Approved as an American National Standard
ANSI Approval Date: February 22, 2016
NEMA Standards Publication SG-IPRM 1-2016
Smart Grid Interoperability Process Reference Manual
Published by
National Electrical Manufacturers Association
1300 North 17th Street, Suite 900
Rosslyn, VA 22209
www.nema.org
© 2016 National Electrical Manufacturers Association. All rights, including translation into other
languages, reserved under the Universal Copyright Convention, the Berne Convention for the Protection
of Literary and Artistic Works, and the International and Pan American copyright conventions.
NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER
The information in this publication was considered technically sound by the consensus of persons
engaged in the development and approval of the document at the time it was developed. Consensus
does not necessarily mean that there is unanimous agreement among every person participating in the
development of this document.
The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) standards and guideline publications, of which
the document contained herein is one, are developed through a voluntary consensus standards
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© 2016 National Electrical Manufacturers Association
ANSI/NEMA SG-IPRM 1-2016
Page i
CONTENTS
Foreword .................................................................................................................................................. iv
Section 1
General ..................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1
Scope ........................................................................................................................................ 1
1.2
References ............................................................................................................................... 1
1.2.1 Normative References ................................................................................................... 1
1.2.2 Other References .......................................................................................................... 2
1.3
Definitions ................................................................................................................................ 3
1.4
Abbreviations and Acronyms................................................................................................. 6
1.5
Nomenclature ........................................................................................................................... 7
Section 2
Background ............................................................................................................................. 8
2.1
Problem Statement .................................................................................................................. 8
2.2
Smart Grid Product Testing Flow Model ............................................................................... 8
2.3
Intended Audience .................................................................................................................. 9
Section 3 Foundation Reference Standards ........................................................................................ 11
3.1
Overview of ISO/IEC 17025 ................................................................................................... 11
3.2
Overview of ISO/IEC 17065 ................................................................................................... 12
Section 4 ITCA Implementation of the IPRM ........................................................................................ 13
4.1
What is an ITCA? ................................................................................................................... 13
4.2
ITCAs and Available Industry Testing and Certification Programs ................................. 13
4.3
Stakeholder Relationships ................................................................................................... 14
Section 5
Interoperability and Conformance Test Program Construction ...................................... 15
5.1
General Test Policies ............................................................................................................ 15
5.2
Test Suite Specification ........................................................................................................ 17
5.3
Attributes of a Test Profile in lieu of Complete TSS .......................................................... 19
5.4
ITCA Technical Program Design .......................................................................................... 19
5.5
Program and Field Experience Feedback ........................................................................... 22
Section 6 Interoperability Certification Body and Test Laboratory Requirements ......................... 23
6.1
Certification Bodies and Test Laboratories ........................................................................ 23
6.2
Governance ............................................................................................................................ 23
6.3
Laboratory Qualification ....................................................................................................... 25
6.4
Improvements ........................................................................................................................ 25
Section 7 Additional Issues Impacting Interoperability...................................................................... 27
7.1
Cybersecurity ......................................................................................................................... 27
7.2
Electromagnetic Compatibility Considerations ................................................................. 28
© 2016 National Electrical Manufacturers Association
ANSI/NEMA SG-IPRM 1-2016
Page ii
ANNEX A Cybersecurity Testing (Informative) .................................................................................... 29
A.1
Cybersecurity Concepts ....................................................................................................... 29
A.2
Cybersecurity Testing Environment .................................................................................... 29
A.3
Cybersecurity Testing Types and Frameworks.................................................................. 29
A.4
Additional Cybersecurity Testing Laboratory Best Practices to Consider ..................... 31
A.5
Role of the Cybersecurity Testing Providers ..................................................................... 32
