Smart-grid development advanced on June 18 with the release of the National Institute of Standards and Technologies’ June 18 on standards for the smart grid. The report, prepared by the Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, Cal-if., is the first of three phases in NIST’s plan to expedite development of the smart grid. NIST will accept public comments for 30 days after publication of a notice in the Federal Register announcing the report’s availability, then establish priorities, standards and action plans by early fall.