AMM moving towards an open standard environment

Landis+Gyr has been involved in numerous workgroups and projects in a strong effort to broaden the use of fair and open standards in the energy industry. Its recent association with ERDF’s smart meter pilot installation will see Landis+Gyr provide interoperable metering devices and technologies based on the standards elaborated in the IEC committee and maintained in the DLMS User Association.“Although many projects have been undertaken, it is our work in the Netherlands which offers the best example of how existing IEC standards can be used to support national smart metering requirements,” adds Thomas. Landis+Gyr worked with manufacturers and utilities to create a Dutch companion standard which complies with national energy regulations. Through close collaboration between these parties, they were able to work together satisfying the specific requirements of each group. “We realised that most of the Dutch requirements could be met by the existing standards. Only minor extensions to the existing standards were necessary. We are convinced that at least 80% of the Dutch companion standard is also valid in other European markets. If we can repeat this process in other European countries we’ll be closer to an open pan-European standard supporting smart metering.”

Working through open standards provides simplicity and opportunity both for the manufacturer and the utility. For a utility, open standards provide the most benefits: they ensure a platform for interoperability and freedom of choice, they secure investments in large scale solutions as more than one manufacturer can be used, also, they allow for communication and cooperation between utilities, manufacturers and governments. “When a utility profits, so do we. That is why it’s in our best interest to support utilities as much as possible in their large investment choices,” adds Thomas.