DALLAS, Nov. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --The sixth annual Grid-Interop conference, taking place Dec. 3-6 in Irving, TX, will not only serve as the collaboration point for Smart Grid technology experts and leaders, but it will also provide the venue for the second annual "Plug-In" event and the ongoing transition from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) SGIP to SGIP 2.0.

Gathering the industry's top utility, government, technology, and standards leaders, Grid-Interop will host: 

• The SGIP Meetings (Dec. 3-4): SGIP is transitioning from a federally-funded organization to an industry-funded, public-private entity in January 2013. Serving as one of the locations of SGIP's governing board meetings since the organization's inception, Grid-Interop will help Smart Grid stakeholders: (1) define what's next by providing critical updates and workshops on priority action plans (PAPs) and key initiatives; (2) provide a platform to celebrate NIST SGIP accomplishments over the last three years; and (3) discuss the SGIP 2.0 transition plan.
• The second annual "Plug-In" to showcase interoperability in action  (Dec. 4-6):
  "Plug-In" is made possible by collaboration among the Z-Wave Alliance, MultiSpeak®, and the OpenADR Alliance and will provide a venue for discussing and demonstrating a secure, interoperable grid. With standards efforts now bearing fruit, a cross-section of industry organizations will demonstrate 15 to 20 examples of emerging, evolving, and mature interoperability standards, including demand response, transmission & distribution, enhanced cyber security, and more.
• Grid-Interop discussions, boot camps, and workshops (Dec-5-6): The second half of Grid-Interop is organized by the GridWise® Architecture Council (GWAC) and will focus on information interoperability, architecture, business and policy, and cross-cutting issues. These sessions will feature industry-leading speakers and keynotes, including Jim Greer, Sr. Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Oncor Electric Delivery; Colin Harrison, IBM Distinguished Engineer; Christopher Irwin, Smart Grid Standards and Interoperability Coordinator, U.S. Department of Energy; Patrick Gallagher, Director, NIST; George Arnold, National Coordinator for Smart Grid Interoperability, NIST; David Owens, Executive Vice President, Business Operations, Edison Electric Institute; and more. See speaker list and full agenda.

With the guiding principle of implementing interoperability through collaboration, Grid-Interop brings together a cross-section of electric-industry stakeholders to ensure rapid development and implementation of interoperability standards. 

To register, please visit: www.Grid-Interop.com.

Grid-Interop is organized by Clasma Events, Inc.

SOURCE Clasma Events