Standards: from multi-media communication to multi-functional applications [power system metering]

The availability of new communication channels between an electric utility and their customers will drastically affect the utilities' business processes. In order to profit from these possibilities, substantial investment in power system communication infrastructure, terminal units, meters and central units will be necessary. Standards are the means to secure this investment by guaranteeing the interoperability of the equipment from different manufacturers. The more the utility equipment is interlinked through communication networks, the more the aspects of system management and data access becomes important. This also affects standardisation activities where the emphasis will be shifted from the specification of the communication channels to the specification of abstract application and device models. These models must be suited for a multi-functional and multi-media environment