Reference architecture for open, maintainable and secure software for the operation of energy networks

Regulatory effects, business pressure, and the transformation to smart grids foster the need for up-to-date software systems to manage and operate the grid operators' electric power grids. The complexity of these systems has grown over decades. This makes enhancements and development of new functionalities in existing systems cost intensive, vendor/system specific and often prevents meeting time to market and quality requirements. Public interfaces and open data formats allow the development of enhancements and new functionality as reusable modules by third parties, thus enabling the integration of best-of-breed systems in the system landscape at grid operators. A reduction of system complexity is a precondition to develop such reusable modules while meeting time to market and quality requirements in critical infrastructure. This is accomplished by defining reference architecture with a common architecture framework, common processes, and quality standards.