With the view toward modernizing the nation's electric power system, the
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently released an updated roadmap for the Smart Grid.
The NIST Framework and Roadmap for Smart Grid Interoperability Standards, Release 2.0 lays out a vision for transforming the nation's electric power system into an interoperable Smart Grid - a nationwide network that integrates information and communication technologies, enabling two-way flows of energy and communications to deliver electricity efficiently, reliably, and securely.
| | Smart Grid Interoperability
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is playing a key role in the national push for a robust, reliable, and interoperable Smart Grid for the United States. ANSI is committed to support the implementation of the Interoperability Process Reference Manual (IPRM) - the recently released testing and certification framework for the North American electric power industry. Developed with input from ANSI, the framework lays out a plan to enhance the quality of secure and interoperable Smart Grid products and significantly reduce their installation cost in the Smart Grid. Learn more. ANSI will launch an accreditation program for product certification bodies that will certify products in accordance with the IPRM and also the scheme requirements defined by the Interoperability Testing and Certifications Authorities (ITCAs). | |
Version 2.0 of the framework incorporates feedback received during a public comment period, and reflects input from a wide range of stakeholder groups, including representatives from trade associations, standards organizations, and utilities and industries associated with the power grid.
According to NIST, hundreds of standards, ranging from those for wireless communication to home energy meters to electric cars, are needed to ensure that the many elements of the Smart Grid will work together seamlessly. Version 2.0 of the framework builds upon NIST's initial January 2010 report with an expanded list of standards, new cybersecurity guidance, and product-testing proposals to support an interoperable Smart Grid.
In total, Release 2.0 adds 22 standards, specifications, and guidelines to the initial 75 that NIST recommended in the January 2010 roadmap. Further additions to the 1.0 version include:
- a new chapter on the roles of the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP);
- an expanded view of the architecture of the Smart Grid;
- a number of developments related to ensuring cybersecurity for the Smart Grid, including a risk management framework to provide guidance on security practices;
- a new framework for testing the conformity of devices and systems to be connected to the Smart Grid - the Interoperability Process Reference Manual;
- information on the coordination of U.S. Smart Grid standards efforts with similar efforts in other parts of the world; and
- an overview of future areas of work, including electromagnetic disturbance and interference, and improvements to SGIP processes.
Read the full NIST Framework and Roadmap for Smart Grid Interoperability Standards, Release 2.0.
