Using ID-Based Authentication and Key Agreement Mechanism for Securing Communication in Advanced Metering Infrastructure

Smart metering technology plays a key role in Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) in Smart Grid (SG). Smart Meters (SM) measure Power Consumption Data (PCD) of household devices and send it to DSO (Distributed System Operator) for further processing. DSO utilizes PCD for different applications such as monthly billing, demand response and other applications related to power system operation and energy markets. Secure communication between SM and DSO is of paramount importance. Certificate-based authentication is a de facto mechanism in ensuring legitimacy of communicating parties. But it incurs more computational delay as it involves intensive processes such as certificate management, revocation, and verification. ID-based authentication eliminates the risks associated with certificate management. A key agreement protocol based on ID-based authentication mechanism is proposed and analyzed for computational performance. This paper analyzes and evaluates both authentication mechanisms: certificate and ID-based mechanism based on computational times for suitability in AMI network. The experimental results show that ID-based authentication and key agreement mechanism are suitable for securing communication in AMI network.