Energy Systems and software - Microchip Technology) and Asier Llano (R&D Manager - ZIV Automation) talk about this next step in the PRIME Alliance journey.

This episode is brought to you in partnership with PRIME Alliance.

Guests:

Alfredo Sanz | Technical Fellow on Smart Energy Systems | Microchip Technology

Asier Llano | R&D Manager | ZIV Automation PRIME Alliance journey.

Host:

Claire Volkwyn | Editor | Smart Energy International

Music by NSAT

In this episode, Claire Volkwyn speaks to Meters and More general manager, Carlo Maria Drago and Alessandro Lasciandare, technical expert and member of two of the Association’s working groups.

The conversation includes the evolution of the Meters and More standard, explores the reasons for the Associations creation, the celebration of a major milestone and touches on the focus areas for 2021 and beyond.

Meters and More is a leading, open solution for smart metering and other applications used in completed and on-going rollouts.  It is supported by over 40 leading member organizations. Worldwide, over 40 million smart meters are operated using Meters & More technology.

Do you know what it is that your customers think about energy consumption, smart home technology, or your service?

In this episode, Patty Durand, CEO of the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative answers questions about modern energy consumers following research launched late last year.

The SECC works to learn the wants and needs of energy consumers in North America, encourages the collaborative sharing of best practices in consumer engagement among industry stakeholders, and educates the public about the benefits of smart energy and energy technology.

Durand speaks to us about consumer engagement in general and specifically during this time of COVID-19.

In this podcast episode, industry experts from the PRIME Alliance and Arkossa Smart Solutions discuss the secrets of reliable smart meter communication and the importance of industry standards.

The PRIME Alliance (PRIME = PoweRline Intelligent Metering Evolution) is focused on the development of a new open, public and non-proprietary telecom solution which will support not only smart metering functionalities but also progress towards the Smart Grid.

Power line communications is the most suitable and natural technology to provide the needed telecoms performance, even in complex underground electricity grids.

In this episode, we talk about the evolution to and from PRIME v1.4 and the improved reliability, robustness and frequency coverage that the new version delivers, as well as the interoperability brought to the table by PRIME+. 

In order to keep communication channels operating at optimal levels, PRIME Hybrid provide a combination of standardised PLC & RF/IoT solutions to increase robustness – how will this increased flexibility work to power the cities of the future along with the water, gas and power utilities of tomorrow?

Christos Aslanidis (Senior Principal Engineer at Renesas Electronics Europe and Board member PRIME Alliance) and Victor Dominguez (Chief Executive Officer, Arkossa Smart Solutions) talk about their experiences with the creation of industry standards and pushing the boundaries of smart meter communication.

This episode is brought to you in partnership with PRIME Alliance.

Guests:

Christos Aslanidis | Senior Principal Engineer at Renesas Electronics Europe | Board member PRIME Alliance

Victor Dominguez | Chief Executive Officer | Arkossa Smart Solutions

Host:

Claire Volkwyn | Editor| Smart Energy International

Music by NSAT

In this podcast episode, we address the necessity of cybersecurity risk management, which is no longer just about protecting your operations.

Managing third-party vendor cyber risk is fast becoming the defining cybersecurity challenge of our time. The increase in the number of suppliers we engage with as the digitalisation of the energy sector progresses means that enterprise networks are becoming increasingly vulnerable to the vulnerabilities of those partners.

Put simply, the extended ecosystem is the threat.

Your host Claire Volkwyn speaks with Jim Penrose, former NSA senior leader and COO of New York City-based cybersecurity firm BlueVoyant. They discuss supply chain risk and its greater implications, the interdependence between organisations and how risk and cybersecurity risk management are interconnected.

Guest:

Jim Penrose | Chief Operations Officer | BlueVoyant

Host:

Claire Volkwyn | Editor| Smart Energy International

Music by NSAT