Gaithersburg, MD, U.S.A. --- (METERING.COM) --- December 20, 2012 - The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology recently issued a call for applicants to work on a program of up to three years on the coordination and acceleration of smart grid standards development and harmonization and advancement of the interoperability and security of smart grid devices and systems.

In a funding opportunity released November 29, the NIST calls for applicants for a “Smart Grid Interoperability Standards Cooperative Agreement Program.” In the first year up to $750,000 is available, with up to $1 million available in the subsequent two years.

Activities of the awardee, who will work cooperatively with NIST, include:

• Providing technical guidance and coordination to facilitate the development of secure and reliable smart grid interoperability standards, including development of smart grid architectural principles and conceptual frameworks
• Identifying and specifying the necessary testing and certification requirements to assess the achievement of interoperability using smart grid standards
• Overseeing the performance of these activities to achieve significant output and outcomes useful to the smart grid community
• Informing and educating smart grid industry stakeholders on the definition of and the benefits attributable to interoperability
• Conducting outreach to similar organizations in other countries to help establish global interoperability alignment.

Additionally, the awardee will be required to interface with and support the broad NIST smart grid standardization and research program.

Eligible applicants include higher education institutions, non-profit organizations, state and local governments, and commercial organizations in the U.S. and its territories, individually or in consortia. The closing date is January 3 and announcement of the award is expected before the end of March.