Date: May 2013
Publication: Electricity Today

As distribution systems are automated, intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) will continue to proliferate on the grid. John McDonald, director of technical strategy and policy development at GE Digital Energy discusses a major source of overlooked value: non-operational data generated from IEDs. John shares a process for which this data can be collected and translated into business intelligence for presentation to business owners. Read more

Date: May 15, 2013
Publication: Fierce SmartGrid

As the industry continues its evolution toward the smart grid, Bob Saint, IEEE Smart Grid Technical Expert discusses four lessons investor-owned utilities can learn from cooperatives. Utilities can learn to cultivate trust, foster innovation and customer service, advance interoperability and cybersecurity, and utilize cost-benefit analysis for distribution generation. Read more.

Date: May 3, 2013
Publication: The Energy Collective

Adoption of the right technologies is important to preserving our country's leadership position. IEEE Smart Grid technical expert, Steven Collier begins a discussion in this month's Energy Collective Blog: Was Edison Right Afterall? Reconsidering DC Power.

After a review on why AC power became the default, Steven proposes that the adoption of DC power is the best move forward for the U.S. Grid citing the the benefits and shortcomings of the two currents have flipped. Steven suggests that nanogrids or microgrids are an alternative to a full retrofit to our system while other developing countries will most likely go directly to DC power. Our decision leads to a host of economic and political risks. Read more

Date: April 30, 2013
Publication: Fierce SmartGrid

In this article IEEE Smart Grid technical expert Wanda Reder shares her thoughts on how grid modernization bolsters our economic vitality. Read more.

Date: April 4, 2013
Publication: Mission-Critical Communications

This article in Mission-Critical Communications discusses how utilities can use private and public networks to support mission-critical and ‘mission casual’ communications reliably and securely. This material is valuable to its readership in the power, communications, and public safety arenas, which in the case of a disaster-recovery situation will need to work together. The article presents technology and business case information on grid modernization today and in the future.

Date: March 20, 2013
Publication: Fierce SmartGrid

In this article Steven Collier reveals his thoughts on edge power being inevitable and that the incumbent industry players can either be part of this move or be diminished by it. The utility model that we know today needs to make strides to accept the innovation in technology, business models and in customer service of tomorrow. Read more.

SGIP's Participating Members in Good Standing elect to include IEEE 1901 as part of its collection of preferred smart grid standards

Shuang Yu, Senior Manager, Solutions Marketing
+1 732 981 3424; shuang.yu@ieee.org

PISCATAWAY, N.J., USA, 27 March 2013 - IEEE, the world's largest professional organization advancing technology for humanity, today announced that the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP) and its Participating Members in Good Standing have approved the inclusion of IEEE 1901™-2010 "IEEE Standard for Broadband over Power Line Networks: Medium Access Control and Physical Layer Specifications" into its "Catalog of Standards."

Established in December 2009 by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as a public-private partnership, SGIP provides a framework for coordinating all smart grid stakeholders to help accelerate standards harmonization and advance the interoperability of smart grid devices and systems.

After the SGIP's board of governors' recommendation, plenary voting among the panel's Participating Members in Good Standing resulted in the inclusion of the IEEE 1901 standard in its catalog, which is a collection of standards and practices that the SGIP considers to be relevant for the development and deployment of a robust, interoperable and secure smart grid.

"The IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) is honored that the SGIP has recognized the importance of IEEE 1901 to the future of smart-grid deployment and its ongoing development," said Bill Ash, strategic program manager with the IEEE-SA. "Having the SGIP approve the inclusion of our standard in its catalog underscores the importance of smart-grid expansion and advancement worldwide. We understand that collaboration among multiple organizations is paramount to the smart grid's success."

The IEEE 1901 standard was developed for the benefit of high-speed communication devices via electric power lines—also known as broadband over power line (BPL). The standard delivers data rates in excess of 500 Mbps in LAN applications and is used with transmission frequencies below 100 MHz. In addition, the standard provides numerous benefits to utilities, service providers, consumer electronics companies, smart-meter providers and home appliance manufacturers—all organizations that have a stake in smart-grid technologies.

To review the SGIP's standard information form for IEEE 1901, please visit the NIST Smart Grid Collaboration for Smart Grid Interoperability Standards Web page.

SGIP is funded by industry stakeholders in cooperation with the U.S. federal government. In December 2012 SGIP transitioned to an international, member-led, industry-based organization incorporated as "SGIP 2.0, Inc." For more information about the SGIP, please visit the SGIP Web site.

IEEE 1901™-2010 is available for purchase at the IEEE Standards Store.

To learn more about IEEE-SA, visit us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, connect with us on LinkedIn or on the Standards Insight Blog.

About the IEEE Standards Association
The IEEE Standards Association, a globally recognized standards-setting body within IEEE, develops consensus standards through an open process that engages industry and brings together a broad stakeholder community. IEEE standards set specifications and best practices based on current scientific and technological knowledge. The IEEE-SA has a portfolio of over 900 active standards and more than 500 standards under development. For more information visit the IEEE-SA Web site.

