Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Smart Grid International Coordination

International Coordination

The smart grid will span the globe, and the United States is not alone in its initiative to modernize the electric grid. A number of other countries have launched significant efforts to encourage the development of the smart grid in their own countries and regions.

As countries move forward with their individual initiatives, it is very important that smart grid efforts are coordinated and harmonized internationally. An essential element of this coordination will be the development of international standards.

International coordination will provide a double benefit:
 

  • As the United States and other nations build out their smart grids, use of international standards ensures the broadest possible market for smart grid suppliers based in the United States. By helping these American companies export their smart grid products, technologies, and services overseas, we will be encouraging innovation and job growth in a high-tech market of growing importance.
  • The use of international standards results in efficiency for manufacturers and encourages supplier competition. As a result, costs will be lower, and those savings will benefit utilities and consumers.

NIST is devoting considerable resources and attention to bilateral and multilateral engagement with other countries to cooperate in the development of international standards for the smart grid. Among the countries that have or will begin investing in substantial smart grid infrastructure are Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the EU including many member states, Japan, Korea, Australia, India, and China.

In addition, NIST and the International Trade Administration (ITA) have partnered with the Department of Energy to establish the International Smart Grid Action Network (ISGAN), a multinational collaboration of 17 countries. ISGAN complements the Global Smart Grid Federation, a global stakeholder organization which serves as an "association of associations" to bring together leaders from smart grid stakeholder organizations from around the world.

Reports

ARCAM Dialogue on Smart Grid Interoperability Standards: Report to the Committee (pdf)
Release Date: May 13, 2011
The APEC Regulatory Cooperation Advancement Mechanism on Trade-related Standards and Technical Regulations (ARCAM) held a dialogue on smart grid interoperability standards on May 12-13, 2011.This report contains a set of consensus outcomes developed by participants in the dialogue and provides brief summaries of the presentations and discussions.

Report on the APEC Workshop on Regulatory Approaches to Smart Grid Investment & Deployment (pdf)
Release Date: May 16-17,2012
The Workshop on Regulatory Approaches to Smart Grid Investment and Deployment sought to build on the 2011 APEC Regulatory Cooperation Mechanism on Trade-Related Standards & Technical Regulations (ARCAM) Dialogue by facilitating collaboration and information sharing between key stakeholder groups involved with the development and implementation of Smart Grid interoperability standards.

Presentations

Policy, Regulation and Implementation of Smart Grids in the US (pdf)
Release Date: June 18, 2012
Presentation by Dr. George Arnold, National Coordinator for Smart Grid Interoperability Standards, to the European Union Smart Grid Coordination Group in Brussels, Belgium.

The U.S. Perspective on Electric Grid Modernization (pdf)
Release Date: June 16, 2011
Presentation by Dr. George Arnold, National Coordinator for Smart Grid Interoperability Standards, at the smart grid symposium within the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). His introductory remarks (pdf) outlined a U.S. perspective on electric grid modernization and a path to realizing a secure and interoperable nationwide smart grid.

Laying the Foundation for the Electric Grid's Next 100 Years (pdf)
Release Date: April 5, 2011
Presentation by Dr. George Arnold, National Coordinator for Smart Grid Interoperability Standards, to the European telecommunications Standard Institute (ETSI) "Standards: An Architecture for the Smart Grid" Workshop.

Interoperability Standards for the Smart Grid (pdf)
Release Date: October 28, 2010
Presentation by Dr. George Arnold, National Coordinator for the World Smart Grid China Focus 2010 Conference.

Smart Grid Domestic and International Partnerships and Programs (pdf)
Release Date: July 20, 2010
Presentation by Shannon Fraser, Office of Energy and Environmental Industries, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.

Created November 15, 2010, Updated July 19, 2018