A.6
Cybersecurity Requirements and Recommendations ....................................................... 33
ANNEX B Electromagnetic Compatibility Testing (Informative) ........................................................ 34
B.1
Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 34
B.2
Incidences of EMC Immunity Problems .............................................................................. 35
B.3
EMC Phenomena ................................................................................................................... 35
B.4
Typical Immunity/Emissions Tests ...................................................................................... 36
B.5
Test Plan ................................................................................................................................. 37
B.6
Perform Tests and Determine if Product Passes ............................................................... 37
B.7
Performance Degradation..................................................................................................... 37
B.8
EMC Requirements and Recommendations ....................................................................... 38
ANNEX C Frequently Asked Questions (Informative) ......................................................................... 39
© 2016 National Electrical Manufacturers Association
ANSI/NEMA SG-IPRM 1-2016
Page iii
TABLES
Table 1 General Test Policy Requirements and Recommendations ................................................... 16
Table 2 Test Suite Specification Requirements and Recommendations ............................................ 17
Table 3 Test Profile Requirements and Recommendations ................................................................. 19
Table 4 ITCA Technical Program Design Requirements and Recommendations .............................. 19
Table 5 Governance Requirements and Recommendations ................................................................ 23
Table 6 Improvement Requirements and Recommendations .............................................................. 25
Table 7 Cybersecurity Requirements and Recommendations ............................................................. 33
Table 8 EMC Requirements and Recommendations ............................................................................. 38
FIGURES
Figure 1 Smart Grid Product Testing Flow—Proposed Model ............................................................... 9
Figure 2 Relationships between ITCAs, Certifiers, Test Labs, Accreditors, and SGTCC ................. 14
Figure 3 Typical EMC Investigation Process ......................................................................................... 34
© 2016 National Electrical Manufacturers Association
ANSI/NEMA SG-IPRM 1-2016
Page iv
Foreword
(This foreword is not part of ANSI/NEMA SG-IPRM 1-2016)
The Interoperability Process Reference Manual, or IPRM, is a key foundational element of the Smart Grid
Interoperability Panel (SGIP). The SGIP Smart Grid Testing and Certification Committee (SGTCC)
developed and issued the IPRM to detail its recommendations on testing and certification processes and
best practices that enhance the introduction of interoperable products in the market place. These
recommendations build upon international standards-based processes for interoperability testing and
certification.
The strongly held belief is that implementation of the IPRM by Interoperability Testing and Certification
Authorities (ITCAs) will increase the quality of standards-based, secure, and interoperable products in the
smart grid marketplace. The SGTCC members also believe that implementation of the IPRM will lead to
reduced deployment costs of smart grid systems and devices, and to enhanced product quality with
respect to interoperability and conformance, ultimately providing increased end-user customer
satisfaction, and confidence to the buyer through meaningful certification programs.
The IPRM enables the adoption of consistent and measurable certification and testing policies and
procedures across standards-based smart grid products based on the conformance, interoperability, and
cybersecurity testing experience and expertise of SGTCC participants, and the widely accepted
International Organization for Standardization (ISO)/International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
17025 and ISO/IEC 17065 international standards for testing laboratory and certification body
management systems.
These two ISO/IEC standards provide a solid foundation for the development and operation of highquality testing and certification programs. The SGTCC also recognizes that additional technical
requirements and best practices are necessary to help assure test program technical depth and
sufficiency in meeting end user expectations for interoperability and cybersecurity. These additional
recommendations are detailed in the IPRM.
History and Supercedence
Version 2 of the IPRM was publicly released in January 2012. The goal of Version 2 was to enhance the
utility of the document to support implementation of the criteria and recommendations by an ITCA and to
structure it in a way to better facilitate assessments of ITCA implementation both internal to the ITCA and
for external independent assessments. The changes in structure and clarity between Version 1 and
Version 2 were significant, although the technical content changes and intent were minor. Fundamentally,
Version 2 had an operational focus, while Version 1 provided an informational focus. Most of the key
informative material from Version 1 was retained in Version 2, and underwent only minor editorial
changes in Version 3.
Version 3 forms the basis of this standard and retains much of the technical material of earlier versions.
New material and revisions to the document approach are found in Version 3 based on:
a) Lessons learned from ITCAs as they have implemented the IPRM.
b) Clarification of issues that were unclear or confusing to ITCAs based on comments and questions
received by the SGTCC.
Some of these revisions were addressed since the last version of the IPRM using interim documents
prepared by the SGTCC, and these interim materials have now been incorporated into Version 3.
Key changes in IPRM Version 3 as compared to the prior version include:
a) A new section providing more detailed, step-by-step implementation processes recommended for
use by ITCAs building programs based on IPRM.
b) A new section on ITCA business considerations that influence program structure and operations.
