diff --git a/cluster/kube-util.sh b/cluster/kube-util.sh
index c6cb58fc812..5030e7f2af8 100644
--- a/cluster/kube-util.sh
+++ b/cluster/kube-util.sh
@@ -22,7 +22,12 @@ KUBE_ROOT=$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE}")/..
 
 source "${KUBE_ROOT}/cluster/skeleton/util.sh"
 
-KUBERNETES_PROVIDER="${KUBERNETES_PROVIDER:-gce}"
+if [[ -n "${KUBERNETES_CONFORMANCE_TEST:-}" ]]; then
+    KUBERNETES_PROVIDER=""
+else
+    KUBERNETES_PROVIDER="${KUBERNETES_PROVIDER:-gce}"
+fi
+
 PROVIDER_UTILS="${KUBE_ROOT}/cluster/${KUBERNETES_PROVIDER}/util.sh"
 if [ -f ${PROVIDER_UTILS} ]; then
     source "${PROVIDER_UTILS}"