IEEE Standard for Interconnection and Interoperability of Distributed Energy Resources with Associated Electric Power Systems Interfaces
Overview
This page provides information about IEEE Std 1547™-2018, including resources and guidance for its adoption by interested stakeholders like OEMs, utilities, reliability coordinators, and policy makers.
General
This standard provides interconnection and interoperability technical and test specifications and requirements for distributed energy resources (DERs). Additionally, several annexes are included in this standard that provide additional material for informative purposes, but are not required to be used in conjunction with this standard.
Scope
This standard establishes criteria and requirements for interconnection of distributed energy resources with electric power systems (EPSs) and associated interfaces. The stated technical specifications and requirements are universally needed for interconnection and interoperability of distributed energy resources (DERs) and will be sufficient for most installations. The specified performance requirements apply at the time of interconnection and as long as the DER remains in service.
Purpose
This document provides a uniform standard for the interconnection and interoperability of distributed energy resources with electric power systems. It provides requirements relevant to the interconnection and interoperability performance, operation and testing, and, to safety, maintenance and security considerations.
Leadership Team
David J. Narang, Chair
Thomas (Tom) Basso, Past Chair
John Berdner, Jens C. Boemer, Babak Enayati, Bob Fox, Mark Siira, Vice Chairs
Charles K. Vartanian, Secretary
Sources to Obtain the Standard
In accordance with IEEE protocol and in compliance with the law, IEEE made IEEE 1547 base standard and amendments available in the IEEE Standards Reading Room. This “view only” version can be accessed by anyone free-of-charge but does not allow for search, navigation pane, and other conveniency features.
IEEE Standards Association landing page: https://standards.ieee.org/findstds/standard/1547-2018.html
An errata (published in June 2018) is available that corrects a sign error in the frequency-droop (frequency-power) formula in table 23 in section 6.5.2.7.2 (Frequency-droop (frequency-power) operation): http://standards.ieee.org/findstds/errata/1547-2018_errata.pdf
Standards Online subscribers can access this standard in IEEE Xplore Digital Library: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/Xplore/login.jsp?url=%2FXplore%2Fhome.jsp
A copy of the IEEE Std 1547-2018 may be purchased from the IEEE Standards Store at this link: http://www.techstreet.com/ieee/products/vendor_id/5915
Participants of SCC21-approved tutorials on IEEE Std 1547-2018 and qualifying parties (e.g., government bodies and state regulatory authorities) may obtain a discounted copy of the standard by following these guidelines: http://site.ieee.org/sagroups-scc21/standards/discountedcopies/
Information on the 2020 Amendment to IEEE Std 1547-2018 to provide more flexibility for adoption of abnormal operating performance Category III is available at: https://site.ieee.org/sagroups-scc21/standards/amendment-to-ieee-std-1547-2018-to-provide-more-flexibility-for-adoption-of-abnormal-operating-performance-category-iii/
Adoption of IEEE Standard 1547™-2018
NARUC Resolution on IEEE Standard 1547™-2018
On February 12, 2020, the Board of Directors of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) unanimously approved a resolution offered by Commissioner Schuerger (MN) recommending state commissions adopt and implement the newly revised distributed energy resource interconnection standard (IEEE 1547-2018.) The resolution also unanimously passed two NARUC committees: Electricity and Energy Resources and the Environment.
The resolution grants flexibility for state commissions recognizing the unique procedures, priorities and needs for each state; while recognizing the best practices identified by technical experts and IEEE 1547-2018 for convening a stakeholder process, utilizing existing research and experience to make evidence-based decisions and aligning the implementation of the standard with the availability of certified equipment.
A copy of the final resolution is available at: https://pubs.naruc.org/pub/4C436369-155D-0A36-314F-8B6C4DE0F7C7
Adoption Status
Last updated: January 2024
Below map shows the status of adoption of IEEE Std 1547™-2018 across States in the U.S. This and further information about the adoption methods and common performance category assignments are presented in this slide deck by courtesy of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). You may also refer to IREC USA’s IEEE 1547™-2018 Adoption Tracker for further details. Please use the form below to suggest any updates to this information.
