Much has changed in the power industry since the inception of commercial electrical power systems. What has not changed is the cycle of disruption and adaptation empowered by innovation. The next disruption is on the horizon and is fueled by the push to decarbonize the grid. In this article, I argue that the next disruption will be shaped by three technologies: artificial intelligence (AI), 5G networks, and distributed digital ledger (DDL). Even though historical elements in this article are drawn from the evolution of the power industry in the United States, parallels can be found elsewhere.
Yeray Mezquita, Ana Belén Gil González, A. Martı́n del Rey, Javier Prieto · 5 authors
Blockchain technology is used as a distributed ledger to store and secure data and perform transactions between entities in smart grids. This paper proposes a platform based on blockchain technology and the multi-agent system paradigm to allow for the creation of an automated peer-to-peer electricity market in micro-grids. The use of a permissioned blockchain network has multiple benefits as it reduces transaction costs and enables micro-transactions. Moreover, an improvement in security is obtained, eliminating the single point of failure in the control and management of the platform along with creating the possibility to trace back the actions of the participants and a mechanism of identification. Furthermore, it provides the opportunity to create a decentralized and democratic energy market while complying with the current legislation and regulations on user privacy and data protection by incorporating Zero-Knowledge Proof protocols and ring signatures.
Abbas Yazdinejad, Ali Dehghantanha, Reza M. Parizi, Mohammad Hammoudeh · 6 authors
Nowadays, blockchain-based technologies are being developed in various industries to improve data security. In the context of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), a chain-based network is one of the most notable applications of blockchain technology. IIoT devices have become increasingly prevalent in our digital world, especially in support of developing smart factories. Although blockchain is a powerful tool, it is vulnerable to cyber attacks. Detecting anomalies in blockchain-based IIoT networks in smart factories is crucial in protecting networks and systems from unexpected attacks. In this paper, we use Federated Learning (FL) to build a threat hunting framework called Block Hunter to automatically hunt for attacks in blockchain-based IIoT networks. Block Hunter utilizes a cluster-based architecture for anomaly detection combined with several machine learning models in a federated environment. To the best of our knowledge, Block Hunter is the first federated threat hunting model in IIoT networks that identifies anomalous behavior while preserving privacy. Our results prove the efficiency of the Block Hunter in detecting anomalous activities with high accuracy and minimum required bandwidth.
In smart grids, the access verification of a large number of intelligent gateways and terminal devices has become one of the main concerns to ensure system security. This means that smart grids need a new key management method that is safe and efficient and has a low computational cost. Although a large number of scholars have conducted relevant research, most of these schemes cannot balance the computational overhead and security. Therefore, we propose a lightweight and secure key management method, having a low computational overhead, based on blockchain for smart grids. Firstly, we redesigned the architecture of the smart grid based on blockchain and completed the division of various entities. Furthermore, we designed a pairing-free certification authenticated group key agreement method based on blockchain under the architecture. Finally, we achieved higher security attributes, and lower authentication delay and computational overhead, compared to the traditional schemes, as shown in performance analysis and comparison.
Open access
Blockchain Technology Applications and Security
Smart Grid Security and Resilience
Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) and Hardware Security
Bin Li, Yang Fan, Bing Qi, Xuefeng Bai · 6 authors
Abstract It is a critical part of increasing renewable energy accommodation by using virtual power plant (VPP) to attain carbon neutrality. However, VPP applications primarily consider VPP's participation in power market transactions as a whole and rarely consider the transaction interaction between internal resources. VPP's internal resources complement each other organically, and blockchain technology for distributed transactions has incorporated points. In this article, the authors undertake a study and examine the P2P scenario of VPP internal transactions in light of the issues experienced by DERs transactions. Next, the authors analyse the consensus mechanism, smart contract, inter‐blockchain technology, and game theory, and how to apply them in the P2P scenarios of VPP internal transactions. Further, the authors design the function of the DER transaction system, which lays the foundation for the realisation of the system in the future. Finally, the authors conclude that the potential of blockchain technology in P2P transactions between internal entities of the VPP is significant and warrants further investigation.
