What makes smart grid - Smart - and who is in the game?

There has been a desire for a long time to increase the efficiency of the way in which power is generated and delivered to customers. While there are many aspects to solve this desire, many of them entail the ability to know what power is used and when it is used and by whom. The point of common information is at the common power usage meter that resides on the outside wall of structures. From an EMC perspective, such devices should withstand the RF environment where they are located. The use of EMC standards and appropriate test levels are critical to the survivability of the intelligence that flows in both directions through the power meter. That intelligence has been identified as making the meter smart and hence the power grid smart. Moreover, this has been identified as the Smart Meter and the Smart Grid, respectively. This short paper provides an overview of the application of EMC principles to the Smart Grid. It will indicate where the EMC standards can best be applied and which are the main committees identifying these standards. It is not an exhaustive review as it is intended to highlight the topic with papers that follow providing much more detail. © 2012 IEEE Electromagnetic Compatibility Magazine.