Timeline for Rollout of IEEE Std 1547™-2018 Compliant DER
Last Update: May 2022
UL convened a Task Group (TG) in January 2020 comprised of representatives from National Labs, Electric Utilities, Inverter Manufacturers, General Interest, and Nationally Recognized Testing Labs (NRTLs) to discuss and revise the existing UL 1741 Ed. 2, an UL certification standard for smart inverters, in order to align it with the new IEEE 1547-2018, IEEE 1547a-2020, and IEEE 1547.1-2020 standards requirements and test procedures for distributed energy resources.
The UL 1741 Ed. 2 revision was published September 16, 2020, shortly after the publication of IEEE 1547.1-2020 and the IEEE 1547a-2020 Amendment. A year later, a 3rd Edition of UL 1741 was published September 28, 2021 that resolved some consistency issues in Ed. 2 that were identified by inverter manufacturers. The UL 1741 Ed. 3 is considered the definite certification standard for smart inverters in line with the latest IEEE 1547 standards and is available on the UL 1741 website here.
The revisions of UL 1741 Ed. 2 and Ed. 3 relative to Ed. 1 are as follows:
- The existing Supplemental SA will remain within UL 1741 for the time being.
- A new Supplement SB was added that directly refers to the IEEE 1547.1-2020 test procedures.
- For inverters capable of meeting requirements of existing codes like CA Rule 21 and HI Rule 14H. The Supplement SA was modified to allow for use of IEEE 1547.1-2020 test methods as an alternative to existing Supplement SA test methods as a means to move towards Supplement SB/ IEEE 1547-2018 and IEEE 1547.1-2020 compliance.
- For inverters rated for compliance with the new IEEE 1547-2018, IEEE 1547a-2020, and IEEE 1547.1-2020, certification via Supplement SB will be required.
Inverter manufacturers choose which Supplement (SA or SB) to certify their equipment to as they deem appropriate and as the market requires. The intention of the Supplement SB revision document is to result in a common understanding and application of the new requirements to maximize consistency in DER response to grid events. Once available, certified products will be listed on NRTLs’ websites. Due to the lag time of more than one year between the publication of the latest IEEE 1547 standards and the publication of the UL 1741 Ed. 3, effective dates for IEEE 1547-2018 capable inverter-based DER of sooner than April 1, 2023, could create an administrative barrier for non-certified inverters to interconnect to the grid.
The below timeline summarizes the above information.
Informal Industry Coordination
An informal stakeholder call is hosted about every two months to coordinate ongoing and new outreach activities. The latest notes from these calls are available for download here. Please contact the webmaster if you wish to be invited to these calls.
SCC21-Reviewed Slide Decks Available for Interested Lecturers
As part of our SCC21 outreach for IEEE Std 1547-2018, SCC21 is happy to provide interested lecturers with pre-reviewed slide decks for presentations on the new IEEE 1547 under the condition of mutual collaboration. That will save presenters time, maintain consistency in the presentations, and enable continuous improvement of the new standard. Presenters that use SCC21-reviewed slides agree to conform to the SCC21-approved outreach procedures for standards presentations available at this link: http://site.ieee.org/sagroups-scc21/resources/standardspresentations/
Education and Training Resources
All resources represent the authors’ views and are not the formal position, explanation or position of the IEEE, IEEE Standards Association, IEEE Standard Coordination Committee 21, or any of the SCC21 Officer’s affiliations. Resources tagged with “SCC21-Reviewed” have been peer-reviewed by SCC21 and/or IEEE P1547 Officers.
