DURHAM, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL), an independent provider of comprehensive standards-based testing services for the networking industry, today announced the Power Profile Certification Pilot Program where device manufacturers can test their products against the Test Suite Specification (TSS) which was jointly developed with support from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the IEEE 1588 Power Profile Conformity Assessment Steering Committee. This pilot is jointly offered by UNH-IOL and IEEE Conformity Assessment Program’s (ICAP). All participating entities in the pilot program may submit eligible devices for early certification by IEEE. The UNH-IOL is the first test house authorized by IEEE to offer Power Profile Certification Testing.
“Under the guidance of a community of experts from industry and NIST, we have developed the first IEEE 1588 Power Profile Certification program to aid in the adoption and validation of this technology in the Smart Grid, be it applied to distributed measurement and control applications such as synchrophasors, distribution grid and microgrid control, or event and data recording, the criticality of reliable and accurate time within the grid has never been higher,” Bob Noseworthy, Chief Engineer at UNH-IOL continues. “We expect this effort to continue to grow and expand to meet the needs of utilities today and in the future, and welcome involvement from all stakeholders and interested parties.”
IEEE 1588TM defines the Precision Time Protocol (PTP), a network protocol that enables precise synchronization of the real-time clocks of devices in networked distributed systems. The IEEE 1588 Power Profile Certification Program evaluates conformance to the IEC/IEEE 61850-9-3-2016 and IEEE C37.238-2017 profiles of the IEEE 1588™-2008 standard. The program will ensure networks meet requirements for the Power Utility Automation Profile (IEC/IEEE 61850-9-3) and the Power System Applications Profile (IEEE C37.238) to support precise timing in substations and between substations, in large geographical areas.
“As a utility serving more than three million customers, we need a device to conform to the standard and behave in a predictable manner,” explained Eric Oh, P.Eng. Senior SCADA Engineer and Technical Lead at AltaLink. “By engaging with the IEEE 1588 Power Profile Conformity Assessment Program, we are able to influence and drive standardized testing, improving our ability to qualify equipment more efficiently.”
Products that successfully undergo the IEEE 1588 Power Profile certification program will provide increased confidence to end-users of meeting all mandatory requirements of the standard and thus being interoperable. A common time base across the grid is essential for reliable, robust, and accurate synchronized measurement and control for power systems reliability and resilience throughout the world.
For more details about the UNH-IOL Pilot Program for IEEE 1588 Power Profile Certification Testing, please visit the UNH-IOL IEEE 1588 Testing Program web page.