IEC style guide
This guide forms an essential part of the IEC brand identity. It shall be used by any IEC employee or contractor.
Articles
Intended use
The purpose of this guide is to standardize the appearance of text, and the use of capitals and acronyms, in all documents intended for outside audiences, except for IEC International Standards and associated publications, official documents published by the IEC CA Systems, SMB and CAB documents. It shall also be consistently used for websites’ contents.
This guide is based on UK spelling, and uses the Oxford English Dictionary and Economist Style Guide as references. However, there are special IEC preferences listed in this guide which take precedence, for example the -ize ending on verbs.
The content of this guide will be updated regularly. Should you have additional input that may be relevant, please contact the Communications Department at communication@iec.ch.
In this new edition, the use of capital letters and acronyms has been re-assessed. In line with the Oxford English Dictionary, we have opted to limit the use of capital letters to IEC proprietary names.
How to use
|
|
Rule |
 |
Example |
 |
Note |
 |
Exception |
Typographic and editorial rules
The Oxford English Dictionary can be found at www.oxforddictionaries.com.
The Economist Style Guide is the reference used for general typography. A paperback copy of the latest 12th edition is available for consultation at the Communications department. Should you wish to get your own version, either paperback or e-book, please send a request to communication@iec.ch.
Font and font size
The standard font for all IEC material is Arial, alternatively Helvetica, automatic (black) colour, single line spacing, justified left/right without word break. The standard size is 10
For texts which are laid out in columns there should be flexibility as to whether word break is used or not [see Hyphen usage]
/*! elementor - v3.14.0 - 26-06-2023 */.elementor-widget-image{text-align:center}.elementor-widget-image a{display:inline-block}.elementor-widget-image a img[src$=".svg"]{width:48px}.elementor-widget-image img{vertical-align:middle;display:inline-block}
To change the default font Calibri in Word for Office 365: go.iec.ch/iecsgfont
Spelling
English UK
colour, centre, programme [not color, center, program]
Use “z” instead of “s” in words ending in ize, ization
organization, organize, standardization, standardize, optimization, optimize, harmonization, harmonize, emphasize, recognize, urbanizego.iec.ch/iecsgfont
Punctuation marks [general use]
Don’t add a space before a punctuation mark in both English and French
Don’t add a double space after a punctuation mark and following text
Don’t add a space before or after the / symbol
What are the market needs? They are to be defined before…
We will assess/test the product for harmful substances.go.iec.ch/iecsgfont
When writing an individual’s title, do not use a full stop
On first mention, use the person’s first and last name. On second mention use the title and last name, or just the last name
Mr
Mrs
Ms
Dr
From 2002 to 2014, James M. Shannon was President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Fire Protection Association. Prior to that, Shannon or Mr Shannon served as Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, USA.
Colon [:]
There are three main uses of the colon:
- between two clauses where the second clause explains or follows from the first [see examples 1]
- to introduce a list [see examples 2]
- before a quotation, and sometimes before direct speech [see examples 3]
The first word of the clause following a colon is not capitalized unless the text is in quotes
1
That is the secret of my extraordinary life: always do the unexpected.
It wasn’t easy: to begin with, I had to find the right house.
2
The price includes the following: travel to London, flight to Venice, hotel accommodation, and excursions.
The job calls for skills in the following areas: proofing, editing, and database administration.
3
The headline read: “Taxi driver battles gangsters”.
They shouted: “Our families are starving! We need land!”
Semicolon [;]
Semicolon is used to mark a break that is stronger than a comma but not as final as a full stop
Use semicolon between two clauses that balance each other and are too closely linked to be made into separate sentences [see example 1]
Use a semicolon as a stronger division in a sentence that already contains commas [see example 2]
1
The road runs through a beautiful wooded valley; the railway line follows it.
2
The study showed the following: 76% of surveyed firms monitor employee web-surfing activities, with 65% blocking access to unauthorized internet locations; 57% monitor employee telephone behaviour, including the inappropriate use of voicemail.
Quotation marks
Use double or single smart quotes “ ” [not straight quotes ” ” nor French guillemets « »] both in English and French texts
Quotation marks are used to cite someone’s words, or to highlight something
Single quotes shall only be used as a second level quotation, within an existing quotation
After opening a quote and before closing, do not leave a space
The BIMCO Guidelines focus on “issues facing the shipping industry onboard ships” but gives the “ISO/IEC 27000 series of Information Security Management Systems (ISMS) standards” as an example of international standards and guidelines that “cover cyber security issues for shoreside operations”.
“The number of countries in our Affiliate Country Programme is ‘growing rapidly’ according to our new Affiliate Leader”, the General Secretary said.
To change quotes settings in Word for Office 365: File>Options>Proofing>AutoCorrect Options>AutoFormat or AutoFormat As You Type
Hyphen usage
Avoid word break as much as possible. When using word break, make sure the hyphen is in the right place with the free online linguistics programme: go.iec.ch/iecsghyphenator
Words that don’t require an hyphen: multicultural, multimedia, online
e-learning [not eLearning]go.iec.ch/iecsgfont
Use prefix e- for electronic
e-business [not eBusiness]
e-waste [not eWaste]
Nonbreaking space, nonbreaking hyphen
Use nonbreaking space to avoid inappropriate end-of-line breaks between a number and a percentage sign, a unit, a currency, and within a reference, such as IEC 60000, TC 45
Similarly, use nonbreaking hyphen within a reference, such as IEC 61000-1-1
In Word for Office 365,
keyboard shortcut for nonbreaking space: Ctrl+Shift+Space
keyboard shortcut for nonbreaking hyphen: Ctrl+Shift+_go.iec.ch/iecsgfont
Bullet points, bulleted list
Bullet points are used to draw attention to important information within a document so that a reader can identify the key issues and facts quickly
If the text that follows the bullet point is not a proper sentence, it doesn’t need to begin with a capital letter and it shouldn’t end with a full stop [see example 1]
If the text following the bullet point is a complete sentence, it should begin with a capital letter. A full stop at the end is technically required but is not essential [see example 2]
1
Tonight’s agenda includes:
- annual review of capital gains issues
- outstanding inheritance tax issues
2
The agenda for tonight is as follows:
- We will conduct an annual review of capital gains issues.
- The senior tax manager will talk about outstanding inheritance tax issues.
Use numbered list rather than bulleted list only when you need to refer to one of the list components in the body text
As mentioned in b), …
Numbers
Each group of three digits reading to the left and to the right of a decimal sign is separated by a thin space [1/4 Em space] from preceding digits or following digits respectively
Exceptions: years, numbers used in references
This rule does not concern binary or hexadecimal values
1 000 000
59 531,66
1,618 033 988 75
2019 [current year]
IEC 62501
In Word for Office 365,
Insert>Symbol>More Symbols>Special Characters>1/4 Em Space
alternatively, you can assign your own shortcut keygo.iec.ch/iecsgfont
The decimal separator is a comma [not a dot]
8,187 million
All numbers from one to nine shall be spelled out. From 10 on, numbers shall be written in figures
Exceptions:
- when a sentence starts with a number it shall be spelled out, except for years
- numbers in a list shall all be in figures
- numbers in a reference, an address, etc. shall be written in figures
Twenty people are attending
Over 20 people are attending
2019 is a challenging year
this may occur 8, 9 or even 10 times
IEC is located at 3 rue de Varembé
as specified in clause 5
The minus sign is En dash [–] not hyphen [-]
–6 °C
In Word for Office 365,
Insert>Symbol>More Symbols>Special Characters>En Dash, or
keyboard shortcut for En dash: Ctrl+Num Lock+-go.iec.ch/iecsgfont
There is no space between a mathematical symbol and a number when it is a value
Use a space before and after a mathematical symbol in formulae
>5
9 > 8
4 – 2
These rules do not apply to reports issued in their entirety by the Finance and Accounting departmentgo.iec.ch/iecsgfont
Units and symbols
Use a nonbreaking space between figure and unit [see examples 1]
Exceptions: percentages, angles, feet and inches [see examples 2]
1
15 GW
28 °C
2
5%
53°
23’
10’’
Avoid unnecessarily large numbers or trailing zeroes: 4 m rather than 4 000 mm, 95 cm rather than 950 mmgo.iec.ch/iecsgfont
List of commonly used units and their symbols [non-exhaustive]
| Unit | Symbol |
|---|---|
|
millimetre
|
mm |
|
centimetre |
cm |
|
metre |
m |
|
metre per second |
m/s |
|
kilometre |
km |
|
kilometre per hour |
km/h |
|
gram |
g
|
|
kilogram |
kg
|
|
ounce
|
oz |
|
pound |
lb |
|
inch |
in |
|
foot |
ft |
|
yard |
yd |
|
mile |
mi |
|
second |
s |
|
minute |
min |
|
hour |
h |
|
byte (1) |
B |
|
kilobyte (1000) |
kB |
|
megabites(10002) |
MB |
|
gigabyte (10003) |
GB |
|
terabyte (10004) |
TB |
|
petabyte (10005) |
PB |
|
exabyte (10006) |
EB |
|
zettabyte (10007) |
ZB |
|
yottabyte (10008) |
YB |
|
kibibyte (1024) |
KiB |
|
mebibyte (10242) |
MiB |
|
gibibyte (10243) |
GiB |
|
tebibyte (10244) |
TiB |
|
pebibyte (10245) |
PiB |
|
exbibyte (10246) |
EiB |
|
zebibyte (10247) |
ZiB |
|
yobibyte (10248) |
YiB |
|
joule |
J |
|
ohm |
Ω |
|
volt |
V |
|
watt |
W |
|
kilowatt |
kW |
|
megawatt |
MW |
|
hertz |
Hz |
|
ampere |
A |
|
degree Celsius |
ºC |
|
degree Farenheit |
ºF |
|
kelvin |
K |
|
millilitre |
ml |
|
litre |
l |
|
pint |
pi |
|
gallon |
gal |
|
fluid ounce |
gl. Oz |
|
tonne |
t |
|
micro |
µ |
|
nano |
n |
|
tera |
T |
|
giga |
G |
|
mega |
M |
|
million |
m |
|
billion [see note 2] |
bn |
2
Billion has two distinct definitions depending on where you live: 109 (short numeric scale) or 1012 (long numeric scale), go.iec.ch/iecsgbillion
These rules do not apply to reports issued in their entirety by the Finance and Accounting department
Dates
When referring to dates in articles, write the day, month, year without commas
On 10 November 2018, the IEC held a standard editing workshop in Geneva.
