Megan Novak Shockney
The Ardell Group for HomePlug
(858) 442-3492
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Representatives from Five Member Companies of the HomePlug® Powerline Alliance Elected to the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel Board
HomePlug Continues Commitment to Interoperability in Smart Grid Standards
Portland, Ore. – November 20, 2009 – The HomePlug® Powerline Alliance congratulates the five HomePlug member companies whose employees have been elected as representatives on the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP) Governing Board at the inaugural meeting of the SGIP, which took place this week in Denver. The SGIP is a new stakeholder forum to provide technical support to the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as it coordinates standards for a modernized electric power system. The meeting concluded yesterday with election of 20 members to its governing board.
Of the 20 board members, representatives from five HomePlug member companies – George Bjelovuk from American Electric Power; Wayne Longcore from Consumers Energy; Brent Hodges from Reliant Energy; John McDonald from GE Energy; and Paul De Martini from Southern California Edison – as well as Mark McGranaghan from HomePlug liaison organization Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) were voted to the board.
“The HomePlug Powerline Alliance is pleased to see that HomePlug member companies, especially utility companies working with HomePlug, are serving as representatives on the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel Governing Board,” said Rob Ranck, president of the HomePlug Powerline Alliance. “Interoperability is of paramount importance not only for the HomePlug alliance, but also the industry as a whole. We commend the SGIP and NIST for their efforts, and the alliance is truly committed to working with the industry to support achieving a secure, interoperable Smart Grid in a timely fashion.”
The Smart Grid is a key focus for the HomePlug Powerline Alliance, and at the center of the alliance’s Smart Grid developments for the upcoming year is HomePlug’s forthcoming “Green PHY” (HomePlug GP) specification, which was recently named in the NIST report on Smart Grid interoperability standards roadmap. HomePlug GP is a reduced complexity interoperable profile of the IEEE 1901 draft standard for cost sensitive Smart Grid applications, tailored to the requirements of utility companies for home-area networks. HomePlug GP was founded upon interoperability, and products based on HomePlug GP will be interoperable with all HomePlug AV and IEEE 1901 products while dramatically reducing cost and power consumption. The alliance is developing HomePlug GP with input from major utility companies as the Smart Grid communications protocol for connecting home appliances such as HVAC and smart meters to utility companies for Smart Grid applications. Finalization of the standard is expected in Q1 2010 with products shipping later in the year.
The HomePlug Powerline Alliance has a long and demonstrable history of industry unification on the platform of international standards, and is committed to continue working with the industry in support of Smart Grid interoperability initiatives. HomePlug works with various constituencies and gathers requirements from various stakeholders, and all of its specifications are designed to meet the requirement for interoperability among service providers, utilities, equipment and appliance manufacturers, consumer electronics, and other important stakeholders. HomePlug’s collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders has resulted in the IEEE 1901 Draft Standard that addresses interoperability and coexistence in applications ranging from Smart Grid to High Definition entertainment. The HomePlug Powerline Alliance has a well established Compliance and Interoperability certification program to ensure true multi-vendor interoperability from ICs to products and is augmenting the existing program with a certification program for IEEE 1901 based products. Additionally, HomePlug welcomes collaboration with any group that is focused on the creation of interoperable technologies.
Additional information on the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel and the National Institute of Standards and Technology can be found at www.nist.gov. Please visit www.HomePlug.org for more information on the HomePlug Powerline Alliance.
About the HomePlug® Powerline Alliance
Founded in 2000, the HomePlug Powerline Alliance, Inc. is an industry-led initiative with more than 70 member companies that creates specifications and certification logo programs for using the powerlines for reliable home networking and Smart Grid applications. The Alliance accelerates worldwide adoption for HomePlug technology by collaborating with international standards organizations such as the IEEE and through market development and user education programs. Sponsor members include Cisco (CSCO); Comcast (CMCSK); GE Energy, an affiliate of General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE); Gigle Networks; Intellon Corporation (ITLN); Motorola, Inc. (MOT); NEC Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723); and SPiDCOM Technologies. Contributor members include Arkados (OTCBB: AKDS); Corporate Systems Engineering; Renesas Technology Corp., Texas Instruments Incorporated (NYSE:TXN) and Yitran Communications Ltd.
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