As we look ahead to 2019, utility managers across the globe are chasing a more effective grid system for two main reasons – security and reliability. As a result, smart grid advancements will be a huge priority for national governments this upcoming calendar year, including the United States, Australia and China. Similarly, the introduction of the NIS Directive by the European Union is driving an increased focus on cyber security amongst utilities.

Looking to keep up with the trends? Here are a few things you should know going into the New Year:

  1. Your power meters should be updated with cyber security features. Cyber Attackers can tamper with data and compromise the authenticity of your information, causing downtime and increased costs. Cyber Secure power meters, such as the Electro Industries/GaugeTech Nexus® 1450 energy meter, provide 128 bit AES encryption on all configuration and control functions, significantly increasing the difficulty of a successful cyber-attack.
  2. Smart Grids enable a two-way communication, updating utilities with real consumer demand. To fully maximize the benefits of a smart grid system, and to maintain data integrity, the network needs to be fully protected.
  3. There are platforms at your disposal for staying informed.Smart Grids Forums is hosting the first annual Energy Intrusion Detection conference in January 2019. The event will take place in Amsterdam and draw over 100 cybersecurity specialists from electrical power generation, transmission, and distribution operators across Europe to discuss the evaluation, procurement, and implementation of these crucial monitoring systems.

Electro Industries specializes in power meters and smart grid solutions that excel at revenue grade energy measurement, power quality and advanced telemetry. Users worldwide depend on EIG’s WiFi-based submeters and power meters to capture energy and power metering data for energy cost, power costing and tenant billing. Contact us at sales@www.electroind.com for more information.