For references, such as document naming, use the ISO 8601 date format YYYY-MM-DD
Draft style guide 2019-04-03
Currency codes
Use the ISO 4217 currency codes [not currency symbols]: go.iec.ch/iecsgcurrency
Currency stands before the value with nonbreaking space between currency and value
CHF 200
EUR 500
USD 1 000
GBP 2 500
Country names
The IEC official reference for the country names is the UN member list: go.iec.ch/iecsgunmember
In articles, link the country name to the IEC National Committee of the IEC member web page, not to the organization page
[see example 1]
When this organization is the same as the national standards body of the country, we refer to it as the organization that hosts the secretariat of the [XX] National Committee of the IEC, or the IEC National Committee of XX [see examples 2]
2
The British Standards Institution (BSI) hosts the secretariat of the UK National Committee of the IEC
NEN hosts the IEC National Committee of Netherlands
Country codes
Use the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country codes, which use two uppercase letters for country: go.iec.ch/iecsgiso31661
Australia – AU
Japan – JP
Norway – NO
United States – US
United Kingdom – UK [not GB]
Language codes
Use the ISO 639-1 two-letter codes, lowercase: go.iec.ch/iecsgiso6391
English – en
French – fr
Russian – ru
Chinese – zh
Latin phrases
Latin phrases shall be written in italics without hyphens
ad hoc
in situ
Latin abbreviations [i.e. and e.g.]
Use i.e. and e.g. appropriately:
- i.e. stands for id est and means “that is” or “in other words”
- e.g. stands for exempli gratia and means “for example”
You can use alternatively “e.g.” or “for example” in a text but be consistent and make reasonable use. You can also use “such as” i.e. and e.g. are always preceded by a comma
The reference is always positioned on the back cover, i.e. the last page, of the document.
Cyber attacks may open hidden gateways, e.g. door locks, but they do not bring down entire systems.
Title
Text is in bold font, only the first letter of the first word is capitalized
Artificial intelligence across industries
Publication and event titles
Publication and event titles shall be written in italics, without quotes
When citing IEC publications and events, capitalize the first word only [see example 1]
Exception: titles of legacy IEC publications must be written in their original form [see example 2]
When citing non-IEC events, capitalize the first word only [see example 3]
When citing non-IEC publications, write them in their original form [see example 4]
1
IEC released its latest brochure entitled Bringing intelligence to the grid.
2
IEC White Paper Internet of Things: Wireless Sensor Networks
3
An IEC representative attended the event The future connected car and participated in the session for Mitigating security threats to automotive systems.
4
ccording to the report Global Wind Statistics 2016, …
Figures and tables
Table title shall be positioned above the table
Figure title shall be positioned below the figure
Hyperlinks
In electronic or paper versions, hyperlinks shall be in IEC blue (RGB: 0-96-169 or #0060A9) font, not bold, not underlined [see note]
When inserting hyperlinks in IEC references (standards, committees, etc.) always include IEC in the link. IEC is part of the official reference
The hyperlink is made over the acronym, not its description
IEC 61010-1, Safety requirements for electrical equipment for measurement, control, and laboratory use − Part 1: General requirements
IEC TC 31: Equipment for explosive atmospheres
IEC Standardization Management Board (SMB)
IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission)
IEC Young Professionals Programme
In Word for Office 365, to remove underline in hyperlinks: Alt+Ctrl+Shift+s>right-click on Hyperlink in the styles list>click Modify>remove Underline>OK
Remove http:// or https:// even when the URL does not begin with www. But ensure that any links in online documents retain http:// or https:// so that they point to the correct place. If needed, edit the hyperlink
Remove the slash at the end of the URL, unless the URL does not work without it. Check before removing
If a web link is too long, shorten the link by using: go.iec.ch/admin. A list of existing shortened links is available on that website. You need to create an account to access the website, please contact helpdesk@iec.ch.
Always make sure that www.iec.ch has the following secure link https://www.iec.ch
Photo credits
For content clearly accessible/visible to a larger audience (presentations, brochures, posters, web content, etc.), purchase images from stock photo sites or company photos crediting the photo source. Contact communication@iec.ch for more information
For e-tech, always credit photo source when a photo has not been bought or comes from a company/partner [see example]
Never use photos from internet, unless use is clearly permitted under Creative Commons: www.creativecommons.org
Photo: Siemens
Bibliographic references
Use the author family name then initial, all in capitals. Separate the family name and initial with a comma and follow the initial with a full stop. If there is more than one author put a comma after the initial and start with the second author’s family name and repeat
Write the title in italics
If there is an online reference to a website or document, make sure the link has been checked. Add the date it was checked in square brackets at the end of the link
CHONG, C.Y. and KUMAR, S.P., Sensor networks: Evolution, opportunities, and challenges. Proceedings of the IEEE 91(8), 2003, pp 1247-1256.
LinkLabs, SigFox vs. LoRa – A comparison between technologies & business models, [Online]. Available: www.link-labs.com/sigfox-vs-lora. [Accessed 19 September 2017].
For in-text citations, see go.iec.ch/iecsgcitation
Technical committees references
Use IEC Technical Committee and IEC Subcommittee with capitals when followed by a number, but IEC technical committee and IEC subcommittee when writing about them in general
Several IEC technical committees produce standards for virtual reality applications.
IEC Technical Committee 100 deals with audio, video and multimedia systems and equipment.
When writing out the technical committee number and its title, use a colon after the number, capitalize the first letter of the first word of the title, and always add a comma after the title
Use the same rule for subcommittees, working groups, working committees, joint technical committees, etc.
IEC Technical Committee 114: Marine energy – Wave, tidal and other water converters, prepares international standards for this promising sector.
The newly elected Chair of SC 61H: Safety of electrically-operated farm appliances, was an IEC 2010 Young Professional.
When mentioning ISO/IEC JTC 1 for the first time, write ISO/IEC JTC 1 is the joint technical committee on information technology established by IEC and ISO
When referring to ISO/IEC JTC 1 subcommittees, write ISO/IEC JTC 1 has several subcommittees, which cover specific information technologies, for example, SC 41: Internet of things and related technologies
If the title of a TC/SC is too long, rephrase to simplify the name [see examples 1]
1
IEC TC 114: Marine energy – Wave, tidal and other water current converters
- IEC TC 114 produces international standards for marine energy, or
- IEC TC 114: Marine energy, produces international standards for marine energy equipment.
ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 22: Programming languages, their environments and system software interfaces
- ISO/IEC JTC1/SC 22 develops standards for programming languages
2
Several other IEC TCs develop standards for components found in wearable technology, for instance, IEC TC 21 covers batteries, IEC TC 47 is for testing, design, use and reuse of sensors, and IEC TC 110 deals with electronic display devices.