The digitalization of the power grid and advancement in intelligent technologies have enabled the service provider to convert the existing electrical grid into a smart grid. The transformation of the grid will help in integrating cleaner energy technologies with energy management to improve power network efficiency. Internet of things (IoT) and various network components need to be deployed to harness the full potential of the smart grid. Also, integrating intermittent renewable energy sources, energy storage, intelligent control of selected power-intensive loads, etc will improve energy efficiency. But deployment of this information and communication technologies will make the grid more vulnerable to cyber attacks from hackers. In this work, blockchain-based self-sovereign identification and authentication technique is presented to avert identity theft and masquerading. The proposed approach can minimize the chances of identity-based security breaches in the smart grid. This paper provides an overview of the model of identification and authentication of IoT devices in Smart Grid based on Blockchain technology. The Blockchain based implementation of identification and authentication of devices is proposed to validate the model in the distributed electrical energy network. The model is able to authenticate the device using Blockchain in a trusted model. The system works according to plan validating the authenticity of transaction in a node in log(n) time, which justifies presented result.
Emilio C. Piesciorovsky, Raymond Borges Hink, Aaron Werth, Gary Hahn · 7 authors
The electrical substation-grid testbed was created to integrate the GOOSE and/or DNP (Distributed Network Protocol) messages with time synchronized sources and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). The objective was to study the impact of faults and cyber-events at an electrical substation with inside (protective relays) and outside (power meters) substation devices. The electrical substation-grid testbed was based on the design of a 34.5/ 12.47 kV electrical substation (sectionalized bus configuration) with two power transformers, connected to radial power lines and load feeders. The electrical substation-grid testbed was installed at 252 lab space (Advanced Power System Protection), Grid Research Integration and Deployment Center (GRID-C), Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This testbed was created for Task 5, DarkNet project.The electrical substation-grid testbed was created to simulate fault and/or cyber events that could potentially result in damage to the electrical infrastructure. In addition, tests were run that are usually not allowed to be performed in an operational electrical power grid, because these test scenarios could trip breakers and/or generate fault situations that could potentially damage equipment. The number of tests performed in the electrical substation-grid testbed were executed in a better way than in a real electrical substation and/or power grid, because multiple tests could be run in a short period of time, and complex permits, and safety/ schedule restrictions like in a real electrical substation environment were not needed.The electrical substation-grid testbed was created using real measurement, communication, and protection devices that are used by electrical utilities, to have same conditions that we could observe in a real power grid or electrical substation. The electrical substation-grid testbed was based on using a real time simulator and expansion box with amplifiers that were wired to electrical substation-grid devices. This hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) was provided by protective relays, power meters, ethernet switches, remote terminal units, synchronized timing network clock, DLT devices, workstations, and servers.This report includes the design, installation, and assessment of the electrical substation-grid testbed that was similar to an operational electrical substation, integrating the power system protection, communication, and control systems. The results for the electrical substation-grid testbed were based on:• verifying the analog signals for protective relays and power meters, • observing the synchronized time source frame at devices, • authenticating the GOOSE (IEC 61850) and DNP messages from power meters and protective relays, and • verifying the trip conditions of protective relays at fault tests with the power system fault event detection, using DLT devices.For future work, the electrical substation-grid testbed with protective relays and power meters, using DLT and synchronized time source from DarkNet, will be used to study the impact of cyber-events at inside and outside substation devices. Advanced algorithms for detecting cyber-events produced by non-desired protective relay settings will be studied, to improve the detection and reliability of protection, control, and communication systems at power grids.
This paper introduces a blockchain-based P2P energy trading platform, where prosumers can trade energy autonomously with no central authority interference. Multiple prosumers can collaborate in producing energy to form a single provider. Clients’ power consumption is monitored using a smart meter that interfaces with an IoT node connected to a blockchain private network. The smart contracts, invoked on the blockchain, enable the autonomous trading interactions between parties and govern accounts behavior within the Ethereum state. The decentralized P2P trading platform utilizes autonomous pay-per-use billing and energy routing, monitored by a smart contract. A Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) deep learning-based model, predicts future consumption based on past data aggregated to the blockchain. Predictions are then used to set Time of Use (ToU) ranges using the K-mean clustering. The data used to train the GRU model are shared between all parties within the network, making the predictions transparent and verifiable. Implementing the K-mean clustering in a smart contract on the blockchain allows the set of ToU to be independent and incontestable. To secure the validity of the data uploaded to the blockchain, a consensus algorithm is suggested to detect fraudulent nodes along with a Proof of Location (PoL), ensuring that the data are uploaded from the expected nodes. The paper explains the proposed platform architecture, functioning as well as implementation in vivid details. Results are presented in terms of smart contract gas consumption and transaction latency under different loads.
