Reference number : GC-2017-Q4-01310, amendment number : , agreement type : G, recipient legal name : Mouhoub, Malek (University of Regina), recipient country : CA, recipient province : nan, recipient city : Saskatchewan, recipient postal code : nan, program name english : Engage Grants for universities, program name french : Subventions d'engagement partenarial pour les universités, program purpose english : SaskPower is the principal electric utility in Saskatchewan. The company has been recently active in the_x000D_
research and development of innovative software solutions to optimize the management and planning of public_x000D_
power systems including generation and transmission. In this regard, there are opportunities for improvement_x000D_
as well as identified difficulties in the power utilities market that could be addressed with the Blockchain_x000D_
technology. One of these opportunities is a unified way to get the dynamic rates for the bigger consumers with_x000D_
the transparency of a trustable information of their meters along with the automated contracts (Smart Business_x000D_
Rates). These rates correspond to the previous agreement with the client for the average monthly power_x000D_
consumption with a fixed rate (normally for industries), satisfying a set of constraints. Given the use of_x000D_
different systems and the change of rates for each client, a manual process is needed since there is a different_x000D_
rule for each client. Constraints include the client agreement as well as the average of the last months and the_x000D_
rules for extra fees and new rates. While this problem has been extensively studied in the literature, most of the_x000D_
works use an approach that integrates the system and creates web views for the clients. This is not however_x000D_
practical as there are issues regarding trustable data from meters to the client as well as different business rules_x000D_
for each client. We propose a solution based on smart technology. In order to address the challenges of_x000D_
transparency and dynamic business rules inside of a system, we will adopt the use of Blockchain. The_x000D_
information will be provided by smart meters that will send the updates directly to the Blockchain. With the_x000D_
smart contract technology, we will be able to adjust the business rules according to each customer (including_x000D_
dynamic changes of fees and contract execution). With a trustable data, we can in the system both the_x000D_
Regulator Body (from the government) and the financial institutions (to automate the bills payments and get_x000D_
notifications regarding large incomes). This new approach will reduce time and resources, saves money to_x000D_
SaskPower and increase the client's satisfaction., program purpose french : SaskPower is the principal electric utility in Saskatchewan. The company has been recently active in the_x000D_
research and development of innovative software solutions to optimize the management and planning of public_x000D_
power systems including generation and transmission. In this regard, there are opportunities for improvement_x000D_
as well as identified difficulties in the power utilities market that could be addressed with the Blockchain_x000D_
technology. One of these opportunities is a unified way to get the dynamic rates for the bigger consumers with_x000D_
the transparency of a trustable information of their meters along with the automated contracts (Smart Business_x000D_
Rates). These rates correspond to the previous agreement with the client for the average monthly power_x000D_
consumption with a fixed rate (normally for industries), satisfying a set of constraints. Given the use of_x000D_
different systems and the change of rates for each client, a manual process is needed since there is a different_x000D_
rule for each client. Constraints include the client agreement as well as the average of the last months and the_x000D_
rules for extra fees and new rates. While this problem has been extensively studied in the literature, most of the_x000D_
works use an approach that integrates the system and creates web views for the clients. This is not however_x000D_
practical as there are issues regarding trustable data from meters to the client as well as different business rules_x000D_
for each client. We propose a solution based on smart technology. In order to address the challenges of_x000D_
transparency and dynamic business rules inside of a system, we will adopt the use of Blockchain. The_x000D_
information will be provided by smart meters that will send the updates directly to the Blockchain. With the_x000D_
smart contract technology, we will be able to adjust the business rules according to each customer (including_x000D_
dynamic changes of fees and contract execution). With a trustable data, we can in the system both the_x000D_
Regulator Body (from the government) and the financial institutions (to automate the bills payments and get_x000D_
notifications regarding large incomes). This new approach will reduce time and resources, saves money to_x000D_
SaskPower and increase the client's satisfaction., agreement title english : Blockchain Technology for Electric Utility Consumption, agreement title french : Blockchain Technology for Electric Utility Consumption, agreement number : EGP, agreement value : 25000.0, agreement start date : 2018-03-22, agreement end date : nan, description english : nan, description french : nan, expected results english : nan, expected results french : nan, additional information english : Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year (2017-2018 to 2018-2019)., additional information french : Subvention ou bourse octroyée s'appliquant à plus d'un exercice financier (2017-2018 à 2018-2019)., owner organization : nserc-crsng, owner organization title : Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada | Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada