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Table 1 Comparison between traditional grid and SLES (Ford et al. 2021; Alotaibi et al. 2020)

From: Cybersecurity in smart local energy systems: requirements, challenges, and standards

Parameters

Existing grid

SLES

Generation

Centralised

Decentralised

Communication

None/one way

Two-way, real-time

Customer interaction

Limited

Extensive

Metering

Electro-mechanical meters

Digital meters

Operation

Manual equipment checks and maintenance

Remote monitoring, predictive, time-based maintenance

Maintenance

Network operated by centralised network operators

Local authorities actively manage the SLES operation

Power flow control

Limited

Comprehensive and automated

Reliability

Prone to failures and cascading outages

Automated, prevents outages before they start

Restoration following disturbance

Manual

Self-healing

System topology

Radial. Power flows one-way

Network. Power flows multiple paths

Distributed generation

Limited grid accessibility

Full and efficient grid accessibility