The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released the fourth iteration of the Smart Grid Framework that intends to advance interoperability on the power grid.
The Smart Grid Framework Release 4.0 lays out a new strategy to support the development of interoperable equipment and devices and offers resources and guidance for grid cybersecurity, NIST said Thursday.
“Flexibility is needed to accommodate all of these new clean energy technologies,” said Avi Gopstein, smart grid program manager at NIST and the framework’s lead author. “The wind doesn’t always blow, the sun doesn’t always shine, and people change the amount of electricity they use depending on their activities. Well, interoperability is all about providing flexibility.”
The new NIST framework presents the concept of interoperability profiles to facilitate the development of certification and testing programs to improve smart grid interoperability.
The latest release also provides resources, including a cybersecurity risk profile and a free tool that details the overlap between North American Electric Reliability Corp.’s set of security requirements and NIST’s Cybersecurity Framework.
