NIST - Draft Framework and Roadmap for Smart Grid Interoperability Standards, Release 2.0
A 21st century clean energy economy demands a 21st century electric grid. Much of the traditional electricity infrastructure has changed little from the design and form of the electric grid as envisioned by Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse at the end of the 19th century.
Congress and the Administration have outlined a vision for the Smart Grid and have laid the policy foundation upon which it is being built. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) made it the policy of the United States to modernize the nation‘s electricity 155 transmission and distribution system to create a smart electric grid. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) accelerated the development of Smart Grid technologies, investing $4.5 billion for electricity delivery and energy reliability activities to modernize the electric grid and implement demonstration and deployment programs (as authorized under Title XIII of EISA). In January 2011, President Obama, in his State of the Union Address, reiterated his vision for a clean energy economy, and he underscored the Administration‘s commitment in the ―Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future. And in June 2011, the White House released a report by the Cabinet-level National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) entitled ―A Policy Framework for the 21st Century Grid: Enabling Our Secure Energy Future.
The critical role of standards for the Smart Grid is spelled out in EISA and in the June 201 NSTC report, which advocates the development and adoption of standards to ensure that today‘s investments in the Smart Grid remain valuable in the future; to catalyze innovations; to support consumer choice; to create economies of scale to reduce costs; and to open global markets for Smart Grid devices and systems.