Member Fee and Benefit Guide

The UG counts on our members to correctly determine their membership category according to the criteria provided in the Member Services and Fee Table (2024). Some new categories are defined for 2024.

1. Vendors - Membership categories for vendors and consultants/integrators are established based on the annual revenues that are associated with the use of or engagement with DNP3. A primary determinant is the customer procurement specification and whether IEEE Std 1815TM or DNP3 has been specified as a requirement, whether or not DNP3 is actually used in any particular instance. Revenues that are not associated with DNP3 would not apply. The need for additional user accounts may also impact category selection.
2. Utilities - Membership categories for utilities are based on straight annual revenue. The need for additional user accounts may also impact category selection.
3. Organizations may choose a category based on plant, business unit or total corporation revenues. We request that our plant and business unit members collaborate with the other business units within the same corporation to renew based on applicable corporate revenues. This likely results in savings for the overall corporation and assists the UG with the effort to connect with the different business units.
4. If the membership is for a commercial purpose, then the member must choose from Category 2 through 14.
5. Documents may be copied or distributed within the member company according to the number of User Accounts. For example, a small vendor member may use up to five separate users of the documents (total).
6. Sometimes members will choose a higher category to enable more people to access our website and use our documents such as the IEEE 1815 standard and test procedures. For example, a member in the micro-vendor category that is permitted to have a single user of the website and documents may choose the small vendor category to have 5 user accounts and users of the documents.
7. Corporate members will be listed by their company name.
8. Individual, academic and emeritus members (Category 1, 17, 18) will be listed by their name (and not company or institution) on the membership lists. These memberships are for non-commercial use. Website access and documents are for single-use only and may not be shared or copied with others.
9. Categories 15 and 16 are our Silver and Gold Support options. These are optional additions to any primary category of membership. Funds can be allocated to specific programs, activities and/or general support of the UG. When extra funding is added to our ongoing volunteer efforts, the beneficial impact can be considerable. The benefits listed for the Silver and Gold options are added to the other benefits included with the primary membership category.
10. Platinum Partnership Program. Our highest level of membership is not listed on the Table. Our Partnership Program members provide an important source of funds for specific programs, activities and/or UG support. Fees start at $25,000. When this level of additional funds is made available, the impact on our programs, the UG and the industry is considerable as we are able gain significant leverage from our volunteer efforts. A special set of benefits and services are provided to our partners. Past partners include a large and innovative electric utility in the western US and a large US based electric power research organization. For more information, please contact admin@dnp.org.
11. Academic Membership is granted to students attending or faculty teaching a full-time university or college program for up to three years. Membership must be renewed each year by sending a summary of the program to admin@dnp.org.
12. Emeritus Membership is granted to individuals upon retirement in recognition of substantial contributions over many years. This would normally involve a minimum of 10 years of active engagement and voting membership with at least one of our committees or task forces. Candidates are nominated by the chair of the applicable committee and approved by the Board of Directors of the DNP-UG. 13. Non-Member Fees and Services. Non-members may access the CTR program for a fee of $15,000 per CTR project. The usual additional project fees apply.
13. Non-Member Fees and Services. Non-members may access the CTR program for a fee of $15,000 per CTR project. The usual additional project fees apply.

1. The use of DNP-UG member-only documents and the member-only part of our website is reserved for active DNP-UG members.
2. Membership grants an annual license to use our member-only documents and access the website for the active membership period which is usually 12 months.
3. Other services, benefits and discounts are included as shown in the Table and described in this Guide.
4. Member-only documents include but are not limited to standards, updates, specifications, profiles, application notes, technical bulletins, test procedures, guides, notices, tutorial materials, workshop presentations and training materials.

1. Some user account allocations have increased for 2024.
2. Corporate members are Category 2 through 14 and are granted access to our website based on the number of users accounts corresponding with their membership category as shown in the Table.
3. Documents may be copied or distributed within the member company according to the number of User Accounts.
4. Individual, academic and emeritus members (Category 1, 17 and 18 respectively) are granted individual access for non-commercial purposes, to DNP-UG documents for individual use (only). In this case documents may not be copied or distributed to others.

