May 31, 2016
The integration of renewable energy sources into the power grid, combined with the need to monitor and control the grid at digital speed, while keeping it secure from cyber-attacks, has led to many challenges that require a national effort between industry, government and academia.
These three groups came together on May 26 and 27 at a workshop hosted by The Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE) in collaboration with Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) and the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT).
Complex systems do not operate in isolation, and the smart grid is no exception. While industry players, government and academia may have different needs and resources, the goal of the workshop was to establish ways to work cooperatively towards a secure smart grid.
“One of our objectives is to bring different ideas together to try and address a very important need of national significance,” said ECE Professor Deepa Kundur, Director of the Centre for Power and Information. “The goal is to start to establish a community of practice in the field of smart grid cyber security.”
Participants at the workshop heard from speakers representing government agencies and ministries, such as DRDC and Natural Resources Canada, as well as from industry and local distribution companies like Siemens Canada and London Hydro. Academic researchers, including ECE Professors Josh Taylor and Hoi-Kwong Lo, delivered talks on their research in relation to smart grid cyber security. The two-day workshop concluded with a panel discussion to summarize the scope of the challenges, including the complexities of overlapping systems and the rapidly changing landscape of the smart grid.
“We are uniquely positioned here in ECE to actively contribute to the smart grid cyber security community,” said Professor Farid Najm, chair of ECE. “As challenges emerge nearly as quickly as solutions are established, an ongoing dialogue is necessary to achieve and maintain smart grid cyber security.”
More information:
Jessica MacInnis
Senior Communications Officer
The Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
416-978-7997; jessica.macinnis@utoronto.ca