If a text is more than three pages or if there are new chapters, write out the full technical committee name again, so the reader remembers what it refers to
If you refer to TCs from other organizations be sure to mention the organization in the TC reference
IEC TC 61 vs. ISO TC 61
Correct use of spaces and acronyms:
✓ IEC SC 65E
✓ JWG 5
✓ ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 25
✓ TC 4/WG 30
✓ IEC technical committee (TC) and subcommittee (SC)
✓ IEC Technical Committee 86
✘ IEC Technical Committee (TC) 86
✓IEC Subcommittee 86A
✘ IEC Subcommittee (SC) 86A
✘ IEC Technical Committee 86/Subcommittee 86A
✘ IEC Technical Committee (TC) 86/Subcommittee (SC) 86A
✓ IEC Technical Committee 86 first in a text, then IEC TC 86 or TC 86
✓IEC Subcommittee 86A first, then IEC SC 86A or SC 86A
✓ ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee 1 (JTC 1)
✘ ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee (JTC) 1
✓ ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee 1/Subcommittee 25 (JTC 1/SC 25)
✘ ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee 1 (JTC 1)/Subcommittee 25 (SC 25)
✘ ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee (JTC) 1/Subcommittee (SC) 25
alternatively use Subcommittee 25 of ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee 1 (ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 25)
International standards references
Reference to IEC and ISO International Standards shall use the following syntaxes:
IEC 62271-1
IEC 62271-1:2007, title [optional]
IEC 62271-1:2007/AMD1:2011, title [optional]
Amendment 1 to IEC 62271-1:2007, title [optional]
IEC PAS 60539-1-1
IEC PAS 60539-1-1:2008, title [optional]
Also applicable to reference markings on products and their associated documentation
When writing the full reference with title, use a comma after the reference number and put the title in italics
When the full reference with title is mentioned in a text, add a comma at the end of the title
The latest edition of IEC 61850, Communication networks and systems for power utility automation, includes new definitions …
When reference is made to the standard as a general concept, do not add the year to the reference
IEC 60601
When reference is made to announce the publication of a new standard or the revision of a standard, or when mentioning two different editions of one standard in the same article, add the year to the reference
IEC 60601-1:2005
IEC 60601-1:1988
Use the word edition rather than version for an international standard
✓ the new edition of IEC 60000
✘ the revised version of IEC 60000
Use IEC XXXXX series of standards when referring to all parts of a standard
IEC 60601 series of standards includes IEC 60601-1, IEC 60601-1-1, IEC 60601-1-2, IEC 60601-2-1, IEC 60601-2-2, etc.
Use IEC XXXXX family of standards when referring to all parts of a main reference number
ISO/IEC 17000 family of standards includes ISO/IEC 17000, ISO/IEC 17007, ISO/IEC 17011, ISO/IEC 17020, etc.
When referring to a standard in database format, use IEC 60617 database standard or IEC 60617 DB
Special product references
For value-added products derived from IEC official publications, use the following reference systems and syntaxes:
The redline version of IEC 61315:2019, or
IEC 61315:2019 RLV, title [optional]
The consolidated version of IEC 62784:2017+AMD1:2019, or
IEC 62784:2017+AMD1:2019 CSV, title [optional]
1
The same rule applies to pre-release version (PRV), extended version (EXV), commented version (CMV)
2
For the general public, do not use the acronym alone
Communication material printing codes
For printing codes on materials developed or printed by the Communications department [for general IEC and the IEC Conformity Assessment Systems] use:
- one or two words of the title that describe the publication, or
- the commonly used acronym for the technology area, or
- the number of the TC for a technical committee brochure
Printing codes include the date of release [YYYY-MM], followed by the language version in parenthesis
IEC Welcome:2016-08(en) is the printing code of the English version of the brochure Welcome to the IEC
IEC Counterfeit:2015-01(ru) is the printing code of the Russian version of the brochure Piracy in electrical and electronic products – Anti-counterfeiting best practice and strategies
For IEC White Papers and Technology Reports, add WP and TEC respectively in the printing code
IEC WP Stable grid:2018-10(en) is the printing code of the IEC White Paper Stable grid operations in a future of distributed electric power
IEC TEC LVDC:2017-09(en) is the printing code of the IEC Technology Report LVDC: electricity for the 21st century
The reference is positioned on the back cover, i.e. the last page, of the document
Rules for use of capitals
General
Capital letters should always be used when writing the names of people, positions and/or functions, places and brands that are proprietary to the IEC
IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission)
IECEE (IEC System of Conformity Assessment Schemes for Electrotechnical Equipment and Components)
IECEx (IEC System for Certification to Standards Relating to Equipment for Use in Explosive Atmospheres)
IECQ (IEC Quality Assessment System)
IECRE (IEC System for Certification to Standards Relating to Equipment for Use in Renewable Energy Applications)
Yinbiao Shu, IEC President
IEC President-Elect [with hyphen]
IEC Immediate Past President
IEC Past President
IEC Vice-President [with hyphen]
IEC Secretary-General & CEO
IEC Officer
IEC Technical Officer
IEC Ambassador
IEC Chair
IEC Secretary
IEC Convenor
IEC SMB Member
IEC CAB Member
IEC MSB Member
IEC National Committee
IEC Central Office
IEC Regional Centre
Manager IEC Regional Centre for North America
Regional Director IEC Latin America Regional Centre
Regional Director IEC Asia-Pacific Regional Centre
Regional Director IEC Africa Regional Centre
Executive Secretary IECEE and IECRE
Executive Secretary IECEx and IECQ
IECEE Member
IECEx Member
IECQ Member
IECRE Member
IEC Electropedia, Electropedia
This list is not exhaustive. Please feel free to communicate any additional item
The following things are unique to the IEC and should always be capitalized when immediately preceded by IEC. When not preceded by IEC, do not capitalize
IEC International Standard → the list of international standards published by the IEC [see 2.2]
IEC Conformity Assessment Systems, IEC CA Systems → the IEC administers conformity assessment systems [see 2.3]
IEC Webstore → the list of IEC International Standards available on the webstore
IEC White Paper → the list of white papers published by the IEC
IEC Technology Report → the list of technology reports published by the IEC
IEC Technical Specification → the list of technical specifications published by the IEC
IEC Technical Report → the list of technical reports published by the IEC
IEC Publicly Available Specification → the list of publicly available specifications published by the IEC
IEC Guide → the list of guides published by the IEC
The following things are unique to the IEC, but
when used with a specific reference or a title, they should always be capitalized
when used in a general sense, they should not be capitalized
IEC National Electrotechnical Committee of Cameroon → the list of IEC national electrotechnical committees
Peru becomes IEC Member → the list of IEC members [countries]
Finland is IEC Full Member → the list of IEC full members
Latvia is IEC Associate Member → the list of IEC associate members
Cambodia is new IEC Affiliate → the list of IEC affiliates
IEC Technical Committee 86, IEC Subcommittee 86A → the list of IEC technical committees and subcommittees
IEC Systems Committee Smart cities → the list of IEC systems committees
IEC Advisory Committee on electricity transmission and distribution → the list of IEC advisory committees
IEC Standardization Evaluation Group 7: Smart manufacturing → the list of IEC standardization evaluation groups
IEC Systems Resource Group
Capital letters are always used in the following instances since these are registered trademarks
Bluetooth
Wi-Fi
This list is not exhaustive. Please feel free to communicate any additional item
The following instances should not be capitalized
IEC conformity assessment
IEC family
IEC systems activities or systems activities
IEC systems approach or systems approach
IEC systems architecture or systems architecture
IEC systems standard development or systems standard development
IEC systems standardization or systems standardization
IEC systems work or systems work
IEC voting system or voting system microelectromechanical systems
active assisted living
big data
cyber attack
cyber security
cyber threat
ecodesign
electrical energy storage
email
energy efficiency
functional safety
healthcare
homepage
internet
microgrids
offline
online
renewable energy
smart city
smart grid
smartphone
standards development
systems expert
systems proficiency
UNECE regulations website
wireless sensor network
Internet of Things
This list is not exhaustive. Please feel free to communicate any additional item
IEC International Standards
When writing brochures, internet content or articles, use International Standard or Standard [capitalized] only when immediately preceded by IEC or ISO
IEC International Standards reflect agreements on the technical description of the characteristics to be fulfilled by the product, system, service or object in question.
Adopting IEC Standards or using them for reference in national laws or regulations facilitates trade in the field of electrotechnology.
A number of IEC technical committees develop international standards for different components found in wearable technology.
IEC and ISO established ISO/IEC JTC 1: Information technology, a joint technical committee (JTC) which produces international standards for information and communication technologies (ICT) for business and consumer applications.
Do not use caps on word combinations, such as: standards writer, standards developer, standards body, standards drafting, standards data, etc.
A number of standards development organizations are involved in the development of standards for smart grids.
IEC Conformity Assessment
Use:
IEC Conformity Assessment System(s) or CA System(s) when referring to one or more of IECEE, IECEx, IECQ or IECRE
IEC Conformity Assessment Systems expert
IEC conformity assessment work, activities
IECEE (IEC System of Conformity Assessment Schemes for Electrotechnical Equipment and Components)
IECEx (IEC System for Certification to Standards Relating to Equipment for Use in Explosive Atmospheres)
IECQ (IEC Quality Assessment System)
IECRE (IEC System for Certification to Standards Relating to Equipment for Use in Renewable Energy Applications)
IECEE certification bodies scheme
IECEE factory surveillance service
IECEE full certification scheme
IECEE global motor energy efficiency programme
IECEx certified equipment scheme
IECEx certified service facilities scheme
IECEx certification of personnel competence scheme
IECEx conformity mark licensing scheme
IECQ approved process scheme
IECQ approved component products, related materials and assemblies scheme
IECQ aerospace, defense and high performance scheme
IECQ hazardous substance process management scheme
IECQ independent testing laboratory scheme
IECQ counterfeit avoidance programme
IECQ scheme for LED lighting
IECRE marine energy sector
IECRE solar photovoltaic energy sector
IECRE wind energy sector
certificate of conformity [of an IEC CA System]
test report [of an IEC CA System]
quality assessment report [of an IEC CA System]
1
Use IEC CA System to indicate exclusively IECEE, IECEx, IECQ, or IECRE. This term is now used systematically in the IEC statutes and rules of procedure, and the harmonized basic rules
2
Use CA system to indicate a conformity assessment system as defined in ISO/IEC 17000. It shall not be used to indicate one of the IEC CA Systems, i.e. IECEE, IECEx, IECQ and IECRE
3
Do not use IEC System, IEC system, or System
4
As much as possible, avoid to use IECEE CA System, or IECEx CA System, etc. Use instead IECEE System, IECEx System, etc.
