# Overview
> What the Grid 2 overlay plane is, who implements or comments on it, the three-protocol stack, and the first docs routes after RFC #1.
- Repository: g2tf-org/g2tf-standards
- GitHub: https://github.com/g2tf-org/g2tf-standards
- Human docs: https://grok-wiki.com/public/docs/g2tf-org-g2tf-standards-436ba3f3e0ff
- Complete Markdown: https://grok-wiki.com/public/docs/g2tf-org-g2tf-standards-436ba3f3e0ff/llms-full.txt
## Source Files
- `README.md`
- `architecture/overview.md`
- `architecture/design-principles.md`
- `specs/g2p/spec.md`
- `specs/gcap/spec.md`
- `specs/desp/spec.md`
- `rfcs/grid-2-rfc-1.pdf`
---
---
title: "Overview"
description: "What the Grid 2 overlay plane is, who implements or comments on it, the three-protocol stack, and the first docs routes after RFC #1."
---
`g2tf-org/g2tf-standards` is the Grid 2.0 Task Force (G2TF) canonical standards tree. Grid 2 is a voluntary orchestration overlay on the existing physical grid (**Grid 1**): Member Elements and Allocators exchange authenticated, one-minute messages so surplus transmission and generation headroom can be allocated without replacing NERC, FERC, utility, or TSO/ISO mechanisms. RFC #1 (`rfcs/grid-2-rfc-1.pdf`, August 2026) is the immutable launch snapshot. Normative work after that RFC lives in `architecture/`, `specs/`, and `members/` as independently versioned **26.0-draft** documents with status **Draft — seeking input**.
Living specs use RFC 2119 / RFC 8174 keywords. RFCs in `rfcs/` are never edited after publication. Corrections to RFC #1 are Issues labeled `errata` and land in the living files.
## Overlay plane
Grid 2 is an overlay network: coordinated by protocol, embedded throughout Grid 1, verified by its aggregate footprint, with **no perimeter** and **no central operator**.
The plane has two element kinds:
- **Member Elements** — digital representatives of real assets: **Use** (flexible load), **Buffer** (storage), **Source** (clean-energy supply).
- **Allocators** — deterministic clearing agents for a constraint domain. Intelligence and discretion live at the edge, not in the Allocator.
Each minute, Members broadcast signed Service Descriptors (per-class consume requests, charge/discharge offers, supply offers). Allocators clear those against Grid 1 constraints provisioned by the transmission owner (and optionally a regional system operator) and return interval-only commitments. Members **self-dispatch** within parameters agreed with the host utility and report verified actuals.
```mermaid
flowchart TB
subgraph g1["Grid 1 — physical assets and custodians"]
Load["Load"]
Stor["Storage"]
Sup["Supply"]
TO["Transmission owner / TSO constraint set"]
end
subgraph g2["Grid 2 — orchestration plane"]
Use["Use Member"]
Buf["Buffer Member"]
Src["Source Member"]
Alloc["Allocator"]
end
Load --- Use
Stor --- Buf
Sup --- Src
TO -->|"MUST provision local and regional limits"| Alloc
Use -->|"Service Descriptor (+ consume)"| Alloc
Buf -->|"Service Descriptor (− discharge / + charge)"| Alloc
Src -->|"Service Descriptor (− supply)"| Alloc
Alloc -->|"commit-%"| Use
Alloc -->|"committed dispatch"| Buf
Alloc -->|"committed take"| Src
Alloc <-->|"Federation Announcement"| Alloc
```
Membership is **spec compliance at a provisioned point of interconnection**, not an admission process. Commercial terms (class mix limits, charging, flex-capability enforcement) stay in the domain agreement. The protocol does not create authority; it carries constraints whose authority comes from Grid 1 custodians.
Grid 2 does not replace, modify, or bypass Grid 1:
- Participating assets continue to meet all NERC, FERC, utility, and TSO/ISO requirements.
- Commercial settlements stay on Grid 1’s slower clock (**coordination without prices**).
- On fault, partition, or a missing/stale Commitment, each element reverts to a locally determinable Grid 1 baseline.
