Smart Grids

Introduction

Smart Grid Overview

Extract of CEN-CENELEC-ETSI JWG report on standards for smart grids

Europe is committed to the 20-20-20 targets to reduce carbon emissions and to secure the energy supply. Energy efficiency and renewable energy are seen as key to reach this goal. Both measures call for changes in our energy supply system leading to smart grids as key enablers for the required innovation. To promote this transformation the European Commission has taken a number of actions including the mandate M490 on Smart Grid Standardization.

Smart Grid Definition

Extract of EC Task force for Smart Grids EG1 final report

A Smart Grid is an electricity network that can cost efficiently integrate the behaviour and actions of all users connected to it – generators, consumers and those that do both – in order to ensure economically efficient, sustainable power system with low losses and high levels of quality and security of supply and safety.
Though elements of smartness also exist in many parts of existing grids, the difference between a today's grid and a smart grid of the future is mainly the grid's capability to handle more complexity than today in an efficient and effective way.

European Mandate on Smart Grids (M490)

The Standardization Mandate on standards for smart grids is available here.

The objective of this mandate is to develop or update a set of consistent standards within a common European framework that integrates a variety of digital computing and communication technologies and electrical architectures, and associated processes and services, that will achieve interoperability and will enable or facilitate the implementation in Europe of the different high level Smart Grid services and functionalities as defined by the Smart Grid Task Force that will be flexible enough to accommodate future developments.

European Standards for Smart Grids

Standardization of smart grids is not "business as usual". The huge number of stakeholders, the necessary speed, the many international activities and the still changing solutions make it a difficult task for the European Standardization Organizations (ESO).

The three ESOs created a Joint Working Group (JWG), which produced a report that outlines Europe's standardization views in the area of smart grids, taking due account of existing global activities. The report is available here. 

A summary of the report is available here which outlines the recommendations for smart grid standardization in Europe.

In response to the mandate the Joint Working Group (JWG) has been transformed into the Smart Grid Coordination Group (SM-CG) that will be the focal point for the standards development for M/490.

Our Role & Activities

Standards

The following is an extract of the list of ETSI standards relative to Smart Grids. It includes some of the standards dedicated to ETSI's Smart Grid activity.

Please use the ETSI Work Programme to find further related standards.