SGIP, New and Improved

Deck: 

Making the case for collaboration on interoperability standards

Fortnightly Magazine - August 2013
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The old joke about standards – “Which one? There’s so many to choose from …” –  has been effectively laid to rest, as you read this article. Today, we see the convergence of global standards into just a handful for fundamental utility communications, an amazing development based on decades of experience and just a few years of very focused work by stakeholders.

Forward thinking in the power industry now focuses on holistic, harmonized solutions rather than the mere addition of discrete technology components. We have a more comprehensive view of grid modernization than just bolting on products touted during the hype cycle prevalent only a few years back. This new view of the smart grid landscape has been made possible by advances in integration and interoperability achieved thanks to the establishment of standards and open architecture. 

The corollary, of course, is a hard truth: some of the work done to date, under the old paradigm of bolt-on, component-based technology, will require re-engineering, with attendant costs.

We’ve achieved this more rational perspective on grid modernization by design, not happenstance. The recent past is prologue to a more productive future.

NIST, EISA, and SGIP 

Consider the procession of events and forward thinking that led us here.

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