Dhanya Therese Jose, Jørgen Holme, Antorweep Chakravorty, Chunming Rong
The demand for electricity is increasing exponentially day by day, especially with the arrival of electric vehicles. In the smart community neighborhood project, electricity should be produced at the household or community level and sold or bought according to the demands. Since the actors can produce, sell, and buy according to the demands, thus the name prosumers. ICT solutions can contribute to this in several ways, such as machine learning for analyzing the household data for customer demand and peak hours for the usage of electricity, blockchain as a trustworthy platform for selling or buying, data hub, and ensuring data security and privacy of prosumers. TOTEM: Token for controlled computation is a framework that allows users to analyze the data without moving the data from the data owner's environment. It also ensures the data security and privacy of the data. Here, in this article, we will show the importance of the TOTEM architecture in the EnergiX project and how the extended version of TOTEM can be efficiently merged with the demands of the current and similar projects.
Although the traditional P2P botnet has significant resilience against termination, its dependence on neighbor lists (NL) has left it vulnerable to infiltration and destruction. In addition, it is not sufficient in protecting the botmaster’s identity. To overcome these weaknesses, we proposed BlockchainBot, a botnet model that leveraged IoT devices as maintainers, and integrated blockchain, also known as distributed ledger technology (DLT). The BlockchainBot was able to fully deploy bots on public blockchains. It was versatile for multiple botnet applications and eliminated the dependence on NL. In addition, we further introduced a novel method, the forking of a channel, to kick out spy nodes that infiltrate a botnet. To further enforce the resistance against a single point of failure (SPoF), we introduced bot-cluster dispersing to prevent clustering around full nodes and more evenly scatter bots to prevent hostile takeovers. The analysis of the security of BlockchainBot indicated that it had strong resilience against DDoS attacks, Sybil attacks, and forensic investigations. Furthermore, the security of the forking of the channel and bot-cluster dispersing were also shown to be effective. The robustness of the BlockchainBot against the Sybil attack was also briefly discussed. Experimental results authenticated the effectiveness and performance of the BlockchainBot, as compared to previous models.
We present a prototype of a decentralized power trading system based on the use of distributed ledger technology. This sort of efficient, decentralized marketplace is needed to empower prosumers and make them first-class members of a smart, decentralized power grid in order to drive further renewable energy adoption. Unlike the bulk of previous work in this field, we focus on private permissioned distributed ledgers rather than conventional blockchains. The proposed solution is entirely independent of cryptocurrency, with an explicit design capability of being adapted piecemeal without any fundamental changes to the present regulatory environment. To be economical, efficient, and scalable, our prototype is based on a lean, Corda-based private permissioned distributed ledger. It allows for instant, automatic bidding on and trading of ‘power promises’ and the robust implementation of short-term, small-scale liquid electrical power futures. We demonstrate that the prototype performs well and presents several clear advantages over existing solutions based on conventional blockchains. Therefore, the proposed approach represents a promising, robust solution to the smart grid decentralized power trading problem.
Mohammed Amin Almaiah, Aitizaz Ali, Fahima Hajjej, Muhammad Fermi Pasha · 5 authors
The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is gaining importance as most technologies and applications are integrated with the IIoT. Moreover, it consists of several tiny sensors to sense the environment and gather the information. These devices continuously monitor, collect, exchange, analyze, and transfer the captured data to nearby devices or servers using an open channel, i.e., internet. However, such centralized system based on IIoT provides more vulnerabilities to security and privacy in IIoT networks. In order to resolve these issues, we present a blockchain-based deep-learning framework that provides two levels of security and privacy. First a blockchain scheme is designed where each participating entities are registered, verified, and thereafter validated using smart contract based enhanced Proof of Work, to achieve the target of security and privacy. Second, a deep-learning scheme with a Variational AutoEncoder (VAE) technique for privacy and Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (BiLSTM) for intrusion detection is designed. The experimental results are based on the IoT-Botnet and ToN-IoT datasets that are publicly available. The proposed simulations results are compared with the benchmark models and it is validated that the proposed framework outperforms the existing system.
Energy systems are transitioning towards a decentralized and decarbonized paradigm with the integration of distributed renewable energy sources. Blockchain smart contracts have the increasing potential to facilitate the transition of energy systems due to the natures of automation, standardization, and selfenforcement. This paper proposes a Blockchain smart contracts based platform to manage the grid connection for both large scale generation companies and individual prosumers (both producers and consumers). Through evaluating the capacity margin and carbon intensity for each substation or feeder in power networks, the incurred connection fee and low carbon incentive are formulated for incentivizing the local energy balance and connection of renewable energy sources. Case studies testify the effectiveness for encouraging the low carbon grid connection.
