The newly published American National Standards Institute  (ANSI) standard for interoperability, C12.22, which is fundamental to advanced metering, allowing for interoperability between smart devices and networks has been adopted by leading vendors Elster, Trilliant and Itron. “Interoperability allows utilities to utilize multiple communication networks or change communications technologies without touching the meter. In this way, we believe that open standards in general, and ANSI C12.22 in particular, help protect the investment that utilities, ratepayers and shareholders make in advanced metering.”

The ANSI C12.22 open standard defines how to transmit standardized tables of meter data across wired or wireless networks using various transports such as IP. This open standard can play a vital role in unifying the information collected from advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) projects and smart grid initiatives while allowing utilities to select the communication technologies that make the most sense for their budget, objectives and service territory including:

The contents and scope of ANSI C12.22 may be viewed, or a hardcopy or electronic copy purchased for $160, by visiting NEMA’s website at http://www.nema.org/stds/c12-22.cfm, or by contacting IHS at 800-854-7179 (within the U.S.), 303-397-7956 (international), 303-397-2740 (fax), or on the Web at global.ihs.com