IEC Affiliate Country Programme
Use:
IEC Affiliate Country Programme (ACP), subsequently: the programme
IEC affiliate country, or affiliate
IEC Affiliate Country Programme Leader
IEC Affiliate Leader
IEC Affiliate Country Programme Executive Secretary
IEC Affiliate secretariat
IEC Affiliate Pledge
Declaration of Adoption
NEC [national electrotechnical committee]
NEC Secretaries and Chairs workshop
IEC Affiliate Plus status, [as a status granted to a country, not IEC Affiliate Plus as a noun]
IEC Affiliate Conformity Assessment status (ACAS)
ACAS Pledge
ACAS Declaration
IEC Affiliate Mentoring Programme
Affiliate Dialogue documents
Affiliate newsletter
Affiliate forum
Workshop for industrializing countries
IEC Young Professionals Programme
Use:
IEC Young Professionals Programme, IEC YP Programme, subsequently: the programme
IEC Young Professionals
IEC Young Professionals Leader
IEC Young Professionals workshop
IEC Young Professionals forum
IEC Academy & Capacity Building
Use:
IEC Academy & Capacity Building (ACB)
IEC Academy bootcamp
IEC Academy Committee Officers training
IEC Academy leadership training
IEC Academy learning management system (LMS)
IEC Academy national training workshop
IEC Academy NC Officers training
IEC Academy online learning
IEC Academy standards training
IEC Academy trainers network
IEC Academy webinar
IEC Academy workshop
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, capitals are used to write out the degree title
Chair
Secretary
Bachelor of Arts: BA, BA (Hons)
Master of Business Administration: MBA
Master of Arts: MA
List of degrees, master’s degrees:
go.iec.ch/iecsgdegrees
Use of initialisms and acronyms
Initialism: an abbreviation consisting of initial letters pronounced separately
Acronym: an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word
For convenience purposes, initialisms and acronyms are hereafter referred to as “acronyms” in this guide
General
An acronym is first used at the end of an explanation in brackets. It can then be used without the brackets to refer subsequently to the explanation
final draft international standard (FDIS)
renewable energy source (RES)
certification body (CB)
International Energy Agency (IEA)
IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission)
IECEE (IEC System of Conformity Assessment Schemes for Electrotechnical Equipment and Components)
IECEx (IEC System for Certification to Standards Relating to Equipment for Use in Explosive Atmospheres)
IECQ (IEC Quality Assessment System)
IECRE (IEC System for Certification to Standards Relating to Equipment for Use in Renewable Energy Applications)
With a few exceptions, an acronym is in capital letters, with no full stop or space between the letters
The explanation of an acronym can be either in lowercase letter [common words, general concept] or in capital letters [organization, company]
technical specification (TS)
systems committee (SyC)
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
Open Mobile Alliance (OMA)
The plural [s] is in lower case
It applies to the whole acronym
working groups (WGs)
distributed energy resources (DERs)
technical committees/subcommittees (TC/SCs)
Do not use the possessive [‘s] with IEC or any other abbreviation
Please read the annual report on IEC activities.
IEC work looks at aspects such as saftey, interoperability, or performance.
Use of acronyms and their explanations
Do not use acronyms in the main title of a document, except IEC
In documents, reports or similar documents [10 pages or less], use the acronym with explanation once, and then use the acronym alone from that point onwards
In long documents, such as brochures, white papers, etc., rewrite the explanation and the acronym once on each new part or section, because readers may only look at certain sections rather than the whole document from start to finish
In articles, use the explanation of the acronym once for each article
On web pages, use the explanation of the acronym once for each web page
Acronyms that have translations in two (or more) languages
Where the original is in English, it is written out in full and followed by the acronym in parenthesis [see example 1]
Where the original is not in English on the homepage of the official website, write the translated form followed by the acronym
[see example 2]
Where an official English translation is not provided by the organization, write the acronym followed by a comma, and followed by the translation of the original explanation [see example 3]
1
International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
2
Pan American Standards Commission (COPANT)
3
AENOR, the Spanish association for standardization and certification
List of acronyms [not exhaustive]
IEC acronyms
|
AC
|
administrative circular |
|
AC |
advisory committee |
|
ACA |
Affiliate Conformity Assessment |
|
ACAS |
Affiliate Conformity Assessment status |
|
ACB |
Academy & Capacity Building |
|
ACEA |
Advisory Committee on environmental aspects |
|
ACEC |
Advisory Committee on electromagnetic compatibility |
|
ACEE |
Advisory Committee on energy efficiency
|
|
ACOS |
Advisory Committee on safety
|
|
ACP
|
Affiliate Country Programme |
|
ACSEC |
Advisory Committee on information security and data privacy |
|
ACTAD |
Advisory Committee on electricity transmission and distribution |
|
ACTEL |
Advisory Committee on telecommunication |
|
AG |
advisory group |
|
AGS |
Advisory Group on strategy |
|
ahG |
ad hoc group |
|
BAC |
Business Advisory Committee |
|
CA |
conformity assessment |
|
CAB
|
Conformity Assessment Board |
|
CAG
|
chairman’s advisory group |
|
CASCO
|
ISO committee on conformity assessment |
|
CB |
council board |
|
CB
|
certification body |
|
CC |
compilation of comments |
|
CCAF
|
CENELEC Conformity Assessment Forum
|
|
CD
|
committee draft
|
|
CISPR
|
international special committee on radio interference
|
|
CMC
|
certification management committee
|
|
CMV |
commented version
|
|
CSV
|
consolidated version |
|
DA
|
draft agenda |
|
DAC |
Diversity Advisory Committee |
|
DC |
document for comments |
|
DL
|
decision list |
|
DMT
|
Directives Maintenance Team |
|
DP
|
draft proposal |
|
DV |
document for voting |
|
ECMP
|
electronic component management plan |
|
ED |
evaluation draft |
|
EDR |
essential differences in requirements |
|
EMS |
IEC expert management system
|
|
ER |
evaluation report
|
|
ExCo |
executive committee |
|
EXV |
extended version |
|
FDIS |
final draft international standard
|
|
GA |
General Assembly |
|
GM |
General Meeting |
|
GRAC |
Governance Review and Audit Committee |
|
IB |
IEC Board |
|
IEC
|
International Electrotechnical Commission |
|
IEC-AFRC |
IEC Africa Regional Centre |
|
IEC-APRC |
IEC Asia-Pacific Regional Centre
|
|
IEC-LARC
|
IEC Latin America Regional Centre
|
|
IEC-ReCNA
|
IEC Regional Centre for North America
|
|
IECEE
|
IEC System of Conformity Assessment Schemes for Electrotechnical Equipment and Components |
|
IECEx |
IEC System for Certification to Standards relating to Equipment for Use in Explosive Atmospheres
|
|
IEC GIF |
IEC Global Impact Fund |
|
IECQ
|
IEC Quality Assessment System |
|
IECRE
|
IEC System for Certification to Standards Relating to Equipment for Use in Renewable Energy Applications |
|
IEV
|
international electrotechnical vocabulary
|
|
IF |
IEC Forum |
|
I-NRG |
Innovation & New Revenue Generation |
|
IS
|
international standard |
|
ISO
|
International Organization for Standardization
|
|
ITA
|
industry technical agreement
|
|
JDMT
|
ISO/IEC Joint Directives Maintenance Team
|
|
JTAB
|
ISO/IEC Joint Technical Advisory Board
|
|
JTC
|
joint technical committee
|
|
LMS
|
learning management system |
|
MC
|
management committee |
|
MC |
marketing committee |
|
MRS |
IEC meeting registration system
|
|
MSB |
Market Strategy Board |
|
MT |
maintenance team
|
|
NC |
National Committee
|
|
NCP
|
National Committee proposal
|
|
NEC
|
national electrotechnical committee |
|
NP
|
new work item proposal |
|
NSB |
national standards body |
|
OC |
online collection |
|
O-member
|
observer member |
|
PACT
|
President’s Advisory Committee on future technology
|
|
PC |
project committee |
|
P-member |
