IEEE 2030.5 Takes Off: The Latest News on the IEEE 2030.5 Standard

Updated January 13, 2025

The IEEE 2030.5 standard has seen considerable advancements since we first published this blog post in 2019. These updates reflect the growing adoption of IEEE 2030.5 standard to support grid connected distributed energy resources (DER) and the evolving needs of modern energy grids.

Key developments include:

• Expansion Beyond California: While California’s Rule 21 and its mandated requirement to support IEEE 2030.5 for any grid interconnected DERs remains a significant driver, IEEE 2030.5 has gained traction globally. Australia’s adoption of the Common Smart Inverter Profile (CSIP-Aus) demonstrates the protocol’s versatility in supporting DER integration worldwide.
• Advancements in Testing and Certification: The SunSpec Alliance has continued to refine its test and certification program, ensuring robust interoperability and compliance. QualityLogic’s test tools have been critical in supporting vendors and utilities as they implement the standard and remain the only authorized certification test tool for the industry. 
• Increased Security and Scalability: Recent implementations emphasize improved security measures, addressing growing concerns around cybersecurity in energy systems. Scalability has also been a focus, allowing IEEE 2030.5 to handle larger and more complex DER networks, especially in Australia as many DNSPs start rolling out IEEE 2030.5 CSIP-Aus-based DERMs.
• Global Collaboration: International utilities, including those in Australia, Canada, and other countries are aligning with IEEE 2030.5 for DER management, Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G), Load Control and Pricing, solidifying its position as a global standard for smart energy communication.

Not only are we watching these advances (check out our white paper on the evolution of IEEE 2030.5), we’re also seeing the applications of IEEE 2030.5 extend far beyond traditional DER management. Among the most promising is the role 2030.5 is playing in enabling V2G technology.

By leveraging the protocol’s robust communication capabilities and its full support for grid support DER functions, V2G integration is transforming how electric vehicles (EVs) interact with the grid. This intersection of smart grid communication and bidirectional energy flow demonstrates the versatility of IEEE 2030.5 in shaping the future of energy systems. 

• Bidirectional Power: IEEE 2030.5 facilitates bidirectional power exchange between EVs and the grid, enabling EVs to not only draw power but also supply it back to the grid when needed.
• Support for V2G Interoperability: QualityLogic has played a key role in advancing IEEE 2030.5 for V2G applications. Through our test tools and training programs, we have helped to promote standards based integration of EVs into the grid. These efforts focus on enabling bidirectional energy flow between EVs and the grid, supporting grid stability and efficient renewable energy utilization​.
• Support for Grid Services: Studies by PNNL have evaluated IEEE 2030.5’s capabilities in supporting various grid services through V2G, including energy scheduling, reserve provision, and frequency response, highlighting its versatility in VGI applications.
• Demand Response Load Control and Pricing: CSIP-Aus specification supports Dynamic Operating Envelopes and Demand Response Load Control signals to support AS 4775 standard (Demand Response Enabling Devices or DREDs). There is currently work being done to integrate support of Pricing signals and additional features.

As these advancements pave the way for more efficient and interactive energy grids, they also build on the early momentum and foundational efforts that set IEEE 2030.5 on its current trajectory. Looking back at the progress captured in our original blog posts from 2017 and 2019, it’s clear how far the IEEE 2030.5 community has come. Since 2019, these important industry milestones were achieved:

• CA Rule 21 and other regional mandates now require IEEE 2030.5/CSIP based devices as the basis for DER communication for grid interconnected DERs.
• Became a key test partner of the SunSpec Alliance to develop a robust CSIP Certification Test Procedures and associated certification program, which includes many approved test labs that also utilize QualityLogic’s IEEE 2030.5/CSIP Certification Test Tool and our technical workshops.
• Growing number of IEEE 2030.5/CSIP certified DER and DERMs systems who were officially certified through the SunSpec CSIP certification program.
• We’ve seen utilities outside of CA in the US, Canada, and Australia requiring IEEE 2030.5 for both DR and DER applications.

Implementing IEEE 2030.5 is Not Simple

IEEE 2030.5 is a very rich, modern IOT protocol. It has over 30 distinct “function sets” covering everything from device discovery to security to smart grid functions like DER, demand response and flow reservation for EVs.

Even implementing an application as narrowly defined as the Common Smart Inverter Profile (CSIP) is more complex than you would imagine. It is a common misunderstanding that a device can support just the DER function set from IEEE 2030.5 and satisfy CSIP requirements.

The structure of IEEE 2030.5 requires implementation of almost 20 of the 30+ function sets to be compliant with the CSIP requirements. These include everything from discovering device to device capability exchanges to both polling and subscription-based communications and much more. QualityLogic’s IEEE 2030.5 DER Technical Workshop has equipped many professional teams across the globe in understanding the fundamentals of IEEE 2030.5, CSIP, and CSIP-Aus specifications since 2013.

What is IEEE 1547.1 and Who Cares?

