ISO OKs Standard Integrating Control Technologies into the Grid

SGIP, Inc. announced that the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) approved ANSI/ASHRAE/NEMA Standard 201-2016, Facility Smart Grid Information Model (FSGIM), which helps electrical energy consumers participate in smart grid networks.

The standard, published earlier this year by ASHRAE and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), provides a common basis for consumers to describe, manage, and communicate about electrical energy consumptions and forecast. This basis facilitates information exchange between control systems and end-use devices, thereby supporting two-way flow of electricity. And facilities such as single-family houses, commercial buildings, and industrial buildings need that exchange to participate in smart grids.

The ISO/TC 205, Building environment design, unanimously approved the FSGIM standard on November 17 with a draft international standard ballot. Without any negative votes or comments to resolve, the standard will move directly to publication. ISO will soon publish the standard as ISO 17800.

The development of the FSGIM standard began in 2010, led by Steve Bushby, chair of the Standard 201P committee, and it became SGIP’s Priority Action Plan 17. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approved the standard in early May 2016.

“For facilities to join smart grids, control systems need to manage those facilities’ loads and generation sources,” said Aaron Smallwood, Vice President, Technology at SGIP. “To make that a possibility, SGIP has worked with industry leaders to define the key information that needs to be shared between electricity providers and consumers, resulting in the FSGIM standard.”