participating member
|
|
PresCom |
President’s Committee |
|
PRV |
pre-release version |
|
PT
|
project team |
|
PW
|
programme of work |
|
PWI
|
preliminary work item
|
|
QP |
question of principle
|
|
RLV |
redline version
|
|
RM |
report of meeting |
|
RQ |
report on questionnaire
|
|
RR |
review report
|
|
RV |
report of voting |
|
RVVD |
result of vote on VD |
|
SAG |
Sales Advisory Group (disbanded in January 2022) |
|
SAG-S
|
Strategic Advisory Group on security
|
|
SB |
sector board |
|
SBP |
strategic business plan |
|
SC |
subcommittee
|
|
SEC |
Secretariat |
|
SEG |
standardization evaluation group
|
|
SER
|
series [of publications] |
|
SG |
Secretary-General |
|
SMB |
Standardization Management Board |
|
SyC
|
systems committee |
|
TA
|
technical area
|
|
TC
|
technical committee
|
|
TC/SC |
technical committee/subcommittee |
|
TEC
|
technology report |
|
TMB
|
ISO Technical Management Board
|
|
TO
|
Technical Officer |
|
TR |
technical report
|
|
TS |
technical specification |
|
TTA
|
technology trend assessment
|
|
USNC |
IEC National Committee of the United States of America |
|
VD |
validation draft |
|
WG |
working group |
|
WIC |
workshop for industrializing countries |
|
WSC
|
World Standards Cooperation [IEC/ISO/ITU]
|
|
YP
|
young professional |
|
YPP |
Young Professionals Programme |
Add Your Heading Text Here
IEC CA acronyms
|
ACAS
|
Affiliate Conformity Assessment status |
|
BizL
|
future-business master watch-list
|
|
BR
|
basic rules |
|
CAB |
Conformity Assessment Board |
|
CABPUB
|
document type for CAB documents in relation to ISO/CASCO |
|
CAG
|
Chair’s advisory group
|
|
CB
|
certification body
|
|
CB-FCS
|
CB full certification scheme
|
|
CFS
|
committee for factory surveillance [IECEE]
|
|
CMC
|
certification management committee [IECEE] |
|
CoC
|
certificate of conformity
|
|
CoPC
|
certificate of personnel competence [IECEx]
|
|
CTF |
client testing facility [IECEE]
|
|
CTL |
committee of testing laboratories [IECEE]
|
|
DA
|
draft agenda |
|
DL |
decision list
|
|
ExCB
|
IECEx certification body
|
|
ExMarkCo |
IECEx conformity mark committee
|
|
ExMC
|
IECEx management committee
|
|
ExPCC
|
IECEx personal certification committee
|
|
ExTAG
|
Ex testing and assessment group
|
|
ExTL
|
IECEx testing laboratory
|
|
FCS
|
full certification scheme
|
|
HBR
|
harmonized basic rules
|
|
IECEE
|
IEC System of Conformity Assessment Schemes for Electrotechnical Equipment and Components
|
|
IECEE CB scheme
|
IECEE certification bodies scheme |
|
IECEE CB-FCS
|
IECEE CB full certification scheme
|
|
IECEx
|
IEC System for Certification to Standards relating to Equipment for Use in Explosive Atmospheres
|
|
IECQ
|
IEC Quality Assessment System |
|
IECQ AC scheme
|
IECQ approved component scheme
|
|
IECQ AC-AQP |
IECQ automotive qualification programme
|
|
IECQ AC-TC
|
IECQ technology certification
|
|
IECQ AP scheme
|
IECQ approved process scheme |
|
IECQ AP-CAP
|
IECQ counterfeit avoidance programme
|
|
IECQ CABC
|
IECQ conformity assessment bodies committee
|
|
IECQ ECMP
|
IECQ electronic components management plan
|
|
IECQ HSPM scheme
|
IECQ hazardous substance process management scheme
|
|
IECQ ITIL scheme
|
IECQ independent testing laboratory scheme
|
|
IECRE
|
IEC System for Certification to Standards Relating to Equipment for Use in Renewable Energy Applications
|
|
IECRE ME
|
IECRE marine energy sector
|
|
IECRE PV
|
IECRE solar PV energy sector
|
|
IECRE WE
|
IECRE wind energy sector
|
|
ME-OMC
|
marine energy sector operational management committee [IECRE]
|
|
NCB
|
national certification body |
|
OD
|
operational document
|
|
OMC
|
operational management committee
|
|
PM
|
promotional matrix
|
|
PSC
|
policy and strategy committee [IECEE]
|
|
PV-OMC
|
solar PV energy sector operational management committee [IECRE]
|
|
R3
|
roles, rights and responsibilities
|
|
RECB
|
IECRE certification body
|
|
REIB
|
IECRE inspection body
|
|
REMC
|
IECRE renewable energy management committee
|
|
RETL
|
IECRE testing laboratory
|
|
RMG
|
risk management grid
|
|
RoP
|
rules of procedure
|
|
RTP
|
recognized training provider [IECEx]
|
|
S&RoP
|
statutes and rules of procedure
|
|
TL
|
testing laboratory |
|
TRF
|
test report form
|
|
WE-OMC
|
wind energy sector operational management committee [IECRE]
|
Organizations and companies
|
3GPP
|
3rd Generation Partnership Project |
|
ABINEE |
Associação Brasileira Da Indústria Elétrica E Electrônica (Brazilian Electrical and Electronics Industry Association) |
|
ABNT |
Association of Brazilian Technical Standards |
|
ACCSQ |
ASEAN Consultative Committee on Standards and Quality |
|
ACER
|
Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators
|
|
ACM |
Association for Computing Machinery |
|
ACONOQ |
Agence Congolaise de Normalisation et de la Qualité |
|
AEI-EI |
ASEAN Engineering Inspectorate-Electrical Installation |
|
AFEO |
ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organisations |
|
AFID |
Alliance for Industry Decarbonization |
|
AFSEC
|
African Electrotechnical Standardization Commission
|
|
AHMAQ |
Association Haïtienne de Management de la Qualité |
|
AIDMO
|
Arab Industrial Development and Mining Organization |
|
AIDSMO |
Arab Industrial Development, Standardization and Mining Organization |
|
AIOTI |
Alliance for Internet of Things Innovation
|
|
AISEC
|
Fraunhofer Institute for Applied and Integrated Security
|
|
AIST
|
Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
|
|
AMO
|
Advanced Manufacturing Office
|
|
AMP
|
Advanced Manufacturing Partnership
|
|
ANCE |
Asociación de Normalización y Certificación (Association for Standardization and Certification, Mexico) |
|
ANE, I.P. |
Autoridade Nacional Para a Electricidade, Instituto Público (Timor-Leste) |
|
ANSI
|
American National Standards Institute
|
|
APCF |
Asian Pacific Community Fund |
|
APEC
|
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
|
|
AQSIQ
|
Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine [of China]
|
|
ARE |
Alliance for Rural Electrification
|
|
ARPANET |
Advanced Research Projects Agency Network |
|
ARSO |
African Organization for Standardization |
|
ASCE
|
American Society of Civil Engineers |
|
ASEA |
Association des Sociétés d’Electricité d’Afrique |
|
ASEAN
|
Association of Southeast Asian Nations
|
|
ASG
|
Asian Super Grid |
|
ASME |
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers |
|
BBF
|
Broadband Forum |
|
BioRoboost |
European Commission-funded initiative to enhance biosafety
and risk assessment in synthetic biology standards |
|
BIPM |
Bureau international des poids et mesures |
|
BIS |
Bureau of Indian Standards |
|
BITKOM
|
German Federal Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media
|
|
BPS |
Bureau of Philippine Standards |
|
BRAIN |
Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnology
(US initiative) |
|
BSI
|
British Standards Institution |
|
BSTI |
Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution |
|
BSN |
Badan Standardisasi Nasional (Indonesia) |
|
CANAME |
National Chamber of Electrical Manufacturers (Mexico) |
|
CANENA
|
Council for Harmonization of Electrotechnical Standards of the Nations in the Americas
|
|
CAPE |
China Aero-Polytechnology Establishment |
|
CARICOM |
Caribbean Community |
|
CEER
|
Council of European Energy Regulators |
|
CEN
|
European Committee for Standardization |
|
CENELEC
|
European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization |
|
CEPRI
|
China Electric Power Research Institute
|
|
CEPS
|
Centre for European Policy Studies
|
|
CESI
|
China Electronics Standardization Institute
|
|
China-EPRI
|
China Electric Power Research Institute |
|
CHYE |
China Huaneng Yangtze Environmental Technology Co. |
|
CIE
|
International Commission on Illumination
|
|
CIE |
Chinese Institute of Electronics |
|
CIER |
Commission for the Regional Integration of Energy |
|
CIGRE
|
International Council on Large Electric Systems
|
|
COMBINE |
Computational Modeling in Biology initiative |
|
ComEd
|
Commonwealth Edison |
|
COMENOR |
Consejo Mexicano de Normalización y Evaluación de la Conformidad |
|
COPANT
|
Pan American Standards Commission
|
|
COSMOS |
