http://www.apec.org/Press/News-Releases/2012/0518_smartgrid.aspx Quebec City, Canada, 18 May 2012 – Economies with a
desire to fully deploy smart grid technologies need to make better use of
international standards and not create unnecessary technical barriers to trade,
said experts.
At
an APEC
workshop on regulatory approaches to smart grid investment and
deployment, regulators
from the region sought to
better coordinate across their agencies to facilitate the trade and investment
of smart grid technology. The event took place alongside the 5th
World Forum on Energy Regulation in Quebec City, Canada.
APEC
recognizes smart grid deployment as a means to address climate change, improve
energy efficiency and promote green growth. Chair of the Korean Electricity
Regulatory Commission, Professor Ja-Yoon Koo, said that smart
grids are key to enabling the greater use and integration of
renewable energy sources in businesses and homes.
“For smart grids to
truly take off, we have to consider developing and adopting common
interoperability standards across the APEC region,” Prof. Koo told participants
at the workshop.
“Adhering to such
standards can significantly contribute to the trade and investment in smart grid
technologies,” he added. “This will in turn create new business opportunities
and greatly benefit consumers, as well as the environment.”
Interoperability in smart
grid technologies refer to the ability for diverse systems – such as advanced
metering infrastructure, electric vehicles and energy storage devices – to work
together seamlessly.
Using common standards will
enhance interoperability and reduce costs and risks associated with investments
in these technologies.
“The
regulatory community plays a critical role in smart grid investment and
deployment,” said Dr. George Arnold, the workshop’s Co-Chair and the National
Coordinator for Smart Grid Interoperability at the National Institute of
Standards and Technology in the United States.
“With
continued growth in smart grid investments over the next five years,
particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, it is critical that APEC’s regulators
be well informed about the standards impacting smart grid development, and how
they can potentially spur even greater investments and benefits.”
“Standards should always
be developed to ensure interoperability,” said Mr. Koichi Noda, Director of the
Technical Regulations, Standards and Conformity Assessment Policy Division at
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
“Because smart grids are
systems that contain a wide range of technology, the creation of standards for
mutual linkage among them is extremely important,” he emphasized.
“Interoperability makes it possible for smart grids to work securely and
effectively.”
Promoting transparency
and global collaboration in the development of smart grid interoperability
standards was identified as a priority issue by APEC Ministers last year.
This workshop complements
the current APEC Smart Grid Initiative http://www.apec.org/Meeting-Papers/Ministerial-Statements/Annual/2011/2011_amm/annex-e.aspx and the APEC Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance http://www.apec.org/Groups/Committee-on-Trade-and-Investment/Sub-Committee-on-Standards-and-Conformance.aspx work plan of
promoting good regulatory practices. The outcomes of the workshop are expected
to be endorsed by the Committee on Trade and Investment and will also be
presented to APEC Energy Ministers when they meet in St. Petersburg, Russia on
24 -25 June. A report of the meeting will be made available on the APEC Publication Database. http://publications.apec.org/
Media advice www.apec.org
