EnerNex and NIST Invite Industry Leaders and Innovators to Join New Smart Grid Interoperability Panel

EnerNex and NIST Invite Industry Leaders and Innovators to Join New Smart Grid Interoperability Panel

Over 100 forward-thinking organizations already participating across the country

KNOXVILLE, Tenn., November 5, 2009 — EnerNex® Corporation continues to assist in the pioneering task of establishing the nation’s first Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP), per its $8.5M contract with the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to support the agency in its role of coordinating and accelerating development of Smart Grid interoperability standards.

The SGIP is a public-private partnership to support NIST in its "primary responsibility to coordinate development of a framework that includes protocols and model standards for information management to achieve interoperability of smart grid devices and systems," as specified in the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007.

The SGIP is an open, transparent body comprising over 20 stakeholder categories, including utilities, renewable power producers, standards development organizations, professional societies, manufacturers and vendors, consumers, and IT and system developers. The SGIP does not directly develop or write standards; rather stakeholders participate in the ongoing coordination, acceleration, and harmonization of standards development.

While membership is defined by organization, there are two distinct activity levels: “participating” where an organization’s representatives work on SGIP efforts or “observer” where an organization’s representatives may monitor SGIP outputs.

For information on SGIP membership, stakeholder categories, or upcoming SGIP-related activities, please visit: http://collaborate.nist.gov/twiki-sggrid/bin/view/SmartGrid/SGIP.

The inaugural SGIP face-to-face meeting is Monday, November 16. Follow-on activities of the SGIP coincide with the Clasma-organized Grid-Interop conference on November 17-19 in Denver, CO. At Grid-Interop, major milestones will be achieved for the SGIP as attendees will ratify the SGIP charter and the first SGIP Governing Board will be elected. For a detailed agenda or to register for Grid-Interop, please visit: www.grid-interop.com.

Erich Gunther, Chief Technology Officer of EnerNex and the project’s stakeholder relationship management lead, stated: “We look forward to Grid-Interop as the SGIP convenes for the first time and the SGIP Governing Board is selected; this is a monumental step as industry leading organizations come together to advance the development of the Smart Grid through interoperability standards development and harmonization efforts.”

The next SGIP update webinar is scheduled for Wednesday, November 11 from 11:00 a.m.-noon ET. NIST, in partnership with EnerNex, will provide updated information on the SGIP structure and plans for Grid-Interop. To register for the virtual meeting, please visit: http://collaborate.nist.gov/twiki-sggrid/bin/view/SmartGrid/SGIP.

SGIP Governing Board

Maintaining a broad perspective of the NIST interoperability framework, the SGIP Governing Board will approve and prioritize the work of the SGIP and coordinate necessary resources to carry out finalized action plans in an efficient and effective manner.

To ensure all stakeholder categories are fairly represented on the SGIP Governing Board, the criteria for a member includes: extensive experience in one or more stakeholder categories and the ability to support overall SGIP and NIST goals.

Electronic voting of candidates is planned to occur between 7 p.m. ET, Monday, November 16, until 7 pm ET, Wednesday, November 18, in conjunction with Grid-Interop in Denver. On-site and remote voting will be permitted; physical presence at Grid-Interop is not a requirement. To vote, please visit: http://collaborate.nist.gov/twiki-sggrid/bin/view/SmartGrid.SGIP

Membership agreements for the SGIP are accepted at any time. In order to vote for the SGIP Governing Board on November 16, a valid application for the SGIP membership must received by the SGIP Administrator by 7:00 p.m. ET, November 17.

About EnerNex Corporation
EnerNex Corporation provides engineering and consulting services, along with software solutions and customization, for the electric power industry. EnerNex focuses on providing services around the development and application of new and emerging electric power technologies to engineer a cleaner, smarter energy system of the future. For more information on EnerNex, visit www.enernex.com.

About NIST
As a non-regulatory agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, NIST promotes U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life.

About Clasma Events, Inc.
Clasma Events, Inc. organizes events through strategic collaboration of industry stakeholders, thought leaders and government entities involved in the smart grid, energy connectivity and the energy economy. Key Clasma events include ConnectivityWeek, GridWeek, Grid-Interop, and GridEcon. More information on Clasma can be obtained by visiting www.clasma.com.

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