(EU) Coordination of Standards in MetabOlomicS |
|
CROSQ
|
CARICOM Regional Organization for Standards and Quality
|
|
CSA |
Cloud Security Alliance |
|
CSG |
China Southern Power Grid |
|
CSN |
Commonwealth Standards Network |
|
CSPG
|
China Southern Power Grid
|
|
DFKI
|
German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence |
|
DIN
|
German Institute for Standardization
|
|
DKE
|
German Commission for Electrical, Electronic and Information Technologies of DIN and VDE
|
|
DRI |
Department of Research and Innovation, in the Ministry of Education, Myanmar
DTI Department |
|
DSM |
Department of Standards Malaysia |
|
EAC |
East African Community |
|
EACREEE
|
East African Centre of Excellence for Renewable Energy and Efficiency
|
|
EASC
|
East African Standards Committee
|
|
EC
|
European Commission |
|
ECOWAS
|
Economic Community of West African States
|
|
ECREEE
|
ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency
|
|
EDITH |
European Virtual Human Twin Infrastructure |
|
EEC
|
Eurasian Economic Commission
|
|
EMAS |
EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme |
|
ENI
|
Experiential Networked Intelligence [of ETSI ISG]
|
|
ENTSO-E
|
European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity |
|
EPRI
|
Electric Power Research Institute |
|
ERABF
|
Energy Resource Aggregation Business Forum |
|
ESERA |
Eswatini Energy Regulatory Authority |
|
ETSI
|
European Telecommunications Standards Institute
|
|
ETSO
|
European Transmission System Operators
|
|
EU
|
European Union |
|
EWEA
|
European Wind Energy Association
|
|
FDA |
Food and Drug Administration (US) |
|
FG-ML5G
|
Focus Group on machine learning for future networks including 5G [of ITU-T]
|
|
FINCA
|
Forum of IEC National Committees of the Americas
|
|
Fraunhofer ISE
|
Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems
|
|
GCC
|
Gulf Cooperation Council
|
|
GDIS |
Guangdong Institute of Standardization |
|
GFMAM
|
Global Forum on Maintenance and Asset Management
|
|
GIVAR
|
Grid Integration of Variable Renewables Project [of IEA] |
|
GOM |
Group for Ontology Maintenance |
|
GOUI |
Global Observatory for Urban Intelligence |
|
GSO
|
GCC Standardization Organization
|
|
HAPUA
|
Heads of ASEAN Power Utilities/Authorities
|
|
IAEA |
International Atomic Energy Agency |
|
IAF
|
International Accreditation Forum
|
|
IAM
|
Institute of Asset Management
|
|
IBNORCA |
Instituto Boliviano de Normalización y Calidad |
|
ICONTEC |
Instituto Colombiano de Normas Técnicas y Certificación (Colombian Institute of Technical Standards and Certification) |
|
IDC
|
International Data Corporation
|
|
IEA
|
International Energy Agency |
|
IEEE
|
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
|
|
IEM |
The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia |
|
IETF
|
Internet Engineering Task Force
|
|
IFAN
|
International Federation of Standards Users
|
|
IFC |
International Finance Corporation |
|
IFIA
|
International Federation of Inspection Agencies
|
|
IGCC
|
International Grid Control Cooperation
|
|
IIC
|
Industrial Internet Consortium |
|
ILAC
|
International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation
|
|
IMDRF
|
International Medical Device Regulators Forum
|
|
IMFCEF |
International Monetary Fund Middle East Center for Economics and Finance |
|
IMO |
International Maritime Organization |
|
INACAL |
National Quality Institute (Peru) |
|
INDOCAL |
Dominican Institute for Quality |
|
INEEL |
National Institute of Electricity and Clean Energy (Mexico) |
|
INEN |
Servicio Ecuatoriano de Normalización |
|
INetQI
|
International Network of Quality Infrastructure [formely DCMAS]
|
|
INNOQ |
Instituto Nacional de Normalização e Qualidade (Mozambique) |
|
IOU
|
Investor-owned utility
|
|
IPCC
|
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
|
|
IRAM |
Instituto Argentino de Normalización y Certificación |
|
IRENA |
International Renewable Energy Agency |
|
ISC |
Institute of Standards of Cambodia |
|
ISO
|
International Organization for Standardization
|
|
ISTIC |
International Science, Technology and Innovation Centre |
|
ITC
|
International Trade Center |
|
ITEI
|
Instrumentation Technology and Economy Institute [of China]
|
|
ITU
|
International Telecommunication Union
|
|
ITU-R
|
ITU Radiocommunication Sector
|
|
ITU-T
|
ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector
|
|
IVGTF
|
Integration of Variable Generation Task Force [of NERC]
|
|
JAIF |
Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund |
|
JBMIA |
Japan Business Machine and Information System Industries Association |
|
JEPX |
Japan Electric Power Exchange
|
|
JISC
|
Japanese Industrial Standards Committee |
|
KATS |
Korean Agency for Technology and Standards |
|
KEBS |
Kenya Bureau of Standards |
|
KEPCO
|
Korea Electric Power Corporation
|
|
KERI
|
Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute
|
|
KPX
|
Korea Power Exchange |
|
METI |
Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry |
|
MIT
|
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
|
|
MPGCA |
Marrakesh Partnership for Global Climate Action |
|
NCOIC
|
Network Centric Operations Industry Consortium
|
|
NDRC
|
National Development and Reform Commission [of China]
|
|
NEA
|
National Energy Administration [of China]
|
|
NERC |
North American Electric Reliability Corporation
|
|
NGET
|
National Grid Electricity Transmission [of Great Britain]
|
|
NGMIN
|
Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance
|
|
NIST
|
National Institute of Standards and Technology |
|
NSI |
Namibian Standards Institution |
|
NYISO
|
New York Independent System Operator
|
|
OCEANIS
|
Open Community for Ethics in Autonomous and Intelligent Systems |
|
OECD
|
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
|
|
OGC
|
Open Geospatial Consortium |
|
OIML
|
International Organization of Legal Metrology
|
|
OMA
|
Open Mobile Alliance |
|
PAHO |
Pan American Health Organization |
|
PASC
|
Pacific Area Sandards Congress |
|
PES
|
Power & Energy Society [of IEEE] |
|
PEWA |
Power & Electricity World Africa |
|
PLMA
|
Peak Load Management Alliance |
|
PPA
|
Pacific Power Association
|
|
PSCCC |
Power System Communications and Cybersecurity Committee (IEEE) |
|
PTB |
Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (German National
Metrology Institute) |
|
PSI |
Palestine Standards Institution |
|
RNF
|
(Association) Réseau Normalisation et Francophonie
|
|
SAC |
Standardization Administration of China |
|
SADC
|
Southern African Development Community |
|
SADCSTAN
|
Southern African Development Community Cooperation in Standards |
|
SAEEC |
Southern African Energy Efficiency Confederation |
|
SAPP
|
Southern African Power Pool |
|
SARM |
National Institute of Standards (Armenia) |
|
SARSO
|
South Asian Regional Standards Organization |
|
SCC |
Standards Coordinating Committee (IEEE) |
|
SCSC |
Sub-committee on Standards and Conformance (APEC) |
|
SE4ALL
|
United Nations Sustainable Energy for All initiative |
|
SGCC
|
State Grid Corporation of China
|
|
SMLC
|
Smart Manufacturing Leadership Coalition |
|
SMRP
|
Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals
|
|
STAMEQ |
The Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality, Vietnam |
|
SPP
|
Southwest Power Pool |
|
SWASA |
Eswatini Standards Authority |
|
TBS |
Tanzania Bureau of Standards |
|
TBT |
Technical Barriers to Trade |
|
TCTP |
Third Country Training Programme |
|
TEPCO
|
Tokyo Electric Power Company |
|
TüV
|
Technical Inspection Association [of Germany] |
|
UCTE
|
Union for the Coordination of the Transmission of Electricity |
|
UIC
|
International Union of Railways |
|
UL
|
Underwriters Laboratories
|
|
UN
|
United Nations
|
|
UN SDGs |
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals |
|
UNECE
|
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe |
|
UNEP |
United Nations Environment Programme |
|
UNEZA |
Utilities for Net Zero Alliance |
|
UNFCCC
|
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
|
|
UNIDO
|
United Nations Industrial Development Organization |
|
UWIG
|
Utility Wing Integration Group |
|
UZSTANDARD |
Agency for Standardization, Metrology and Certification (Uzbekistan) |
