ACLASS Provides Accreditation for Smart Grid

The ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board/ACLASS now provides accreditation for the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST's) Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP). Smart Grid accreditation will help ensure that new electrical devices will be ready to plug into the nation's next-generation power grid.

The SGIP process by which test laboratories and certifying organizations are accredited for evaluation of Smart Grid products is outlined in the Interoperability Process Reference Manual (IPRM) recently released by NIST.

"Following the IPRM guidelines will ensure that products entering the marketplace are high-quality, easily installed, and able to work together seamlessly," said Keith Greenaway, Vice President of ACLASS and FQS. "Accredited testing labs are crucial to ensure this interoperability and speeding the implementation of the new Smart Grid."

Smart Grid technologies aim to transform the nation's aging electric power system into a network that integrates modern communication technologies with the power-delivery infrastructure. These changes will enable two-way flows of energy, communication, and control capabilities.

The SGIP membership is developing hundreds of new standards to which electrical devices will need to adhere if they are to function as intended. The IPRM process allows the accreditation of testing labs and certification bodies to support these standards, with accreditation providing assurance of high quality of testing and consistency of test results between different labs.

To ensure that consumer products work as advertised, accreditation organizations such as ACLASS evaluate the procedures used by testing laboratories. The IPRM outlines the process followed to accredit a testing and certification lab and the process labs must follow to test products.

"The testing and certification process is critical to ensure the interoperability of devices made for the Smart Grid," said NIST's George Arnold, the National Coordinator for Smart Grid Interoperability. "The framework for lab accreditation in the updated manual adheres to international standards, which will be valuable for ensuring products that meet these labs' requirements can reach markets worldwide."

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