Further Reading
NREL IEEE 1547-2018 Resources – This site features educational materials on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Standard 1547™-2018 (IEEE Std 1547-2018) for interconnection and interoperability of distributed energy resources. The educational materials are for utilities, states, solar developers, transmission operators, regulators, policymakers, and other stakeholders. https://www.nrel.gov/grid/ieee-standard-1547/
Forum on Inverter Grid Integration Issues (FIGII) (2019): Guide to Selecting Inverters and Settings in Jurisdictions Without Grid Support Functionality Requirements. A Guide to Selecting Inverters and Settings in Jurisdictions Without Grid Support Functionality Requirements is a new document created by the FIGII consortium in April 2019. It is intended to help inform utilities choosing to provide specific requirements to ensure inverters are correctly selected and commissioned. These requirements might exist in utility technical interconnection requirements, technical manuals, interconnection handbooks or addenda. The intended reader is likely a utility engineer tasked with creating or updating such requirements, in light of expanded inverter capabilities now available on the market. Available online at: https://irecusa.org/2019/06/national-forum-on-inverter-grid-integration/
NRECA (2019): Guide to IEEE 1547-2018 Standard for DER Interconnections. National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). Available online at https://www.cooperative.com/topics/transmission-distribution/Pages/NRECA-Guide-to-IEEE-1547-2018-Standard-for-DER-Interconnections.aspx .
IREC (2019): Making the Grid Smarter. Primer on Adopting the New IEEE 1547-2018 Standard for Distributed Energy Resources. Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Available online at https://irecusa.org/publications/making-the-grid-smarter-state-primer-on-adopting-the-new-ieee-standard-1547-2018-for-distributed-energy-resources/ .
EPRI (2018): IEEE Standard 1547™ – Power Quality Considerations for Distributed Energy Resources. White Paper. 3002010282. Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). Palo Alto, CA. Available online at https://www.epri.com/#/pages/product/000000003002010282/.
NRECA (2018): The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) published four articles in January 2018 that focus on the IEEE 1547’s impact on the electric grid and electric cooperatives: https://www.cooperative.com/topics/operations/pages/ieee-standard-1547.aspx
EPRI (2017): IEEE 1547 – New Interconnection Requirements for Distributed Energy Resources. Fact Sheet. 3002011346. 2nd revision. Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). Palo Alto, CA. Available online at https://www.epri.com/#/pages/product/000000003002011346/.
EPRI (2017): IEEE Standard 1547™ – Communications and Interoperability. New Requirements Mandate Open Communications Interface and Interoperability for Distributed Energy Resources. 3002011591. Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). Palo Alto, CA. Available online at https://www.epri.com/#/pages/product/000000003002011591/.
EPRI (2015): Recommended Settings for Voltage and Frequency Ride-Through of Distributed Energy Resources. Minimum and Advanced Requirements and Settings for the Performance of Distributed Energy Resources During and After System Disturbances to Support Bulk Power System Reliability and Their Respective Technical Implications on Industry Stakeholders. 3002006203. Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). Palo Alto, CA. Available online at http://www.epri.com/abstracts/Pages/ProductAbstract.aspx?ProductId=000000003002006203.
Webinars
2018 WIRAB Webinar: Implementation of IEEE 1547 Standard – Interconnection of DERs and Utility Electric Power Systems. August 21, 2018. Available online at https://westernenergyboard.org/2018/06/wirab-webinar-road-map-to-unplug-benefits-of-advanced-der-capability-functions/
2018 EPRI Webinar: Overview on IEEE Std 1547-2018. Available online at 3002014545
2018 EPRI Webinar: DER Ride-through Performance Categories and Trip Settings 3002014546
2018 EPRI Webinar: T+D Coordination for DER Ride-Through and Trip Requirements 3002014547
ISO/RTO Transmission & Distribution Coordination
NERC (2019): Bulk Power System Reliability Perspectives on the Adoption of IEEE 1547-2018. Reliability Guideline. Draft. Available online at https://www.nerc.com/comm/PC_Reliability_Guidelines_DL/Guideline_IEEE_1547-2018_BPS_Perspectives.pdf.
MISO´s IEEE 1547 – Distribution Interconnection Coordination: https://www.misoenergy.org/planning/generator-interconnection/ieee-1547/
PJM´s DER Ride Through Task Force: https://pjm.com/committees-and-groups/closed-groups/derrttf.aspx
Further Reading Suggestions
Please use this form to suggest further reference for background and explanation on this standard. Links to any educational resource submitted will be added to the above list in a non-discriminatory way, unless they include commercial endorsements. If desired, authors can request a peer-review of the educational material by SCC21 and IEEE P1547 Officers. Resources that have been reviewed by at least one Officer and for which no other Officer has raised concerns within a 2-week review period, will be marked as “SCC21-Reviewed” on this website.