“Timing Challenges in the Smart Grid” Published (NIST Special Publication 1500-08)

NIST and IEEE-SA conducted a workshop, “Timing Challenges in the Smart Grid,” at the NIST campus in Gaithersburg, Maryland, on October 26, 2016. A paper summarizing the workshop was published in January 2017. The paper (25 pages, PDF file) is now available online for free download (link is external). The webcast and the presentations from that workshop are also available online.

Correct time and timing are foundational elements in enabling the communication and orchestration of technologies for accurate and optimal wide-area monitoring, protection, and control in the power industry. The workshop brought together stakeholders to identify, analyze, and provide guidance on technologies, standards, and methodologies for addressing the practical challenges that are currently being experienced in wide-area time synchronization.

Topics discussed in the report include the following:

  • Application Requirements
  • Time Distribution in Power Systems
  • Time Issues and Challenges
  • Time Distribution Sources
  • Time and Security
  • Potential R&D Areas
  • Priorities
  • Current Efforts and Collaborative Opportunities
  • Future Work

Included among the reports’ ten co-authors are five NIST staff members/associates: Ya-Shian Li-Baboud, Cuong Nguyen, Marc Weiss, Dhananjay Anand, and Allen Goldstein.