IEEE 1547 is the industry standard of IEEE for managing the interconnection of any generating resource to a distribution grid. The standard has just been updated in 2018 to incorporate smart inverter functions. Prior to this, the standard was very simple and basically required the inverter for the generation source to disconnect from the grid under any anomalous circumstances. If the local grid suffers a voltage sag or high-voltage “blip”, the inverter was required to stop putting energy into the grid. The goal was to ensure that distributed energy resources (DER) did not damage the grid under stress conditions.

The IEEE 1547-2018 version ensures that DER resources can be used to manage grid reliability. For instance, instead of disconnecting from the grid when the voltage sags, smart inverters could be asked to provide voltage support to the local grid.

IEEE 1547.1 is the companion standard to IEEE 1547 that specifies how to conduct the tests that certify IEEE 1547 compliance. IEEE 1547.1 is primarily a functionality test for advanced smart inverter functions. But IEEE 1547-2018 also adds for the first time a required communications capability using one of three designated protocols:

• SunSpec Modbus
• DNP3
• IEEE 2030.5

And IEEE 1547.1 specifies how to test for the communications capabilities. This is a huge step forward in that for the first time a smart inverter hardware certification program will validate that sending instructions or information in an industry standard protocol will achieve the desired behavior of the system. The significance of this for managing DER assets cannot be over-emphasized. It is a great starting point for gaining confidence in the interoperability AND performance of a smart inverter in a single certification program.

The End-End Validation Challenge and IEEE 1547

One of the major issues in CA Rule 21 today is how to ensure that instructions sent from a utility DERMS to an aggregator or building EMS are turned into the intended behaviors of the targeted smart inverters. Some stakeholders seem to believe that full end-to-end testing will be conducted with IEEE 1547.1.

Unfortunately, IEEE 1547.1 certification testing will not accomplish the objective of a full end-to-end test. IEEE 1547.1 actually does the following for interoperability:

• It ensures that one of three standard protocols (DNP3, SunSpec Modbus or IEEE 2030.5) can be used to communicate the inverter function settings defined in IEEE 1547-2018 to a local inverter control system or gateway device. 
• Validates that the communicated functional instructions are correctly implemented in the smart inverter.

The use of the term “gateway” in IEEE 1547-2018 means a local communications capability. And it must be in physical proximity to the actual inverter system (rather than cloud-based). The purpose of defining a gateway as a local interface is to reduce the risk of a communications failure due to the loss of the cloud or an internet connection. 

The hope that IEEE 1547.1 will address the end-end testing issue is misplaced. What IEEE 1547.1 will not do is the following:

• IEEE 1547.1 will not require that one of the standard protocols is used in the installation and operation of an inverter. While IEEE 1547.1 ensures a “capability” to use one of the protocols, the requirement to actually use it will be a vendor, utility or policy specific decision.
• It does not ensure that the local interface for IEEE 1547.1 testing will be IEEE 2030.5. That will be up to the inverter vendor. If they already have a SunSpec or DNP3 local interface, that may well be the protocol used for IEEE 1547.1 certification.
• There is no “end-end” testing in IEEE 1547.1. The certification only validates that a correct message in one of the protocols from a simulated aggregator, utility, cloud-based adapter, EMS, etc., will result in the desired performance. There is no testing with a specific EMS, aggregator system, utility DERMS, or any other source that may be sending real instructions to the inverter.
• The IEEE 1547.1 Interoperability test is not a protocol test. While it ensures that the IEEE 1547 functions can be managed via a specific protocol (including monitoring and scheduling), it does not validate that the rest of the protocol is functioning correctly. That is what is done in a protocol test such as the SunSpec IEEE 2030.5 CSIP test. This means that an inverter can pass a 1547.1 interoperability test but still not communicate correctly with a production server for that protocol.
• IEEE 1547.1 does not include any security testing to validate certificates, authentication and security features and controls. This is a critical aspect of an end-end test in our view.

The bottom line is that the IEEE 1547.1 certification will not solve the “end-end” testing challenge. 

What’s Next for IEEE 2030.5?

In December 2024, a new version of the IEEE 2030.5 standard was formally published after years of intensive work by the IEEE 2030.5 working group. Steve Kang, GM of QualityLogic’s Smart Energy Group, led the DER subgroup that was tasked to update the standard for new DER functions and related updates.

Earlier in 2024, there were CPUC led discussions in the Smart Inverter Working Group about the need to further enhance the CSIP specification to meet new requirements and needs from the industry. A ruling was made that SunSpec Alliance would continue developing the CSIP test procedures while IEEE was recommended to be responsible for development of the CSIP 3.0 specification. It is expected that the CSIP 3.0 development will start later in 2025 with wide participation by stakeholders worldwide.

Beyond CSIP usage of the IEEE 2030.5 standard, there are additional adoptions and updates anticipated:

• UL 1741 SC for V2G certification of AC chargers that utilize SAE J3072 IEEE 2030.5 profile which utilizes the IEEE 2030.5 protocol to support V2G functions between EV and EVSE.
• CSIP-Australia will update their specifications to include additional use cases including pricing, storage functions, and other Australian-specific requirements.
• Metering server profile has been implemented by smart meter manufacturer(s) which enables use of the UsagePoint metering function set by a smart meter device

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