NEMA announces completion of first smart grid standard

Sept. 25, 2009
In conjunction with an address by Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to GridWeek today, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), Rosslyn, Va., has announced the completion of SG-AMI 1-2009 Requirements for Smart Meter Upgradeability

In conjunction with an address by Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to GridWeek today, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), Rosslyn, Va., has announced the completion of SG-AMI 1-2009 Requirements for Smart Meter Upgradeability, the first official original Smart Grid standard.

SG-AMI 1-2009 was developed by a team of meter manufacturers and electric utilities to provide guidance to utilities, state commissions, and others that want to deploy advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) prior to completion of the standards work identified in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Smart Grid Interoperability Roadmap.

The standards team included meter manufacturers (Elster Electricity, GE, Itron, Landis+Gyr and Sensus); electric utilities (Alabama Power, Consumers Energy, Georgia Power, Oncor Electric Delivery and Southern California Edison); as well as representatives from the Department of Energy – Pacific Northwest National Lab, EnerNex, and NIST.

According to NEMA President and CEO Evan R. Gaddis, this standard is particularly noteworthy for two reasons. “First, the standard solves an immediate Smart Grid industry problem by providing guidance to utilities and state commissions on the procurement of AMI systems,” Gaddis said. “Second, the standard was completed in less than 90 days from the creation of the standards task team to the official approval by an authorized standards development organization.”