|
VAMAS |
Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards |
|
VDE
|
Association for Electrical, Electronic and Information Technologies |
|
VDMA
|
Mechanical Engineering Industry Association [of Germany]
|
|
VSQI |
Vietnam Standards and Quality Institute |
|
W3C
|
World Wide Web Consortium |
|
WBG
|
World Bank Group
|
|
WECC
|
Western Electricity Coordinating Council |
|
WHO
|
World Health Organization |
|
WSC |
World Standards Cooperation |
|
WTERT |
Waste-to-Energy Research and Technology Council |
|
WTO
|
World Trade Organization |
|
ZVEI
|
Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association [of Germany]
|
Other commonly used acronyms
|
3D |
three-dimensional |
|
5G
|
5th generation cellular access |
|
AAL
|
active assisted living
|
|
ABCS |
ambient backscatter communications system |
|
ABS |
anti-lock braking system
|
|
AC |
alternating current [not a.c. nor ac]
|
|
ACL |
access control list |
|
ADC |
analog-to-digital converter |
|
ADECP |
autonomous data exchange control profile
|
|
ADHD |
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder |
|
ADR |
automatic demand response |
|
ADSPT |
advanced standards processing tool |
|
AFC |
alkaline fuel cell |
|
AGC |
automatic generation control |
|
AI
|
artificial intelligence
|
|
AIM
|
application infrastructure and middleware
|
|
AIN
|
asset intelligence network
|
|
AIR |
automated image recognition |
|
ALM
|
active load management |
|
AM
|
additive manufacturing
|
|
AMI
|
advanced metering infrastructure |
|
ANM
|
active network management |
|
ANN
|
artificial neural network |
|
API
|
application programming interface
|
|
ARIMA |
autoregressive integrated moving average |
|
ARM
|
architectural reference model
|
|
ARMA |
autoregressive moving average |
|
ASIC
|
application-specific integrated circuit
|
|
AuR |
autonomous robots |
|
AVR
|
automatic voltage regulator |
|
BBCS |
bistatic backscatter communications system |
|
BCI |
brain-computer interface |
|
BCM
|
business continuity management
|
|
BEMPs |
best environmental management practices |
|
BEMS
|
building energy management system
|
|
BI
|
business intelligence |
|
BIM |
building information modeling |
|
BMS |
battery management system
|
|
BOM |
bill of materials |
|
BOS |
balance of system |
|
BPS
|
bulk power system |
|
C&I |
commercial and industrial |
|
CAAGR |
compound average annual growth rate |
|
CACC
|
cooperative adaptive cruise control |
|
CAES
|
compressed air energy storage |
|
CAGR |
compound annual growth rate |
|
CAIDI
|
customer average interruption duration index |
|
CAIFI |
customer average interruption frequency index |
|
CAPEX |
capital expenditure
|
|
CART
|
classification and regression tree |
|
CATIA |
computer-aided three-dimensional interactive application |
|
CAx
|
computer-aided technologies
|
|
CBA
|
cost-benefit analysis
|
|
CBM
|
condition-based maintenance
|
|
CCD |
Common Data Dictionary |
|
CCHP |
combined cooling, heat and power |
|
CDE |
common data environment |
|
CEP
|
complex event processing
|
|
CHP
|
combined heat and power |
|
CHPS |
combined heat and power system |
|
CIM
|
common information model
|
|
CM |
configuration management |
|
CM
|
corrective maintenance |
|
CMMI
|
capability maturity model integration
|
|
CNC
|
computer numerical control
|
|
CNN
|
convolutional neural network
|
|
CO |
carbon monoxide |
|
CO2 |
carbon dioxide
|
|
CoAP |
constrained application protocol |
|
COD |
chemical oxygen demand |
|
COP
|
conference of the parties |
|
COSEM
|
companion specification for energy metering |
|
CPG |
coupled power generation |
|
CPPS
|
cyber-physical production system
|
|
CPS
|
cyber-physical system
|
|
CPU |
central processing unit
|
|
CRISP-DM
|
cross industry standard process for data mining |
|
CRM
|
customer relationship management
|
|
CSC |
current source converter
|
|
CSP |
concentrated solar power |
|
CSR
|
controllable shunt reactor |
|
CSS |
Cascading Style Sheets |
|
CT |
communication technology
|
|
DA
|
distribution automation
|
|
DB |
database |
|
DC
|
direct current [not d.c. nor dc]
|
|
DCAT |
data catalog vocabulary |
|
DCS
|
distributed control system
|
|
DER
|
distributed energy resource |
|
DERMS
|
distributed energy resource management system |
|
DevOps
|
development and operations
|
|
DG
|
distributed generation
|
|
DID |
decentralized identifiers |
|
DIS |
draft International Standard |
|
DL |
description logic |
|
DLC |
double layer capacitor |
|
DMS
|
document management system
|
|
DNN |
deep neural network
|
|
DPD |
digital product definition |
|
DPM |
digital product memory
|
|
DR
|
demand response |
|
DSA
|
dynamic security analysis
|
|
DSAN |
deep subdomain adaptive network |
|
DSM |
demand-side management
|
|
DSN
|
distributed sensor network
|
|
DSO |
distribution system operator |
|
DSR
|
demand-side resource
|
|
DT |
digital transformation |
|
DTC |
diagnostic trouble code |
|
DTU
|
demand turn up |
|
EAM
|
environmental assessment and management
|
|
EAS |
electric acoustic stimulation |
|
EBL
|
explanation-based learning
|
|
ECG |
electrocardiographic / electrocardiogram |
|
EDI
|
electronic data interchange
|
|
EEA |
energy efficiency assessment |
|
EEE
|
electrical energy efficiency
|
|
EES |
electrical energy storage
|
|
EHR |
electronic health record |
|
EMC
|
electromagnetic compatibility
|
|
EMS
|
energy management system
|
|
EMS-API |
energy management system application
programme interface |
|
EMMS |
electricity market management system |
|
ERP |
Centerprise resource planning
|
|
ERR
|
economic rate of return
|
|
ERS
|
essential reliability service
|
|
ESC
|
electronic stability control
|
|
ESCO
|
energy services company |
|
ESP
|
event stream processing |
|
ESPC
|
energy saving performance contract |
|
ESS
|
energy storage system
|
|
EUE
|
expected unserved energy |
|
EV
|
electric vehicle
|
|
EVPP
|
electric vehicle virtual power plant
|
|
EVSE
|
electric vehicle supply equipment |
|
FACTS
|
flexible AC transmission system
|
|
FAIR |
findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable |
|
FB
|
flow battery
|
|
FBC |
fluidized bed combustion |
|
FEMS
|
factory energy management system
|
|
FES
|
flywheel energy storage
|
|
FES |
functional electric stimulation |
|
FITH
|
fiber to the home
|
|
FMEA
|
failure mode and effects analysis |
|
FoF
|
factory of the future
|
|
FTTH
|
fiber to the home
|
|
FTTX
|
fiber to the X
|
|
FTU
|
field terminal unit
|
|
G2P |
gas-to-power |
|
GC
|
gate closure |
|
GCM |
generic conceptual model |
|
GDF |
geographic data files |
|
GDP
|
gross domestic product
|
|
GDPR |
General Data Protection Regulation [EU] |
|
GEI
|
global energy interconnection
|
|
GHG
|
greenhouse gas |
|
GID
|
geographical information system
|
|
GIS |
geographic information system |
|
GMS
|
generation management system |
|
GPS
|
global positioning system
|
|
GPT |
generative pre-trained transformer |
|
GPU
|
graphics processing unit
|
|
GSM
|
global system for mobile communications
|
|
GUS |
generic user story |
|
GWP |
global warming potential |
|
H2 |
hydrogen gas |
|
H2P |
heat-to-power |
|
hDAA |
harmonized data access agreement |
|
HEMS
|
home energy management system
|
|
HEV
|
hybrid electric vehicle |
|
HFB
|
hybrid flow battery
|
|
HFR |
high flux reactor |
|
HHV |
high heating value |
|
HMI
|
human-machine interface |
|
HP
|
high pressure
|
|
HRSG |
heat recovery steam generator |
|
HTC |
hydrothermal carbonization |
|
HTM
|
hierarchical temporal memory
|
|
HTS
|
HTS
|
|
HTTP
|
hypertext transfer protocol
|
|
HV
|
host vehicle |
|
HVAC
|
high-voltage alternating current
|
|
HVDC
|
high-voltage direct current |
|
HW
|
hardware
|
|
HWACT
|
half-wavelength AC transmission
|
|
I/O
|
input/output
|
|
IaaS
|
infrastructure as a service
|
|
IAM
|
identity and access management
|
|
ICI
|
information and communication infrastructure
|
|
ICT
|
information and communication technology
|
|
IGBT
|
Insulated gate bipolar transistor |
|
IGCC |
integrated gasification combined cycle |
|
IIoT
|
industrial Internet of Things
|
|
IIM |
integrated information model |
|
IIRA
|
industrial internet reference architecture
|
|
ILR
|
interruptible load for reliability
|
|
IM
|
identity management
