Automatic discovery of electrical supply network topology and phase

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a headend system, descriptors from a plurality of utility devices connected to a resource distribution system, the descriptors being generated at the respective utility devices by processing sensor data obtained at the respective utility devices;

determining that the descriptors contain synchronizing events;

adjusting timing of other events in the descriptors using a time of occurrence of the synchronizing events as a reference time;

determining, based on the synchronizing events, time offsets for one or more of the plurality of utility devices;

transmitting instructions to the one or more of the plurality of utility devices to correct clocks according to the respective time offsets;

determining a mode of the plurality of utilize devices;

in response to determining that the mode of the plurality of utility devices is a regular mode,

grouping, by the headend system, the plurality of utility devices to generate a current grouping by applying clustering algorithms to the descriptors of the plurality of utility devices, and

assigning, by the headend system, at least one of a segment identifier or a phase identifier to one or more of the plurality of utility devices based, at least in part, upon the current grouping;

in response to determining that the mode of the plurality of utility devices is a fast mode, wherein in the fast mode, the segment identifier or the phase identifier is assigned to a utility device in a shorter time period than the regular mode,

grouping the plurality of utility devices by correlating the descriptors;

generating assignment information by assigning at least one of a segment identifier or a phase identifier to an unknown utility device among the plurality of utility devices based on the grouping; and

sending the assignment information to the unknown utility device.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising sending instructions to the plurality of utility devices to exit the fast mode.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

comparing the current grouping with past groupings to determine a confidence level of the grouping; and

determining whether the confidence level exceeds a threshold confidence value, wherein assigning the at least one of a segment identifier or a phase identifier is performed in response to determining that the confidence level exceeds the threshold confidence value.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein comparing the current grouping with past groupings to determine a confidence level of the grouping comprises assigning a high confidence level in response to determining that a set of utility devices are grouped together in the current grouping and the past groupings; and assigning a low confidence level in response to determining that a set of utility devices are grouped differently in the current grouping than the past groupings.

5. The method of claim 3 , further comprising: in response to determining that the confidence level does not exceed the threshold confidence value, generating and sending a new descriptor configuration to one or more of the plurality of utility devices.

6. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having program code that is executable by a processor device to cause a computing device to perform operations, the operations comprising:

assessing descriptors generated by a plurality of utility devices connected to a resource distribution system, the descriptors being generated at the respective utility devices by processing sensor data obtained at the respective utility devices;

determining that the descriptors contain synchronizing events;

adjusting timing of other events in the descriptors using a time of occurrence of the synchronizing events as a reference time;

determining, based on the synchronizing events, time offsets for one or more of the plurality of utility devices;

transmitting instructions to the one or more of the plurality of utility devices to correct clocks according to the respective time offsets;

determining a mode of the plurality of utilize devices;

in response to determining that the mode of the plurality of utility devices is a regular mode,

grouping the plurality of utility devices to generate a current grouping by applying clustering algorithms to the descriptors of the plurality of utility devices, and

assigning at least one of a segment identifier or a phase identifier to one or more of the plurality of utility devices based, at least in part, upon the current grouping;

in response to determining that the mode of the plurality of utility devices is a fast mode, wherein in the fast mode, the segment identifier or the phase identifier is assigned to a utility device in a shorter time period than the regular mode,

grouping the plurality of utility devices by correlating the descriptors;

generating assignment information by assigning at least one of a segment identifier or a phase identifier to an unknown utility device among the plurality of utility devices; and

sending the assignment information to the unknown utility device.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 6 , wherein the operations further comprise:

comparing the current grouping with past groupings to determine a confidence level of the grouping; and

determining whether the confidence level exceeds a threshold confidence value, wherein assigning the at least one of a segment identifier or a phase identifier is performed in response to determining that the confidence level exceeds the threshold confidence value.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 7 , wherein comparing the current grouping with past groupings to determine a confidence level of the grouping comprises assigning a high confidence level in response to determining that a set of utility devices are grouped together in the current grouping and the past groupings; and assigning a low confidence level in response to determining that a set of utility devices are grouped differently in the current grouping than the past groupings.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 7 , wherein the operations further comprise:

in response to determining that the confidence level does not exceed the threshold confidence value, generating and sending a new descriptor configuration to one or more of the plurality of utility devices.

10. A headend system, comprising:

a processing device; and

a memory device in which instructions executable by the processing device are stored for causing the processing device to perform operations comprising:

accessing descriptors from a plurality of utility devices connected to an electrical power distribution system and communicatively connected to the headend system;

determining that the descriptors contain synchronizing events; and

adjusting timing of other events in the descriptors using a time of occurrence of the synchronizing events as a reference time;

determining, based on the synchronizing events, time offsets for one or more of the plurality of utility devices;

transmitting instructions to the one or more of the plurality of utility devices to correct clocks according to the respective time offsets;

determining whether the plurality of utility devices operate in a fast mode or a regular mode, wherein in the fast mode, a segment identifier or a phase identifier is assigned to a utility device among the plurality of utility devices in a shorter time period than the regular mode;

responsive to determining that the plurality of utility devices operate in the regular mode,

grouping the plurality of utility devices to generate a current grouping by applying clustering algorithms to the descriptors of the plurality of utility devices; and

assigning at least one of a segment identifier or a phase identifier to one or more of the plurality of utility devices based, at least in part, upon the current grouping; and

responsive to determining that the plurality of utility devices operate in the fast mode,

grouping the plurality of utility devices by correlating the descriptors; and

generating assignment information by assigning at least one of a segment identifier or a phase identifier to an unknown utility device among the plurality of utility devices based, at least in part, upon the correlating.

11. The headend system of claim 10 , wherein the operations further comprise sending instructions to the plurality of utility devices to exit the fast mode.

12. The headend system of claim 10 , wherein the operations further comprise:

comparing the current grouping with past groupings to determine a confidence level of the grouping; and

determining whether the confidence level exceeds a threshold confidence value, wherein assigning the at least one of a segment identifier or a phase identifier is performed in response to determining that the confidence level exceeds the threshold confidence value.

13. The headend system of claim 12 , wherein comparing the current grouping with past groupings to determine a confidence level of the grouping comprises assigning a high confidence level in response to determining that a set of utility devices are grouped together in the current grouping and the past groupings; and assigning a low confidence level in response to determining that a set of utility devices are grouped differently in the current grouping than the past groupings.

14. The headend system of claim 12 , wherein the operations further comprise:

in response to determining that the confidence level does not exceed the threshold confidence value, generating and sending a new descriptor configuration to one or more of the plurality of utility devices.