Smart Grid Interop Lab

Verifying the Smart Grid

As new vendors and products enter the Smart Grid market, interoperability issues present significant challenges. In this environment, utilities and manufacturers require greater certainty that their technologies will work together. DNV KEMA has developed a solution — the Smart Grid Interop Lab. The lab, which is located behind the Duke Energy Envision Center in Erlanger, KY, offers independent verification of device interoperability and compliance validation of low-voltage automation devices, meters and consumer products. Testing procedures focus on four key areas of interoperability performance: reliability, optimization, regression testing to ensure compatibility with older components, and cyber security.

• Supplier product testing to certify performance and interoperability.
• Utility architecture testing to validate compatibility, adherence to NIST Smart Grid Interoperability Standards and interoperability of AMI and Smart Grid products to system designs.
• Third-party service provider testing to verify compatibility, adherence to standards and interoperability of AMI and Smart Grid products with additional supplier products and services.
• Experimental testing environment to perform proof of concept and experimental testing of prototypes from product and service developers in early development stages.
• Performance testing to measure how individual elements function in the system, as well as the impact from the addition of new system elements or features.
• Compatibility testing to determine a tested product or service element’s ability to work effectively with other elements, while operating together in the same grid environment.
• Full reporting of results, including trends and conclusions, issued for each test undertaken.

• A live and operational Smart Grid environment to test compliance of products and services with existing and new standards as they evolve.
• The ability to test, individually or in combination, new products and services for compliance and interoperability with supplemental products and services.
• A controlled environment to develop and execute new test procedures and use-case scenarios in accordance with evolving NIST Smart Grid standards.
• A platform to provide training for Smart Grid system installations, operations, and diagnostics.