Commerce's Gary Locke and Energy's Steven Chu.

Washington Report

June / July 2009 Volume 7 Number 3

Print this Article

E-mail this Article

The Smart Grid may be on its way—€”or, at least, first steps have been taken by the government. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Energy Secretary Steven Chu say that "significant progress" has been made that will help expedite development of a nationwide "smart" electric power grid.

A Smart Grid would replace the current, outdated system and employ real-time, two-way communication technologies to allow users to connect directly with power suppliers, according to DOE. The development of the grid will create jobs and spur the development of innovative products that can be exported. Once implemented, the Smart Grid is expected to save consumers money and reduce America's dependence on foreign oil by improving efficiency and spurring the use of renewable energy sources.

Before it can be constructed, however, there needs to be agreement on standards for the devices that will connect the grid.

After chairing a meeting of industry leaders at the White House, Locke and Chu announced the first set of standards that are needed for the interoperability and security of the Smart Grid and $10 million in Recovery Act funds provided by DOE to the National Institute of Standards and Technology to support the development of interoperability standards.

Chu says that based on feedback from the public and Smart Grid stakeholders, DOE is increasing the maximum award available under the Recovery Act for Smart Grid programs from $20 million to $200 million under the Smart Grid Investment Grant Program and from $40 million to $100 million for Smart Grid demonstration projects.

In making awards, DOE says it will ensure that funding is provided to a diversity of applications, including small projects as well as end-to-end larger projects.

"President Obama has made a smart electrical grid a key element of his plan to lower energy costs for consumers, achieve energy independence and reduce greenhouse gas emissions," Locke said. "We have taken a significant step toward developing the open and transparent interoperability standards necessary to realize the Smart Grid vision."

"The Smart Grid is an urgent national priority that requires all levels of government as well as industry to cooperate," Chu said. "I'm pleased that industry leaders have stepped forward and are working with us to get consensus. We still have much to do, but the ultimate result will be a much more efficient, flexible power grid and the opportunity to dramatically increase our use of renewable energy."

The White House meeting was designed to encourage industry executives to work to expedite the adoption of standards. The initial batch of 16 National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)-recognized interoperability standards that have been announced will help ensure that software and hardware components from different vendors will work together seamlessly, while securing the grid against disruptions, the DOE says.

Spanning areas ranging from smart customer meters to distributed power generation components to cybersecurity, the list of standards is based on the consensus expressed by participants in the first public Smart Grid Interoperability Standards Interim Roadmap workshop, held in April. The Energy Department also announced that the $10 million it received to support the development of interoperability standards under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has been provided to NIST to help accelerate their efforts to coordinate these critical standards.

Public comments on the initial standards will be accepted for 30 days after their upcoming publication in the Federal Register. The date of publication will be posted on NIST's Smartgrid web page. Comments may be submitted to smartgrid@nist.gov.