### Stated objectives
| Objective | How the overlay approaches it |
|---|---|
| Faster connections | Transmission-owner “connect and manage” on-ramp; smallest domain is one host utility plus one flexible load |
| Higher utilization | Allocate surplus headroom each minute above Traditional Firm (Grid 1) |
| Equal or better reliability | Commit only above Grid 1 primary-control timescales; failsafe to status-quo Grid 1 |
| Cost neutrality for participants | Protocol coordinates operation; prices stay on Grid 1 settlements |
| Downward pressure on non-participant rates | Stated design objective; rate treatment is a Commercial-terms Discussion, not a protocol output |
### v26.0 scope
Version **26.0** is limited to **units of energy consumed and provided inside the one-minute window** on the bulk power system. Sub-minute response, voltage support, IEEE 2030.5 distribution-scale devices, and routing through SSTs / HVDC are out of this line.
## Who implements and who comments
G2TF (`g2tf.org`) maintains this repository in the IETF RFC style. RFC #1 authors are J. Chris Shelton, Brett Galura, AJ Hall, Varun Joshi, and Gregory Phillips. Contact listed in RFC #1 is `aj@g2tf.org`. Living-document **Editors** are currently **TBD** in every spec and architecture header.
| Actor | What they implement or provision | Repo surface |
|---|---|---|
| **Use** implementer | Map internal workloads to DESP classes; broadcast signed consume positions; self-dispatch to `commit-%`; report telemetry | `members/use.md` |
| **Buffer** implementer | Signed charge/discharge offers; honor committed dispatch **before** any load curtailment | `members/buffer.md` |
| **Source** implementer | Supply offers over a forward vector; self-dispatch to committed take | `members/source.md` |
| **Allocator** implementer | No-discretion GCAP clear; federation announce-and-listen; withhold clearing on stale inputs | `members/allocator.md` |
| **Transmission owner** | MUST provision the Allocator’s local and regional constraint set | `architecture/allocation-domains.md` |
| **Regional system operator** | MAY add capacity constraints to a regional Allocator | same |
| **Host utility** | Commercial terms and agreed ramp / firm-limit parameters | outside the protocol |
There is no reference implementation or wire codec in this repository. G2P leaves encoding, state machines, version negotiation, and conformance vectors unspecified.
### Comment channels
Participation is open to individuals. Organizational affiliation confers no extra standing.
| Channel | Use |
|---|---|
| GitHub Discussions | Design alternatives and RFC #1 open-question areas: Commercial terms, Reliability assurance, Engineering |
| Issues | Defects, ambiguities, missing MUSTs, RFC #1 `errata` |
| Pull requests | Spec text against `specs/`, `members/`, or `architecture/` |
| G2TF WhatsApp Community | Cross-organization news (non-normative) |
Normative PRs require **two spec-editor** reviews, RFC 2119 keywords, and a compatibility statement. Merged decisions go in the `GOVERNANCE.md` decision log. Implementations from **Phase 0 shadow mode** onward report experience in Discussions.
### Roles
- **Editors** — maintain named documents, judge rough consensus, merge PRs.
- **Contributors** — anyone in Discussions, Issues, or PRs; standing by merit.
- **Task Force** — cross-document conflicts, editor appointment, milestones, new RFC publication.
G2TF coordinates with, and does not supersede, NERC, FERC, utility, and TSO/ISO requirements. A trademark policy for describing conformant implementations is forthcoming. Spec text is **CC BY 4.0**; any code is **Apache-2.0**. Marks "Grid 2.0"™, "G2TF"™, "G2P"™, "GCAP"™, and "DESP"™ grant no trademark rights under either license.
## Three-protocol stack
Grid 2 sits between Grid 1’s ~5-minute market dispatch domain and its sub-second / seconds-scale ancillaries (frequency response, AGC, reserves). Allocations apply to **whole one-minute intervals**. Clearing MUST finish so Members receive `commit-%` in time to self-dispatch **before the interval opens**. If a Grid 1 dispatch instruction conflicts with a Grid 2 allocation, **Grid 1 prevails**.
