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This paper investigates the problem of placement of data aggregation points (DAPs) in advanced metering infrastructures (AMIs). The specific constraints are that DAPs are to be located on utility poles and that communication is done over wireless links. While the resulting optimization problem is an integer program, we propose to adapt the K-means algorithm to obtain an efficient and less-complex method to solve the DAP placement problem. Simulations of the developed optimization method illustrate the effects of smart-meter density and communication range on the selection of DAP locations.

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In an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), data acquisition points (DAPs) are responsible for collecting traffic from several smart meters and automated devices and transmitting them to the utility control center. Although the problem of optimized data collector placement has already been addressed for wireless broadband and sensor networks, DAP placement is quite a new research area for AMIs. In this paper, we investigate the minimum required number of DAPs and their optimized locations on top of the existing utility poles in a distribution grid such that smart grid quality of service requirements can best be provided. In order to solve the problem for large-scale AMIs, we devise a novel heuristic algorithm using a greedy approach for identifying potential pole locations for DAP placement and the Dijkstra's shortest path algorithm for constructing reliable routes. We employ the characteristics of medium access schemes from the IEEE 802.15.4g smart utility network (SUN) standard, and consider mission-critical and non-critical smart grid traffic. The performance and time-complexity of our algorithm are compared with those obtained by the IBM CPLEX software for small scenarios. Finally, we apply our devised DAP placement algorithm to examples of realistic smart grid AMI topologies. This work has been submitted to the IEEE for possible publication. Copyright may be transferred without notice, after which this version may no longer be accessible 1 I. INTRODUCTION As part of the broader concept of smart grids, advanced metering infrastructures (AMIs) are being massively deployed almost everywhere in the world. AMIs are responsible for reading the energy consumption from thousands of smart meters (SMs) [1]-[4], monitor the last-mile automated devices for reporting emergency events [3], [4] such as electricity blackout and also unauthorized access to the power system [5]. In an AMI, due to the large number of devices and their distances, data collectors are installed to collect traffic from several endpoints and transmit them to the utility control center on their behalf.The placement of collector nodes, which are known as data acquisition points (DAPs) [4], [6] or aggregators [7], [8] in smart grid communication networks (SGCNs) and as relay station [9], gateway [10] or sink [11], [12] in broadband wireless access networks and sensor networks, respectively, has previously been investigated [13]- [16]. However, there is a combination of features and requirements in AMI that render the problem sufficiently different from the data collector placement in other types of networks so that a new problem formulation and solution for network planning are needed. For example, in sensor networks, the collector nodes can be placed on selected endpoint nodes [10] or in arbitrary locations [13]. Different from this, in a distribution grid with overhead powerlines, the utility poles are ideal locations for DAP placement [4], since this extends network coverage and also eliminates the cost of new tower installations. Moreover, since...