In the last few years, electric utility companies have increasingly invested into transactive energy systems. This trend was primarily caused by the integration of distributed energy resources (DERs) and internet-of-things (IoT) devices into their existing distribution networks. Influenced by the general interest in blockchain technologies, many industry specialists are considering new, more efficient peer-to-peer market structures for DERs. Since blockchain-based energy exchanges can automate transactions between their members and provide increased levels of security thanks to smart contracts, these new initiatives may eventually revolutionize how customers interact with utility companies. In this paper, we explore the trade-off between cost and traceability in the form of on-chain and off-chain solutions. We also propose ZipZap, a first step towards a blockchain-based local smart grid system. ZipZap is an ERC-1155 compliant solution with four different prototypes: Heavyweight, Featherweight, Lightweight and Weightless. The first three prototypes were developed in Solidity and deployed using Ethereum. Heavyweight is fully on-chain, whereas Featherweight and Lightweight showcase various levels of hybridization. Weightless, in turn, was deployed using Quorum, a gas-free alternative to Ethereum. Our evaluation uses realistic parameters and measures the impact of different types of metadata storage scopes, with some Ethereum prototypes showcasing gas cost reductions of more than 97% in comparison to our fully on-chain baseline.
In future power systems with the characteristics of high-elastic, demand response (DR) is considered to be an essential way for improving system stability and awakening demand-side resources. However, all the DR programs in China are implemented in a centralized model, which is easier for supervision, but hard to deal with the challenges of data credibility, privacy protection, transaction efficiency, and so on. Therefore, a novel blockchain-based framework for the DR program is proposed to deal with the problems. On this basis, the bidding transaction process based on the repeated verification mechanism is designed, and the effectiveness of blockchain in DR is analyzed. Then, the smart contract functions involved in DR bidding transactions and subsidy settlement are customized. The feasibility of the DR bidding mechanism is illustrated by the simulation results on the platform of Remix IDE.
As we all know, the behavior of stealing electric energy governance is always the difficulty and key point in the management of electric power enterprises. In recent years, as bitcoin’s value continued to climb, the theft of electricity by bitcoin mining user began to appear. In order to solve the power theft problem of bitcoin mining users, we conducted an in-depth study on the power consumption behavior of such users based on the power data analysis technology. This paper analyzes the power consumption characteristics of bitcoin mining users and uses electric data acquire system to monitor power consumption behavior. The paper makes comparative analysis on the massive data such as voltage and power of the electric energy acquisition system, analyzes and calculates the Pearson correlation coefficient between the electricity consumption of each customer and the line loss statistics of the power station by using Pearson correlation algorithm combined with the power loss of the power station, and analyzes the suspected users of stealing electric energy by taking an actual example. Through our research, we found a total of 16 bitcoin miners suspected of stealing electricity. After on-site investigation and evidence collection, we found that 10 of the users did have abnormal power consumption, and the accuracy rate reached 62.50%. Therefore, the economic benefits of this research are very significant.
Tuukka Mustapää, H. Tunkkari, Jaan Taponen, L. Immonen · 8 authors
Digitalization and the rapid development of IoT systems has posed challenges for metrology because it has been comparatively slow in adapting to the new demands. That is why the digital transformation of metrology has become a key research and development topic all over the world including the development of machine-readable formats for digital SI (D-SI) and digital calibration certificates (DCCs). In this paper, we present a method for using these digital formats for metrological data to enhance the trustworthiness of data and propose how to use digital signatures and distributed ledger technology (DLT) alongside DCCs and D-SI to ensure integrity, authenticity, and non-repudiation of measurement data and DCCs. The implementation of these technologies in industrial applications is demonstrated with a use case of data exchange in a smart overhead crane. The presented system was tested and validated in providing security against data tampering attacks.