1. Tutorials and Workshops for our members are currently planned in a one-hour format with four events per year. Example topics and content is included in the VISION 2024 Overview available here.
2. Member companies can send associate members as well as other employees to the limit of user accounts included with the membership category listed in column 4.
3. The estimated value of each workshop is $250 per participant

1. The DNP-UG’s Test Management Committee (TMC) manages our Conformance Certification Program (CCP) and coordinates our Conformance Test Review (CTR) process. For more information contact conformancetesting@dnp.org.
2. Conformance certificates are awarded and posted upon successful completion. To view the certificates, go to Products/Conformance Tested Products.
3. The DNP-UG recommends that vendors or utilities submit the product(s) for conformance review, at least every 5 years and when products are new or updated.
4. The UG recommends that utilities state in their procurement specifications that products and systems deploying DNP3 (IEEE 1815) or related standards (*) shall be conformance reviewed by the UG’s Conformance Certification Program and valid conformance certificates must be provided to the utility. This has been shown to lower program risk, reduce overall cost and enhance quality by improving interoperability between different vendors devices.
5. The UG’s Technical Committee developed a Protocol Conformance Issue Tracking Summary that lists real-world interoperability failures that would likely have been flagged by our CTR process. For more information contact us at conformancetesting@dnp.org.
6. Utilities are permitted to use their included or discounted CCP/CTR service to assist a vendor to obtain this service.
7. Phase 1 (P1) is the first of two phases of our CTR process. Phase 1 is the review of the Device Profile by a UG expert. Standard pricing for Phase 1 is $1,200. Membership provides discounts of either 50% or 100% for categories 2 through 14, for one CCP/CTR service during each 12-month active membership period. Additional CCP/CTR engagements are available at regular prices. Standard terms for CTR/CCP engagements are available at conformancetesting@dnp.org. Technical support is available as an extra.
8. DNP-UG will make its best efforts to provide a thorough review of the Device Profile by a UG DNP expert but assumes no liability for performance, accuracy or any other aspect whatsoever.

1. Phase 2 (P2) is the second of two phases of our CTR process. Phase 2 is the review of the Device Test Logs provided by the vendor or utility which are reviewed by a UG expert. Standard pricing for Phase 2 is $2,400 per device interface (typically two). Membership provides a range of discounts for the larger members in categories 2 through 14, for one CCP/CTR service during each 12-month active membership period. Additional CCP/CTR engagements are available at regular prices. Standard terms for CTR/CCP engagements are available at conformancetesting@dnp.org. Technical support is available as an extra.
2. DNP-UG will make its best effort to provide an expert review of the Device Test Logs by an experienced and knowledgeable UG reviewer but assumes no liability for performance, accuracy or any other aspect whatsoever.

1. Technical support is provided by knowledgeable expert consultants closely affiliated with the DNP-UG. The scope of technical support will be limited to topics related to deployment of DNP3 and related standards, documents and material developed and supported by the DNP-UG. DNP-UG will make its best efforts to provide excellent support as a member benefit but assumes no liability for performance, accuracy or any other aspect whatsoever.
2. The tech support hours can also be used to develop and present custom training courses. Preparation time is needed for custom courses of two hours preparation for each hour of presentation.
3. Additional tech support hours, to a maximum of two times the hours included on the Services and Fee Table (2024) for member’s category, can be added at a cost of $250 per hour.

1. The VISION 2024 services, discounts, benefits and fees which took effect on July 1, 2024 are described in documents linked to the announcement here. New services, discounts and benefits are provided once members renew on their usual annual renewal date, at the new 2024 fee level.
2. The option for quarterly invoicing and payments will be offered for members in Categories 7,8,12,13 in the summer of 2024.
3. The default payment method for all categories will be subscription enrollment for credit cards. Quarterly payments will be invoiced manually until further notice.
4. The DNP-UG has a policy document that addresses intellectual property rights, document use and standards interpretation and representation. For more information refer to the policy document here.
5. The DNP-UG licenses select content to the IEEE by way of a Sharing Agreement.
6. Included (VISION 2024) membership services, discounts and benefits may be adjusted at the discretion of the UG directors by giving 90 days’ notice to the members.
7. Membership fees may be adjusted at the discretion of the directors, per the US Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustments at: www.ssa.gov