Course Introduction : 

This advanced two-week training program is designed to bridge the gap between metrological software security and power quality engineering in modern smart grids. As utilities increasingly rely on digital architectures, smart meters face two critical vulnerabilities: software tampering and high-frequency network noise. This course provides energy regulators, engineers, and quality assurance professionals with the technical skills required to evaluate smart meter firmware compliance using international frameworks like the WELMEC guidelines. Additionally, participants will dive deep into the phenomenon of Supraharmonic Distortion (2 kHz to 150 kHz), analyzing its root causes (EV chargers, solar inverters), measuring its impact on metrological Integrated Circuits (ICs), and executing advanced laboratory testing to ensure billing stability in electronically polluted grid environments.

General Objectives

• Establish Advanced Regulatory Frameworks
• Master Power Quality Engineering
• Secure Metering Infrastructure
• Standardize Laboratory TestingOptimize Procurement & Compliance

Course Outline : 

Week 1: Software Architecture & Metrological Conformity Assessment

Day 1: International Legal Metrology Frameworks & WELMEC Guide 7.2

• Introduction to legal metrology rules for software-controlled instruments.
• Analysis of WELMEC Guide 7.2 requirements for Type P (Embedded Systems).
• Classification of software-relevant parts, parameters, and risk classes (L, T, S, I).
• Evaluating regulatory compliance checklists for utility-scale smart meter deployment.

Day 2: Smart Meter Software Architecture & Separation of Parts

• Technical blueprints for isolating metrological core software from communication modules.
• Designing secure Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for data separation.
• Memory partitioning techniques to prevent cellular/RF stacks from disrupting registers.
• Reviewing source code architecture for international type-approval compliance.

Day 3: Firmware Integrity Verification & Cryptographic Protection

• Implementing Secure Boot architectures and hardware roots of trust (TPM chips).
• Applying cryptographic hash functions ($SHA-256$, $SHA-3$) for firmware validation.
• Deploying asymmetric cryptography (RSA/ECC) for secure digital signatures.
• Preventing unauthorized firmware modifications during storage and operation.

Day 4: Laboratory Hands-on: Vulnerability Scanning & Data Injection Simulation

• Executing static and dynamic application security testing (SAST/DAST) on smart meters.
• Simulating False Data Injection (FDI) attacks on internal energy registers.
• Testing hardware resistance against buffer overflows and memory manipulation.
• Auditing and masking physical debugging interfaces (JTAG/UART ports).

Day 5: Secure Over-The-Air (OTA) Updates & Re-Certification Protocols

• Engineering end-to-end secure OTA update delivery systems.
• Implementing anti-rollback mechanisms to block software downgrade attacks.
• Legal metrology rules: identifying updates that require full instrument re-verification.
• Configuring automated, non-erasable software event logs for regulatory inspectors.

Week 2: Supraharmonic Emissions & Power Quality Analysis

Day 6: Physics of the 2 kHz – 150 kHz Band & Grid Emission Sources

• Mapping the electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) gap between harmonics and radio frequencies.
• Identifying grid polluters: high-frequency switching in EV chargers and solar inverters.
• Analyzing the interaction of Switch-Mode Power Supplies (SMPS) with network impedance.
• Studying how supraharmonic frequencies propagate and compound within local grids.

Day 7: Metrological IC Degradation & Measurement Error Analysis

• Evaluating high-frequency noise effects on Current Transformers (CTs) and Rogowski coils.
• Mathematical modeling of aliasing errors induced in high-speed Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADCs).
• Analyzing how supraharmonic noise triggers thermal stress and calculation drift in metering ICs.
• Quantifying financial risks caused by measurement deviations in distorted networks.

Day 8: Laboratory Hands-on: Advanced Power Quality Measurement & Logging

• Operating high-bandwidth Power Quality Analyzers (PQAs) sampling up to $1 ext{ MS/s}$.
• Applying Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) and Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFT) windows.
• Capturing, isolating, and logging transient supraharmonic bursts on a live test-bed.
• Analyzing spectral data to identify specific polluting devices connected to the network.

Day 9: Laboratory Calibration Under Synthetically Distorted Conditions

• Programming multi-phase phantom load power sources to inject synthetic noise profiles.
• Executing standardized immunity tests according to IEC 61000-4-19 frameworks.
• Plotting meter accuracy deviation curves under varying high-frequency pollution levels.
• Evaluating filtering technologies designed to protect smart meters from network noise.

Day 10: Executive Roundtable: Technical Procurement Criteria & Reporting

• Establishing standardized pass/fail thresholds for utility procurement specifications.
• Aligning utility guidelines with international standards (IEC 62052-11 and EN 50380).
• Designing legally defensible metrological test report templates for government regulators.
• Developing final technical compliance roadmaps for deployment in African smart grids.