```text
Grid 1 Market Dispatch Domain (nodal pricing, forward dispatch) ~5 minutes
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Grid 2 DESP — service classification and prioritization 1 minute
GCAP — fair service allocation and scheduling
G2P — addressing, service configuration, and response
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Grid 1 Fast Operational Domain (frequency, AGC, reserves) seconds
```
| Protocol | File | Role | v26.0-draft MUST-level surface |
|---|---|---|---|
| **DESP** | `specs/desp/spec.md` | Taxonomy and curtailment order used by GCAP and carried in G2P | Classes **A Assured**, **B Preferred**, **C Best Efforts** above Traditional Firm (Grid 1). Curtailment order **C → B → A**. Firm is never curtailed by GCAP. Dynamic reclassification each interval. |
| **GCAP** | `specs/gcap/spec.md` | Deterministic Allocator clear | Identical inputs → identical allocations. Order: **headroom → Buffers → tiered Use curtailment**. Outputs: Use `commit-%`, Buffer committed dispatch, Source committed take. Stale constraints → **no clear**. |
| **G2P** | `specs/g2p/spec.md` | Identity, messages, staleness | Stable element ID bound to a POI. Four families: Service Descriptor, Commitment, Federation Announcement, Response/Telemetry. Descriptors and Commitments MUST be authenticated. Wire format **unspecified**. |
G2P, GCAP, and DESP version independently on a **YY.N** scheme (26.0 = first 2026 line). README says a compatibility matrix will appear there when the lines diverge; it is not published yet.
### Interval message contract (G2P)
| Family | Direction | Payload |
|---|---|---|
| Service Descriptor | Member → Allocator | Signed positions in interval energy units, over a forward vector (length open) |
| Commitment | Allocator → Member | Interval, domain, clearing-inputs version; missing/stale → failsafe |
| Federation Announcement | Allocator ↔ Allocator | Announcing domain, interval, coupled-boundary quantities |
| Response / Telemetry | Member → Allocator | Actual per-class dispatch vs Commitment |
Peer announcements MAY add boundary headroom and **MUST NOT** relax local constraints. A missing peer announcement is treated as **zero extra headroom**. Partition between Allocators MUST NOT trip Members in unaffected domains.
## Adoption after RFC #1
RFC #1 §Phased Adoption is the deployment sequence. Living architecture files decompose that narrative; they do not change the RFC.
| Phase | Behavior |
|---|---|
| **0 Shadow mode** | Run the full stack as a dry run: exchange and track commitments; execute only the Grid 1 baseline |
| **1 Local vertical integration** | Large loads, transmission owners, and LSEs prove the solution inside existing rules |
| **2 Regional federation** | Peer Allocators on the same spec announce-and-listen across coupled zones |
The binding growth constraint is **pool ramp sizing**: simultaneous whole-pool fallback MUST stay inside manageable Grid 1 ramp limits.
:::files
g2tf-standards/
├── rfcs/grid-2-rfc-1.pdf # Published RFC #1 (August 2026), immutable
├── architecture/ # Draft system model (overview, time, domains, federation, failsafe)
├── specs/{desp,gcap,g2p}/spec.md # 26.0-draft protocols — seeking input
├── members/{use,buffer,source,allocator}.md
├── GOVERNANCE.md # Roles, YY.N lifecycle, decision log
├── CONTRIBUTING.md # Comment cycle, RFC 2119, one-sentence-per-line
├── LICENSE # CC BY 4.0 (spec text)
└── LICENSE-CODE # Apache-2.0 (code)
:::
Document lifecycle: **Draft (seeking input) → Proposed → Stable vXX.Y → RFC**. Stable changes require a compatibility statement.
Open items that still block a Stable 26.0 include G2P wire format and intra-interval deadlines, GCAP proportionality formula, DESP naming (A/B/C vs Firm/Semi-Firm/Flex), and certification criteria for “spec compliance.” Treat current MUSTs as draft.
## Next
Status headers, RFC 2119, living files vs immutable RFCs, independent 26.x lines.
No perimeter, NERC/FERC/TSO non-interference, coordination without prices, v26.0 energy scope.
One host utility plus one flexible load; transmission-owner constraint provisioning.
Four message families, one-minute timing, authenticated descriptors, unspecified wire format.
Headroom then buffers then C-B-A curtailment; identical-input determinism.
Class table, mandatory C-B-A order, open naming and SLA items.
Dry-run the stack; execute only the Grid 1 baseline.
Discussions vs Issues vs PRs; RFC #1 errata; two-editor review.