[September 26, 2012]

IEEE Continues to Deliver Globally Relevant Smart Grid Standards

IEEE (News - Alert), the world's largest professional organization advancing technology for humanity, today announced updates to four standards and a new standards-development project that provide new communications and operational capabilities needed for smart grid worldwide. The new standards activities are among the latest smart grid contributions to come from the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA), which has a portfolio of 100 standards and standards in development pertaining to this vitally important industry.

"IEEE is continually updating its standards and developing new standards to address the needs of utilities around the world as they integrate new technologies and upgrade their systems to meet current and future operational and service objectives for smart grids," said Bill Ash, strategic program manager, IEEE-SA. "These latest IEEE standards activities underscore the importance for new standards to support the growth and evolution of the smart grid industry globally."

The latest IEEE smart grid standards include:

• IEEE 1815™-2012 - Standard for Electric Power Systems Communications - Distributed Network Protocol (DNP3) - specifies the DNP3 protocol structure, functions and interoperable application options for operation on communications media used in utility automation systems. It revises the earlier standard, IEEE 1815™-2010, by updating its protocols to address and help mitigate current and emerging digital cybersecurity hazards that could affect the communications systems used in smart grids and other infrastructure, including power, energy and water systems. IEEE 1815™-2012 is available for purchase at the IEEE Standards Store.
• IEEE 1366™-2012 - IEEE Guide for Electric Power Distribution Reliability Indices - defines the distribution reliability nomenclature and indices that utilities and regulators can use to characterize the reliability of distribution systems, substations, circuits and grid sections. It also defines the factors affecting the calculation of the indices. The standard revises the earlier standard, IEEE 1366™-2003, by including new indices that can be used today and in the future on smart grid and other distribution systems. It also updates several definitions that were used in the previous standard. IEEE 1366™-2012 is available for purchase at the IEEE Standards Store.
• IEEE 1377™-2012 - IEEE Standard for Utility Industry Metering Communication Protocol Application Layer (End Device Data Tables) - provides common structures for encoding data that is transmitted over advanced metering infrastructure and smart grids. It can be used to transmit data between smart meters, home appliances, network nodes that use the IEEE 1703™ LAN/WAN messaging standard, and utility enterprise collection and control systems. The standard revises IEEE-1377™-1977. It is co-published as ANSI C12.19 and MC12.19. IEEE 1377™-2012 is available for purchase at the IEEE Standards Store.
• IEEE C37.104™-2012 - IEEE Guide for Automatic Reclosing of Circuit Breakers for AC Distribution and Transmission Lines - describes automatic reclosing practices for transmission and distribution line circuit breakers, establishes the benefits of automatic reclosing, and details the considerations utilities must use when applying automatic reclosing technologies for proper coordination with other transmission and distribution system controls. It revises the IEEE C37.104™-2002 standard by incorporating new smart grid communications technologies that may affect utility automatic reclosing practices. IEEE C37.104™-2012 is available for purchase at the IEEE Standards Store.

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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 http://standards.ieee.org/.

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. http://www.ieee.org/.

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