The IEEE Conformity Assessment Program (ICAP) has announced plans to collaborate with the US' National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL). The organisations will work jointly on the development of a conformity assessment initiative for the IEEE C37.238 (Power Profile) addressing the smart grid market. The collaboration is seen as a significant step forward in support of the advancement of IEEE C37.238 based certified products to market.
ICAP is joint initiative of the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) and IEEE Industry Standards and Technology Organization (IEEE-ISTO).
It has been observed that there is increasing demand for accurate time synchronisation for protection and control equipment for electrical power systems. The IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol (PTP) has been identified as a solution to address the synchronisation requirement for substation automation. The IEEE C37.238 Standard defines a standard profile for the use of IEEE 1588 PTP in Power Systems applications.
Building upon their respective areas of interest, the organisations are collaborating to further work that has been initiated independently. NIST initiated the construction and development of an IEEE C37.238 Test Suite to experiment with the accuracy, reliability and interoperability of IEEE 1588 devices in next generation power substation applications for the smart grid.
Through an agreement between NIST and the UNH-IOL, the UNH-IOL will assume the responsibility for future development of the Test Suite. ICAP, serving as the Certification Authority, will develop and implement a certification programme that will leverage the Test Suite. ICAP will bring together representatives of the interested community to develop a certification programme that meets their respective needs.
ICAP will announce its intention to collaborate with NIST and the UNH-IOL, as well as to seek industry participation in the development of the conformity assessment programme, at the 2012 International IEEE Symposium on Precision Clock Synchronization for Measurement, Control and Communication (ISPCS) conference, September 26-28, 2012 in San Francisco.
