NIST Director Patrick Gallagher announced the publication of the NIST Framework and Roadmap for Smart Grid Interoperability Standards, Release 1.0.
The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) set development of the smart grid as a national policy goal, and it assigned NIST the ‘primary responsibility to coordinate development of a framework that includes protocols and model standards for information management to achieve interoperability of Smart Grid devices and systems.’
By integrating digital computing and communication technologies and services with the power-delivery infrastructure, the smart grid will enable bidirectional flows of energy and two-way communication and control capabilities. Anticipated benefits range from real-time consumer control over energy usage to significantly increased reliance on solar and other sources of clean renewable energy to improve flexibility and efficiency of the entire grid.
A draft of the cyber security strategy, which will include responses to comments received and will incorporate new information prepared by the almost 300-member cyber security working group, will be issued in February. NIST intends to finalize the smart grid cyber security in late spring.
Under EISA, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is charged with instituting rulemaking proceedings, and once sufficient consensus is achieved, adopting the standards and protocols necessary to ensure smart grid functionality and interoperability in interstate transmission of electric power and in regional and wholesale electricity markets.
However, some of the standards listed in the NIST report are still under development and some others, such as those already used voluntarily by industry, may not warrant adoption by FERC or other regulators.
In November 2009, NIST launched a Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP) to assist NIST in carrying out its EISA-assigned responsibility, including working with regulatory bodies on evaluating and implementing standards in this and subsequent releases of the NIST interoperability framework.