© 2016 National Electrical Manufacturers Association
ANSI/NEMA SG-IPRM 1-2016
Page v
c) A revised section introducing the SGTCC Catalog of Test Programs recognition of IPRM
implementation— this replaces information on the SGTCC Program List, which has been
replaced by the Catalog of Test Programs with the transition to SGIP 2.0.
d) New material discussing Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) issues, their influence on
interoperability and considerations relative to EMC criteria for ITCAs.
e) A revised and more focused Cybersecurity section providing guidance to ITCAs on the role of
cybersecurity relative to testing and certification programs.
f) A compilation of Frequently Asked Questions on the IPRM, ITCAs, and testing and certification in
general, collected by the SGTCC since the previous IPRM release.
With this publication, the draft third version of the SGIP document has been transferred to a National
Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) and SGIP joint sponsored American National Standards
Institute (ANSI)/NEMA standard as embodied in this publication, which supersedes the formal Version 2
publication by the SGIP.
Long time readers of the IPRM will note significant formatting changes to the text they last viewed due to
template differences and the significant effort spent in creating a consistent, referenceable text. Also,
because of the joint sponsorship, many of the overt references to SGIP and SGTCC have been
deprecated in favor of more generic language or stricken to comply with the ANSI/NEMA style.
To those readers looking for a history of the SGIP, its processes, and the related NIST smart grid efforts
are encouraged to examine the Executive Summary of the publication entitled “NIST Framework and
Roadmap for Smart Grid Interoperability Standards, Release 3.0,” available at www.nist.gov.
Recognition
NEMA and the SGIP would like to recognize the following for their work in developing the IPRM under the
auspices of the SGIP SGTCC and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Leadership
Erich Gunther
Dean Prochaska
Rudi Schubert
Aaron Snyder
EnerNex LLC
NIST
EnerNex LLC
EnerNex LLC
Chair, SGTCC
Vice Chair, SGTCC
IPRM Past Project Chair and Past Editor
IPRM Project Chair and Editor
Contributing Editors
Don Heirman
American Council of Independent Laboratories
Jerry Ramie
ARC Technical Resources
Steve Griffith
NEMA
Galen Koepke
NIST
Cuong Nguyen
NIST
Rolf Bienert
OpenADR
James Mater
Quality Logic
Joseph Hughes
Reef Energy Systems LLC
For more information about the SGIP, please visit www.sgip.org. For more information about the SGTCC,
please visit www.sgip.org/sgtcc.
Feedback
In the preparation of this Standards Publication, input of users and other interested parties has been
sought and evaluated. Inquiries, comments, interpretation requests, and proposed or recommended
revisions should be submitted to the concerned NEMA product section by contacting the:
© 2016 National Electrical Manufacturers Association
ANSI/NEMA SG-IPRM 1-2016
Page vi
Senior Technical Director, Operations
National Electrical Manufacturers Association
1300 North 17th Street, Suite 900
Rosslyn, Virginia 22209
www.nema.org
At the time of NEMA Codes and Standards Committee approval of this standard, the companies forming
the sponsoring NEMA section were as shown below.
ABB Inc.
ALSTOM Grid Inc.
Eaton
Elster Solutions
G & W Electric Company
GE
Hubbell Incorporated
Itron, Inc.
Mitsubishi Electric Power Products, Inc.
Schneider Electric
Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.
Siemens Industry, Inc.
Cary, NC
Philadelphia, PA
Cleveland, OH
Raleigh, NC
Bolingbrook, IL
Fairfield, CT
Shelton, CT
Liberty Lake, WA
Warrendale, PA
Palatine, IL
Pullman, WA
Norcross, GA
© 2016 National Electrical Manufacturers Association
ANSI/NEMA SG-IPRM 1-2016
Page 1
Section 1
General
1.1
Scope
The Interoperability Process Reference Manual (IPRM) defines a process by which industry stakeholders
may procure, test, and assert interoperability between disparate vendors of smart grid products to
identified standards. This is accomplished by defining the relationships between smart grid stakeholders
invested in this goal. This standard defines requirements and recommendations for general test policies,
test suite specifications, test profiles, interoperability testing and certification authority technical programs,
governance, laboratory qualifications, and (process) improvements. Finally, this standard describes an
implementation approach.
© 2016 National Electrical Manufacturers Association