|
|
IM |
information management |
|
IoT
|
Internet of Things
|
|
IoT RA
|
Internet of Things reference architecture
|
|
IOU
|
investor owned utility
|
|
IP
|
internet protocol
|
|
IPP
|
independent power producer
|
|
IRDI |
International Registration Data Identifier |
|
IRI
|
International Resource Identifier
|
|
ISV |
independent software vendor |
|
IT
|
information technology
|
|
k-NN
|
k-nearest neighbour |
|
KPI
|
key performance indicator
|
|
LA
|
lead acid
|
|
LAN
|
local area network
|
|
LCC
|
line-commutated converter |
|
LCOE
|
levelized cost of energy
|
|
LED |
light-emitting diode
|
|
Li-ion
|
lithium ion
|
|
LMMD |
list mapping motion description |
|
LP
|
low pressure
|
|
LSE
|
load serving entity
|
|
LTE
|
long term evolution
|
|
LVDC
|
low voltage direct current
|
|
LVRT
|
low voltage ride through
|
|
M2M
|
machine to machine |
|
MAC
|
media access control
|
|
MBB
|
mobile broadband
|
|
MCFC |
molten carbonate fuel cell |
|
MDM
|
meter data management
|
|
MEMS
|
microelectromechanical systems |
|
MES
|
manufacturing execution system
|
|
MES |
multi-energy system |
|
MFI |
metamodel framework for interoperability |
|
MILP |
mixed-integer linear programming |
|
MIMO
|
multiple-input multiple-output |
|
ML |
machine learning |
|
mMTC
|
massive machine-type communications
|
|
MoU |
memorandum of understanding
|
|
MR |
magnetic resonance |
|
MSW |
municipal solid waste |
|
MSWtE |
municipal solid waste to energy |
|
MTDC
|
multi-terminal direct current
|
|
MWe |
megawatt electric |
|
NB-IoT
|
narrowband Internet of Things
|
|
NFC
|
near field communication |
|
NGO |
non-governmental organization |
|
NOx |
oxides of nitrogen |
|
NLP
|
natural language processing
|
|
NPU
|
neural processing unit
|
|
NSB |
national standardization body |
|
NTLM |
New Technology LAN Manager
(Microsoft security protocol suite) |
|
NWP
|
numerical weather prediction
|
|
O&M |
operation and maintenance |
|
OATT
|
open access transmission tariff
|
|
OEM
|
original equipment manufacturer |
|
OHL |
overhead line
|
|
OLTP
|
online transaction processing
|
|
OPEX
|
operational expenditure
|
|
ORC |
organic Rankine cycle |
|
OSS |
open source software
|
|
OT
|
operational technology
|
|
OWL |
web ontology language
|
|
OWP |
Open Web Platform |
|
P2G |
power-to-gas |
|
P2L |
power-to-liquid |
|
PaaS
|
platform as a service
|
|
PAFC |
phosphoric acid fuel cell |
|
PCS
|
power conversion system
|
|
PB |
petabyte |
|
pdf |
portable document format |
|
PDM |
product data management |
|
PEMFC |
proton exchange membrane fuel cell |
|
PEV
|
plug-in electric vehicle
|
|
PHEV
|
plug-in hybrid electric vehicle
|
|
PHS
|
pumped hydro storage
|
|
PHY
|
physical layer
|
|
PIR
|
private information retrieval
|
|
PKI
|
public key infrastructure
|
|
PLC
|
programmable logic controller
|
|
PLM
|
product lifecycle management
|
|
PPP
|
public private partnership
|
|
PRD
|
price responsive demand
|
|
ProSe
|
proximity service
|
|
PV
|
photovoltaic
|
|
QC
|
quality control |
|
QI |
quality infrastructure |
|
QMS
|
quality management system
|
|
QoI |
question of interest |
|
QoL
|
quality of life
|
|
QoS
|
quality of service
|
|
R&A |
repairs and alterations |
|
R&D |
research and development
|
|
RAT
|
radio access technology
|
|
RCM
|
reliability-centred maintenance
|
|
RDBMS |
relational database management system
|
|
RDF |
refuse derived fuel |
|
RDF
|
resource description framework
|
|
RDFS |
RDF schema |
|
RDL |
reference data library |
|
RE
|
renewable energy
|
|
RES
|
renewable energy source
|
|
RESS |
rechargeable energy storage system |
|
RFB
|
redox flow battery |
|
RFID
|
radio frequency identification
|
|
RFP |
Request for Proposals |
|
RIF |
rule interchange format |
|
RMS
|
root mean square [not r.m.s. nor rms] |
|
RNN
|
recurrent neural network
|
|
ROI
|
return on investment
|
|
RSU
|
roadside unit |
|
RV
|
remote vehicle
|
|
SaaS
|
software as a service
|
|
SAIDI
|
system average interruption duration index
|
|
SAIFI
|
system average interruption frequency index |
|
SBG
|
surplus base-load generation
|
|
SCADA
|
supervisory control and data acquisition
|
|
SCADA/EMS
|
supervisory control and data acquisition/energy management system |
|
SCED
|
security constrained economic dispatch
|
|
SCGT
|
simple cycle gas turbine
|
|
SCIG
|
squirrel cage induction generator
|
|
SCIM
|
system for cross-domain identity management
|
|
SCM
|
supply chain management
|
|
SCRA |
Smart Cities Reference Architecture |
|
SCWG |
supercritical water gasification |
|
SDG
|
sustainable development goal [of the UN] |
|
SDI |
semantic data interconnect |
|
SDN
|
software defined networking
|
|
SDO
|
standards developing organization
|
|
SE |
systems engineering |
|
SESS |
superconducting energy storage system |
|
SGIRM |
smart grid interoperability reference model |
|
SGUI
|
smart grid user interface
|
|
SIDM
|
system interfaces for distribution management
|
|
SLA
|
service level agreement
|
|
SMART |
standards machine applicable, readable and transferable |
|
SME
|
small and medium enterprise
|
|
SMES
|
superconducting magnetic energy storage
|
|
SNG
|
synthetic natural gas |
|
SO
|
system operator |
|
SO2 |
sulfur dioxide |
|
SOx |
sulfur oxide |
|
SOA
|
service oriented architecture
|
|
SOAP
|
service oriented architecture protocol
|
|
SOL
|
system operating limit
|
|
SOFC |
solid oxide fuel cell |
|
SOP |
standard operating procedures |
|
SoS
|
system of systems |
|
SOSA |
Sensor, Observation, Sampler, and Actuator (ontology) |
|
SRD |
systems reference deliverable |
|
SSO
|
single sign-on
|
|
SSN |
Semantic Sensor Network (ontology) |
|
ST |
systems thinking |
|
STATCOM
|
static synchronous compensator
|
|
STE
|
solar thermal energy
|
|
STIX
|
structured threat information expression
|
|
SUMO |
Suggested Upper Merged Ontology |
|
SVG |
scalable vector graphics |
|
SVM
|
support vector machine
|
|
SW |
semantic web |
|
SW
|
software |
|
TACAS |
thermal compressed air energy storage |
|
TB |
terabyte |
|
TBM
|
time-based maintenance
|
|
TCP |
transmission control protocol
|
|
TCSC
|
thyristor controlled series compensator
|
|
TDMA
|
time division multiple access
|
|
TLO |
top-level ontology |
|
TLS
|
transport layer security
|
|
TMB |
Technical Management Board [of ISO] |
|
TOPSIS |
technique for order preference by similarity
to an ideal solution |
|
TO
|
transmission owner
|
|
TPA
|
third party access
|
|
TSMP
|
time synchronized mesh protocol
|
|
TSN
|
time sensitive network
|
|
TSO
|
transmission system operator |
|
TSP
|
trust, security and privacy
|
|
UCC
|
urban consolidation centre |
|
UFR
|
under-frequency relay
|
|
UHV
|
ultra-high voltage
|
|
UHVAC
|
ultra-high voltage alternating current
|
|
UHVDC
|
ultra-high voltage direct current
|
|
UML
|
unified modeling language
|
|
UPI |
ubiquitous public access |
|
UPS
|
uninterruptable power supply
|
|
URLLC
|
ultra-reliable low-latency communications
|
|
USN |
ubiquitous sensor network
|
|
UWB
|
ultra-wideband
|
|
V2G
|
vehicle to grid
|
|
V2H
|
vehicle to home [appliances] |
|
VAR
|
volt ampere reactive
|
|
VC |
verifiable credential |
|
VHT |
virtual human twin |
|
VOC |
volatile organic compounds |
|
VoLL
|
value of lost load
|
|
VPN
|
virtual private network
|
|
VPP
|
virtual power plant
|
|
VR |
virtual reality |
|
VRFB
|
vanadium redox flow battery
|
|
VSA |
voltage stability analysis
|
|
VSC
|
voltage source converter
|
|
VSG
|
virtual synchronous generator
|
|
VVUQ |
Content |
|
WAN
|
wide area network
|
|
WBS |
work breakdown structure
|
|
WIA
|
wireless networks for industrial automation
|
|
WISA |
wireless interface for sensors and actuators
|
|
WLAN
|
wireless local area network |
|
WMAN |
wireless metropolitan area network
|
|
WOFF |
Web Open Font Format |
|
WoT |
Web of Things |
|
WoT
|
web of trust |
|
WPAN |
wireless personal area network
|
|
WPP |
wind power plant
|
|
WRIG
|
wound rotor induction generator
|
|
WSAT |
wind security assessment tool |
|
WSN
|
wireless sensor network
|
|
WT
|
wind turbine
|
|
WtE |
waste to energy |
|
WTG |
wind turbine generator
|
|
WWAN
|
wireless wide area network
|
|
XaaS
|
anything-as-a-service |
|
XML |
extensible markup language |
|
XR |
extended reality |