Speaker: George Arnold, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Abstract: The nation's electric grid is owned and operated by over 3200 utilities, using equipment and systems provided by thousands of suppliers, delivering power to hundreds of millions of users and billions of end devices. The transformation of this infrastructure into an "energy internet" is a huge undertaking requiring an unprecedented level of cooperation and coordination across the private and public sectors. A robust, interoperable framework of technical standards is the key to making this possible. Recognizing the complexity of the task, Congress assigned the National Institute of Standards and Technology the responsibility to coordinate the development of standards for the U.S. Smart Grid. In this talk we will explain how this work is being done, explore the conceptual reference model of the Smart Grid and related standards that are emerging, and discuss some the challenges that need to be addressed.