IEEE Smart Grid is an initiative launched by IEEE to help provide expertise and guidance for individuals and organizations involved in the modernization and optimization of the power grid, better known as the "smart grid". IEEE Smart Grid encompasses an array of activities, including development of new smart grid-related standards, best practices, publications, and conferences and educational opportunities.
History
IEEE's involvement in the emerging smart grid reaches back to its development of power and energy standards. In 2007, the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) was signed into law by President George W. Bush. EISA directed that under the auspices of the US Department of Energy (US DOE), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) be tasked with the development of a framework including protocols and model standards for information management to achieve interoperability of smart grid devices and systems. In Title XIII, Section 1305(a)(2) of EISA, IEEE was named as one of the Standard Setting Organizations (SSOs) whose work would be vital in the development of standards for NIST's Smart Grid Interoperability Framework.Updegrove, Andrew. Standards and the Smart Grid: The U.S. Experience, Standards Today, Vol VIII No 3, April - May, 2009. As part of the first phase of NIST's Smart Grid Interoperability Framework, 16 initial standards were offered for adoption, including three developed by IEEE: C37.118, IEEE 1547, and IEEE 1686-2007.
In May 2009, IEEE announced the launch of a new smart grid effort targeted to the power engineering, communications, and information technology disciplines. The first project in this effort, titled "The IEEE Standard 2030 Guide for Smart Grid Interoperability of Energy Technology and Information Technology Operation with the Electric Power System (EPS) and End-Use Applications and Loads" (IEEE 2030) established a knowledge framework for understanding and defining smart grid interoperability of the electric power system with end use applications, setting the stage for future smart grid-related standards.
In January 2010, IEEE launched the first phase of IEEE Smart Grid, a new global initiative designed to bring together the organization's broad array of resources to provide expertise and guidance for those involved in Smart Grid worldwide. Later that year, IEEE published inaugural editions of two new publications, cross-discipline archival journals entitled IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, and IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy.
Current work IEEE's approach to the smart grid is to view it as a large "System of Systems" wherein individual smart grid domains based on the NIST Smart Grid Conceptual Model are expanded into three layers: Power and Energy, Communications, and IT/Computer. IEEE considers the Communications and IT/Computer layers to be enabling infrastructure for the Power and Energy layer.
IEEE Smart Grid Portal As part of the first phase of IEEE Smart Grid, IEEE unveiled the IEEE Smart Grid Portal in January 2010. As originally designed, the site served as an online clearinghouse providing smart grid-focused news, information, commentary, videos, and event information for a broad audience including business and industry, academic, and government users, as well as consumers. The portal is also home to the initiative's monthly digest, the IEEE Smart Grid Newsletter.Amin, Massoud. Welcome to the IEEE Smart Grid Newsletter , IEEE Smart Grid Newsletter, January 2011.
The IEEE Smart Grid Portal was relaunched in September 2011. The redesigned site included improved search capabilities and other new features, such as a broader selection of video interviews and Q&A's with industry experts, business leaders, and researchers. It also facilitated greater user access to approved and in-development IEEE smart grid standards and an expanded conference calendar.
Standards IEEE continues to work closely with NIST on its standards roadmap and conformance testing/certification framework for the smart grid. The organization also collaborates with other global standards bodies to effectively facilitate standards coordination and to ensure the intensifying smart grid movement’s success.
There are more than 100 standards that have been approved or in development relating to the smart grid. Among the broad number of systems and technologies addressed by these standards are broadband over power line, cyber security, distributed energy resources, Distributed Network Protocol (DNP3), and Greenhouse gas emissions credits, among others.
Sampling of Approved IEEE Smart Grid Standards IEEE 1547-2003 Standard for Interconnecting Distributed Resources with Electric Power Systems IEEE 1675-2008 Standard for Broadband over Power Line Hardware IEEE 1686-2007 Standard for Substation Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs) Cyber Security Capabilities IEEE 1815-2010 Standard for Electric Power Systems Communications—Distributed Network Protocol (DNP3) IEEE 2030-2011 Guide for Smart Grid Interoperability of Energy Technology and Information Technology Operation with the Electric Power System (EPS), End-Use Applications, and Loads
Sampling of Proposed IEEE Smart Grid Standards IEEE P1377 Draft Standard for Utility Industry Metering Communication Protocol Application Layer (End Device Data Tables) IEEE P1547.6 Draft Recommended Practice For Interconnecting Distributed Resources With Electric Power Systems Distribution Secondary Networks IEEE P1595 Draft Standard for Quantifying Greenhouse Gas Emission Credits from Small Hydro and Wind Power Projects, and for Grid Baseline Conditions IEEE P1613 Draft Standard Environmental and Testing Requirements for Communications Networking Devices Installed in Electric Power Substations IEEE P1797 Draft Guide for Design and Application of Solar Technology in Commercial Power Generating Stations
Events IEEE Smart Grid and its participating societies sponsor and host major conferences, symposiums, and other events on a global basis. Dedicated to providing a forum for the sharing of ideas and information about smart grid concepts, deployments, and technology advancements, IEEE Smart Grid events generally span several days in length and attract attendees from around the world. Conference programs often consist of educational tracks with keynote speeches, panel discussions, and roundtables led by industry notables, researchers, engineers, academics, policymakers, and other key stakeholders.
Among IEEE Smart Grid flagship events are its Innovative Smart Grid Technologies (ISGT) Conference, SmartGridComm, and Smart Grid World Forum. Other recent major IEEE Smart Grid events include:
2010 Asia-Pacific Power & Energy Engineering Conference (APPEEC) 2010, sponsored by the IEEE Power & Energy Society and centered on best practices in power generation, transmission, and distribution, and conventional and renewable energy International Symposium on power-line communications and its Applications (ISPLC) 2010, designed to stimulate discussions on electrical power distribution wires as a viable communication channel Conference On Innovative Technologies For An Efficient & Reliable Electricity Supply (ITERES) 2010, focused on examining the development of components for and planning and implementing of the new Smart/Resilient Electric Grid and integration of the various existing and alternative/renewable electric power system components
2011 Power Systems Conference & Exhibition (PSCE) 2011, a plenary session dedicated to presenting power system tutorials and discussing the theme "The Next Generation Grid – Putting It All Together" IEEE Technology Time Machine (TTM) 2011, a high level thought leadership conference about revolutionary technology platforms that will change lives during the next decade PowerTech 2011, IEEE Power & Energy Society Europe's anchor conference, offering a platform for electric power engineering scientists and engineers to share knowledge, ideas, and results of scientific work
IEEE Smart Grid is also home to smaller workshops, sessions, and continuing education courses, like the IEEE PES "Plain Talk About the Electric Power System" series, which are hosted by various societies and their chapters.
Publications Through its Smart Grid Initiative, societies, working groups, committees and sub-committees, IEEE has published nearly 5,000 papers, manuscripts, guides, and other documents relating to the smart grid, including:
IEEE Smart Grid Newsletter In January 2011, IEEE unveiled the IEEE Smart Grid Newsletter, a monthly electronic digest. The publication's content focuses on practical and technical information, as well as commentary and opinion on emerging smart grid technologies, new standards, global deployments, and other smart grid-related subject matter. Contributors include industry leaders, prominent researchers and academics, and advocates and policy experts. Dr. S. Massoud Amin, Director and Honeywell/H.W. Sweatt Chair, Technological Leadership Institute, and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Minnesota, is the publication's Chairman, and William Sweet, Emeritus News Editor, IEEE Spectrum, is its Managing Editor.
IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid Intended to disseminate smart grid research results on energy generation, transmission, distribution and delivery, IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid offers original research on smart grid theories, technologies, design, policies, and implementation. It also accepts manuscripts on smart grid design and implementation, and evaluation of energy systems involving smart grid technologies and applications. Published quarterly, IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid is jointly produced by multiple IEEE societies, including its Computational Intelligence Society, Communications Society, Computer Society, Control Systems Society, Industry Applications Society, Industrial Electronics Society, Instrumentation and Measurement Society, Power Electronics Society, Power & Energy Society, and Signal Processing Society. In August 2011, the journal's "Protecting Smart Grid Automation Systems Against Cyberattacks," authored by IEEE members Dong Wei and Yan Lu became the three millionth document in IEEE Xplore, IEEE's extensive digital library. Mohammad Shahidehpour is the current Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid.
IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy A quarterly, cross-discipline journal featuring original research, IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy focuses on sustainable energy generation, transmission, distribution and delivery. Manuscripts concentrating on sustainable energy power systems design, implementation, and evaluations, as well as surveys of existing work are also accepted for consideration. Launched in April 2010, IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy is jointly published by IEEE's Industry Applications Society, Industrial Electronics Society, Instrumentation and Measurement Society, IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society, Power Electronics Society, Power & Energy Society, Photonics Society, and the Society on Social Implications of Technology. The journal's current Editor-in-Chief is Saifur Rahman, Joseph Loring Professor of ECE at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech).
Participating IEEE societies IEEE is home to 38 technical Societies encompassing a large array of disciplines and specialized fields of interest such as aerospace and electronic systems, medicine and biology engineering, magnetics, robotics, and vehicular technology. Many of these societies are engaged in smart grid-related work, however, due to their specific areas of expertise, several have emerged as leaders in smart grid technology development and promotion:
IEEE Communications Society