Smart Grid and electrostatic discharge: Cause for new concerns?

In many ways, the Smart Grid represents the next big thing. It encompasses not only the public electricity network but potentially all things that connect to the network. Changes in the network and changes in equipment connected to it are intertwined, and along the way unintended consequences may happen. One of those consequences could be the way industry thinks about the effect of electrostatic discharges (ESD) on electrical equipment. Industry should determine whether effects of (and on) ESD due to the Smart Grid represent a major shift that will required new models and test methods or are only another stage in the evolution of the relationship between ESD and electronic equipment. A brief historical look at the development of ESD test methods is followed by discussion of one method being implemented for handling ESD in the face of Smart Grid changes.