About IEEE
IEEE, a large, global technical professional organization, is dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities, IEEE is the trusted voice on a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics. Learn more at the IEEE Web site.

Date: March 5, 2013
Publication: Fierce SmartGrid

Travis Mitchell reports in this FierceSmartGrid feature that the common goal of the 2013 ISGT event was bringing the valuable functionality and reliability of smart grid to the mass market. He recounts the event offered much in the way of building out the future smart grid but also took time to recognize how far the industry has come. Smart Meter deployments and grid updates were shared along with status updates on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's (ARRA) and Smart Grid Investment Grant (SGIG) projects. Read more.

Design of transition facilities for transmission lines and spectrum management in emerging wireless networks among technology areas addressed by new standards

Shuang Yu, Senior Manager, Solutions Marketing
+1 732 981 3424; shuang.yu@ieee.org

PISCATAWAY, N.J., USA, 19 March 2013 - IEEE, the world's largest professional organization advancing technology for humanity, today announced dozens of new, revised and reaffirmed standards and standards-development projects. Detailed information on the standards and projects recently approved by the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) Standards Board is available at the IEEE-SA Standards Board Approvals Web page.

IEEE 1793™-2012 "Guide for Planning and Designing Transition Facilities between Overhead and Underground Transmission Lines" is among the new standards that have been published. IEEE 1793 is intended to provide previously unavailable guidance that helps utility designers better understand the range of cost, operability, environmental and future-flexibility factors that must be carefully considered in crafting a plan for such transition structures. IEEE 1793 is available for purchase at the IEEE Standards Store.

Also among the new standards that have been published is IEEE 1900.1a™-2012 "Standard Definitions and Concepts for Dynamic Spectrum Access: Terminology Relating to Emerging Wireless Networks, System Functionality, and Spectrum Management Amendment 1: Addition of New Terms and Associated Definitions." The amendment to IEEE 1900.1™-2008 defines terms that have come to be used in the rapidly evolving field of dynamic spectrum access since the base standard’s publication. IEEE 1900.1a can be accessed with subscription at IEEE Xplore® Digital Library.

Recently published revised standards include IEEE C37.121™-2012 "Guide for Switchgear - Unit Substation – Requirements," which is intended to assist in selection and coordination of incoming-, outgoing-, transformer- and transition-section equipment for unit substations. IEEE C37.121 is available for purchase at the IEEE Standards Store.

The IEEE-SA also reaffirmed IEEE 270™-2006 "Standard Definitions for Selected Quantities, Units, and Related Terms, with Special Attention to the International System of Units (SI)." The standard covers definitions commonly used in applied science and technology, as well as related terms that concern systems of measurement. IEEE 270 is available for purchase at the IEEE Standards Store.

Among the standards-development projects that the IEEE-SA approved is IEEE P2030.1016™ "Draft Guide for Designing a Time Synchronization System for Power Substations." With more substation systems using time for event recording, protection and communication functions, time synchronization is emerging as critical to the smart grid. When completed, IEEE P2030.101 is intended to provide guidance for design of reliable time-synchronization systems.

The IEEE-SA also approved a series of standards-development projects that are designed to support plug-and-play, interoperable communications for various medical devices:

• IEEE P11073-10301-1™ "Health informatics - Point-of-care medical device communication - Part 10301-1: Device Specialization - Infusion pump, General"
• IEEE P11073-10302-1™ "Health informatics - Point-of-care medical device communication - Part 10302-1: Device Specialization - Physiologic monitor, General"
• IEEE P11073-10303-1™ "Health informatics - Point-of-care medical device communication - Part 10303-1: Device Specialization - Ventilator, General"
• IEEE P11073-20201™ "Health informatics - Point-of-care medical device communication - Part 20201: Application profile – Polling mode"
• IEEE P11073-20202™ "Health informatics - Point-of-care medical device communication - Part 20202: Application profile – Baseline asynchronous mode"
• IEEE P11073-20301™ "Health informatics - Point-of-care medical device communication - Part 20301: Application profile – Optional package, remote control"
• IEEE P11073-20401™ "Health informatics - Point-of-care medical device communication - Part 20401: Application profile – Common networking services"

For more information about standards-development projects related to healthcare information technology (IT), visit the Healthcare IT Projects Web page.

To learn more about IEEE-SA, visit us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, connect with us on LinkedIn or on the Standards Insight Blog.

About the IEEE Standards Association
The IEEE Standards Association, a globally recognized standards-setting body within IEEE, develops consensus standards through an open process that engages industry and brings together a broad stakeholder community. IEEE standards set specifications and best practices based on current scientific and technological knowledge. The IEEE-SA has a portfolio of over 900 active standards and more than 500 standards under development. For more information visit the IEEE-SA Web site.

About IEEE
IEEE, a large, global technical professional organization, is dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities, IEEE is the trusted voice on a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics. Learn more at the IEEE Web site.

Date: February 27, 2013
Publication: Government Technology

Massoud Amin is a self-described geek on a mission. The multilingual brainiac is supercharged about transforming the electric grid into a self-healing, sustainable and resilient smart grid. Read more.