Open access
Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) and Hardware Security
Given the ongoing transition towards a more decentralised and adaptive energy system, the potential of blockchain-enabled smart contracts for the energy sector is being increasingly recognised. Due to their self-executing, customisable and tamper-proof nature, they are seen as a key technology for enabling the transition to a more efficient, transparent and transactive energy market. The applications of smart contracts include coordination of smart electric vehicle charging, automated demand-side response, peer-to-peer energy trading and allocation of the control duties amongst the network operators. Nevertheless, their use in the energy sector is still in its early stages as there are many open challenges related to security, privacy, scalability and billing. In this paper, we systematically review 178 peer-reviewed publications and 13 innovation projects, providing a thorough analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of smart contracts used in the energy sector. This work offers a broad perspective on the opportunities and challenges that stakeholders using this technology face, in both current and emergent markets, such as peer-to-peer energy trading platforms. To provide a roadmap for researchers and practitioners interested in the technology, we propose a systematic model of the smart contracting process, by developing a novel 6-layer architecture, as well as presenting a sample energy contract in pseudocode form and as open-source code. Our analysis focuses on the two mainstream application areas we identify for smart contract use in this area: energy and flexibility trading, and distributed control. The paper concludes with a comprehensive, critical discussion of the advantages and challenges that must be addressed in the area of smart contracts and blockchains in energy, and a set of recommendations that researchers and developers should consider when applying smart contracts to energy system settings.
Interoperable and secure data management techniques are fundamental for most of large-scale Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems. Indeed, given the relevance of SHM critical measurements, data integrity must be protected against tampering or falsifications. In this paper, we propose a four-layer SHM architecture that allows to build an effective data pipeline from sensors to consumer applications, passing through the cloud. The architecture is built on top of the MODRON platform and exploits the recent advances of the W3C Web of Things (WoT) standard for interoperability. We then discuss how third-party services can take benefit of the W3C WoT architecture to retrieve the SHM critical data and to publish them on the Ethereum Blockchain through an SHM-specific Smart Contract, for data protection and traceability purposes. We test the effectiveness of the Smart Contract implementation in terms of latency and costs under simulated workloads.
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks is always one of the major problems for service providers. Using blockchain to detect DDoS attacks is one of the current popular methods. However, the problems of high time overhead and cost exist in the most of the blockchain methods for detecting DDoS attacks. This paper proposes a blockchain-based collaborative detection method for DDoS attacks. First, the trained DDoS attack detection model is encrypted by the Intel Software Guard Extensions (SGX), which provides high security for uploading the DDoS attack detection model to the blockchain. Secondly, the service provider uploads the encrypted model to Inter Planetary File System (IPFS) and then a corresponding Content-ID (CID) is generated by IPFS which greatly saves the cost of uploading encrypted models to the blockchain. In addition, due to the small amount of model data, the time cost of uploading the DDoS attack detection model is greatly reduced. Finally, through the blockchain and smart contracts, the CID is distributed to other service providers, who can use the CID to download the corresponding DDoS attack detection model from IPFS. Blockchain provides a decentralized, trusted and tamper-proof environment for service providers. Besides, smart contracts and IPFS greatly improve the distribution efficiency of the model, while the distribution of CID greatly improves the efficiency of the transmission on the blockchain. In this way, the purpose of collaborative detection can be achieved, and the time cost of transmission on blockchain and IPFS can be considerably saved. We designed a blockchain-based DDoS attack collaborative detection framework to improve the data transmission efficiency on the blockchain, and use IPFS to greatly reduce the cost of the distribution model. In the experiment, compared with most blockchain-based method for DDoS attack detection, the proposed model using blockchain distribution shows the advantages of low cost and latency. The remote authentication mechanism of Intel SGX provides high security and integrity, and ensures the availability of distributed models.
Raifa Akkaoui, Alexandru Ştefanov, Peter Pálenský, Dick Epema
The concept of the internet of energy (IoE) emerged as an innovative paradigm to encompass all the complex and intertwined notions relevant to the transition of current smart grids towards more decarbonization, digitalization and decentralization. With a focus on the two last aspects, the amount of intelligent devices being connected in a scattered way to the existing power grid is ever-growing. Nevertheless, guaranteeing a cyber-secure and resilient control of these IoE components as well as a seamless and reliable delivery of electricity services, such as renewable energy exchange, electric vehicles charging, demand response, and so forth; might be the bottleneck of current power systems that are largely still functioning following a centralized approach. Thus, the future power grid would gradually incorporate a growing number of distributed-based control schemes to deal with this challenge. And many believe that blockchain could be a key-enabler in this transition, due to its consistent characteristics with multiple requirements of future power systems. In this paper, we provide an extensive state-of-the-art of blockchain-based additions to the IoE. Where, we first introduce various concepts related to blockchain and discuss the rationale behind its adoption in the context of IoE. Then, differently from the existing body of literature surveys, we do not only provide a taxonomy and evaluate a wide range of recent research outputs that integrated blockchain within modern power systems. But we also draw some valuable lessons learned for each studied category and discuss the intersection of blockchain with various emerging paradigms that have the potential of radically impacting the smart grid. In addition, we present some real-world industrial initiatives and ongoing projects built on top of blockchain, dedicated for offering diverse electricity services with a case study of a pilot project on energy trading in Amsterdam. Finally, we discuss the remaining challenges and worthwhile opportunities of deploying blockchain in this particular area, with a focus on the aspect of operational cyber-security.
Peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading is emerging as an increasingly popular approach because prosumers are allowed to trade their energy directly without intermediaries. This decentralised trading structure could be matched with the blockchain function to provide a more robust cyber-physical system as the blockchain is able to ensure the integrity of the transaction data and the privacy of prosumers. Since the consensus protocol of the blockchain determines its usage, a proper blockchain type and an effective pricing scheme design are required to safeguard the energy trading and improve the social welfare of the microgrid. In addition, a stable power delivery system is significant as it supports the energy trading. Therefore, the control system of the microgrid should also be safeguarded against any cyber attacks such as false data injection (FDI). The cryptographic mechanism and distributed ledger recording function enable the blockchain to provide a comprehensive protection for both P2P energy trading and control system. With the support of the smart contracts, designing a proper pricing scheme for energy trading and ensuring the security of the distributed secondary control for the frequency of the microgrid is a challenging task.
The advent of blockchain technology allows the raise of new business models for the electricity market, opening the way also to end-users and letting them offer regulation services to the power grid. Thanks to the characteristic of being distributed, the blockchain technology could be a solution to balancing problems caused by the penetration of renewable sources, implementing a platform for Demand-Response programs delivery. Demand-Response allows consumers to respond to market signals by increasing or reducing their energy consumption, contributing to greater flexibility and stability of the grid and to a more efficient use of infrastructures and energy resources. Currently, Demand-Response is carried out by controlling aggregates of loads, storage or generating units managed by centralized Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition systems such as SCADA. Regulatory changes and the increasing penetration of renewable sources distributed over the territory are turning the whole electricity system into a smart-grid. More recently and with reference to the end-users participation in regulation services, smartness is achieved through the so-called Internet of Things, which can be considered the modern equivalent of SCADA, but with the possibility of to being applied to distributed and diversified assets. For this reason, great efforts have been made to study the interoperability and coexistence between Internet of Things and blockchain, two emerging paradigms that are gaining popularity in the energy world. Limited or no contribution can instead be found in the literature on the integration of SCADA systems and blockchain. Indeed, in order to ensure an easier and faster widespread application of blockchain in the context of power systems, it is interesting to study its possible coexistence with legacy and more established industrial technologies such as OpenADR or SCADA. In Europe, the prevailing technology is the latter one. For this reason, in this paper, the coexistence of blockchain technology with SCADA systems is discussed. In particular, both Hyperledger Fabric blockchain and SCADA systems are considered together to assess the feasibility of aggregation of energy resources for Demand-Response, as well as the relevant measured data. The analysis is carried out by first presenting the two different paradigms: the centralized data acquisition in trusted environments and analysis via OpenADR and SCADA, and the global, distributed and secured ones with the blockchain. Then an architecture for the integration of SCADA and blockchain technology is proposed and the related challenges within the frame of a project for innovative technologies DR programs implementation are outlined.
D. Ramı́rez, Javier Andres Muñoz Romero, Carlos Alberto Vanegas
Objective: This article presents one of the Blockchain applications in power systems employing the electrical variables monitoring delivered by a simulated relay.
 Methodology: The electrical variables are verified, compared, and uploaded to a blockchain network created by a network of servers; these are responsible for uploading, validating, and exporting information to the system. This study is carried out through the Python programming language.
 Results: An algorithm capable of integrating these variables from a simulated relay is created, 4 servers are created that are in charge of taking the relay signals every minute, validating that they are unique in the blockchain and uploading them, the first node that completes this task uploads its identification and the information of the relay, the processing times of the information once obtained are approximately 10 seconds
 Conclusions: It is concluded that the algorithm is capable of decentralizing the information collected by the servers in times equal to or greater than one minute, which can be very useful when saving information, in applications such as control by the network operator it falls short by having times greater than or equal to one minute, it should be taken into account that, for the development of a blockchain with a greater number of equipment, it is advisable to use machines with high levels of processing, much higher RAM memories, these characteristics allow the algorithm to run smoothly and in the shortest possible time.
 Financing: Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas