IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - September/October 2019 - 77

The coordinated control of the eIoT-enabled grid periphery requires
not only new technology but also grid operators and planners that
can ensure its physical reliability and economic efficiency.
When the concept of IoT-based supply-chain management is applied to energy things, it creates an eIoT-enabled
control loop. As shown in Figure 6, network-enabled sensing devices take measurements of the states and outputs of
the physical system. The information is analyzed and used
to make decisions independently or in coordination with
other devices. Decisions are then sent to network-enabled
actuators for implementation. While some of the data are
analyzed in real time, the majority can be used in predictive analytics to help understand the system and make decisions that affect the grid over longer time horizons.
In effect, the adoption of the eIoT represents a transformation of grid architecture in its own right. Whereas enterprise
control simulation was discussed in the previous section as
an analytical solution, the eIoT is a technological solution
that, in many ways, constitutes an architectural transformation. First, the tens of millions of physical devices
at the grid periphery gain new informatic interfaces
that did not previously exist. Second, such smart devices
often gain new embedded control functionality. Third, the
eIoT-enabled control loops (as shown in Figures 5 and 6)
may be organized into decentralized, distributed, hierarchical, and centralized control structures. The choice of such
an eIoT-enabled control structure places theoretical and
practical limitations on the degree to which these energy
things can be orchestrated into demand-side grid services.
Finally, transactive energy is the realization of a control
loop interacting with market information, two-way communication networks, and real-time pricing mechanisms
that incentivizes the generation and consumption of electricity. The ability to connect devices, create market signals,
and influence generation and consumer behavior within an

Sensing in
Generation,
Transmission,
Distribution,
and Demand

In What Ways Is the eIoT Transforming
the Grid's Architecture?
Activating the grid periphery to provide essential grid
services, however, is not a simple task. At the most basic
level, the development of the eIoT serves to advance gridwide interoperability and ensure successful data integration
schemes across the grid. As the need to monitor the twoway flow of information and power grows, so does the need
for data gathering. Collected data must then be formatted,
organized, and analyzed to make informed predictions and
decisions. As the diversity of devices grows, so does the
diversity of the collected data. The development of the eIoT
creates the granular monitoring environment necessary to
transition the electricity grid from one that reacts to the
shape of the load to one that can shape it and improve system operations.
Beyond the informatic integration of communication networks, activating the grid periphery is also difficult given
its radial tree-like structure. The grid periphery contains
millions or even billions of small interacting devices that
must be coordinated and controlled to achieve higher-level
functions. These devices and the data they produce must be
integrated into the grid through a consistent economic and
regulatory framework. This integration requires clear foresight by system operators and regulators, while maintaining the reliability and security of the grid. Traditionally, the
distribution system and, hence, the grid periphery have not
been actively controlled. Consequently, there exists much
opportunity to better serve grid stakeholders through new

Technoeconomic
Operational Data
Measurement

Operation
Line Balancing
Historical Data

overarching energy-management framework is the essence
of the eIoT.

Analysis

Execution

Energy Resource
Response

Decision
Controllers and
Energy Markets

figure 6. A closed-loop framework for electrical power system management enabled by the eIoT.
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IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - September/October 2019

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