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Survey of smart metering communication technologies

Conference Paper · July 2013

DOI: 10.1109/EUROCON.2013.6625160

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 Survey of Smart Metering Communication
Technologies
Zdravko Lipošćak1, Marin Bošković 2
1, 2
HEP Operator distribucijskog sustava d.o.o.
Ulica grada Vukovara 37. 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
1 zdravko.liposcak@hep.hr
2 marin.boskovic@hep.hr
Abstract – The smart metering system allows continuous
reading and recording of many measurands, e.g. power quality
and load curve profile, as well as the early-stage failure detection,
monitoring of the meter lid opening alarm (detection of
unlicensed actions), detection of the opposite energy flow and
many other useful signals.
The capabilities and information provided by a meter
reading system are important for a variety of purposes, including
(but not limited to) interval data, time-based demand data, time-
based energy data (usage and production), outage management,
service interruption, service restoration, quality of service
monitoring, distribution network analysis, distribution planning,
demand reduction, customer billing and work management.
This paper provides an overview of communication
technologies used in smart metering, summary of the
recommended technologies for specific areas of smart
measurement and a short description of the communication
technology used in the Croatian distribution system operator
(DSO).
Keywords: smart metering, communication technology, protocols,
AMI, AMR
I. INTRODUCTION
The liberalization of electricity markets, as well as
European Directives regarding energy and ecology issues have
set the market and technological limitations, which require
continuous real-time monitoring and control of the distribution
power system [1]. In addition, it is expected that market
participants exchange information on daily basis. The regarded
alterations imposed the implementation of electricity metering
surveillance, as well as control and electricity consumption
reading systems. Although the complete implementation of
these systems is still in process, determination to fully
implement the advanced electricity meter systems is
ubiquitous.
Speeding development of information and
telecommunication sector provides infrastructure for
implementation of different services on top of electricity
consumption metering. The range of services begins with
simpler AMR (Automated Meter Reading), through AMM
(Automated Meter Management), AMI (Advanced Meter
Infrastructure), Demand-Response Management, Real-time
Pricing, to Smart Grid and Smart House. Although the most
advanced systems are far from practical implementation, with
their definitions being still marketing-oriented, it is certain that
these systems will be fully implemented in practice in the near
future.
Automated meter management system is becoming a vital
part of distribution power systems. Regardless on the
technology used, it is essential for surveillance and control of
the system functions in generation, transmission, distribution,
and consumption levels. Therefore, the AMR system needs to
be adjusted to the business and operational surroundings with a
clear vision to secure optimal business activities, taking into
consideration the limitations of external technological
environment.
Today in Croatia the contemporary billing data acquisition
and processing is being done for industrial customers with
meters located in medium or high voltage levels. Meters
reading plan is based on standard accounting terms given in
[2].
The electricity entities have growing concerns about
metering devices and, respectively, the billing data they store.
Moreover, the issues of timely, reliable and efficient billing
data acquisition, reducing business costs and data processing
time, and minimizing human error come into focus.
Smart meters allow two-way communication between the
meter and remote reading system. The most critical area in the
smart metering technology is communication [4]. Smart
(intelligent, advanced) meter is typically an electronic meter
that measures and stores data of electricity consumption and
transmits those data by the communication channel to the
central offices for the monitoring and billing purposes. Each
meter has to provide reliable and secure transfer of collected
data to the central system. Considering the different
environments and locations where the meter is installed this
problem can often be discouraging.
The most commonly used communication technologies are:
mobile phone network (GSM / GPRS), satellite
communications, and licensed or non-licensed radio networks
(RF), communication over power lines (PLC - Power Line
Communication, DLC-distribution line communication).
Type of communication network is also critical and the
most commonly used are: fixed wireless networks, wireless
mesh network or a combination of fixed, fixed-wire networks
designed primarily for communicating meter (CL, EURIDIS,
m-bus), Wi-Fi and Internet networks.
The situation today is such that there is no optimal solution
that could be used for all measuring devices. Although several
International and European standards have already been
established and successfully implemented in Europe and
elsewhere, the European Commission perceives the lack of a
comprehensive set of open standards covering all utility
commodities. To remove these barriers, the EU has decided,
within the Seventh Framework Programme – which is the EU‘s
main instrument for funding research – to fund a collaborative
research project, known as the OPEN Meter Project, to develop
open-access standards for smart multi-metering services [5],
[6], [7], [8].
The rest of the paper provides an overview of
communication technologies used in the field of smart
metering as a contribution to the standardization effort and to
understand the scope of the problem.
II. WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES
A. PROPRIETARY WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES
1) Wavenis
Wavenis was originally a proprietary technology created by
Coronis Systems in 2001. In 2008 Coronis opened the
technology and offered it to the market for industry
standardization. Wavenis Wireless Technology is a 2-way
wireless system designed to operate in UHF ISM bands. The
main features of Wavenis technology are: Low data rate
communications in the range from 4.8 kbps to 100 kbps (19.2
kbps typical) meeting requirements for metering applications,
radio transceivers with ultra-low-power consumption in meters
to reach multi-year operation with battery-powered devices and
high link budget to attain large radio reach and in-house signal
penetration. The Wavenis protocol defines the 3 lowest layers
of the OSI reference model. The specified physical layer
provides worldwide use by operating in major license-free ISM
bands, and complies with following regulatory standards: 868
MHz (EU EN300-220), 915 MHz (US FCC15-247, 15-249),
433 MHz (Asia), 2400 MHz (worldwide). Current applications
for the Wavenis technology are telemetry, industrial
automation, AMI and AMR utility meter monitoring, home
comfort, alarms for protecting people and property, home
healthcare, centralized building management, etc.
2) Plextek (UNB)
Plextek is a low cost radio solution for wide area telemetry,
automatic meter reading, control and data monitoring
applications with modest data rate requirements. Plextek is
based on a proprietary Ultra Narrow Band (UNB) technology
with additional frequency hopping and proprietary digital
signal processing techniques to enhance receiver‘s sensitivity
in the presence of interference as typical in licence free bands.
The system operates in the 868 MHz or 915 MHz ISM
frequency bands. The key system characteristics are: low cost
outstation equipment, point-to-multipoint architecture, short
range (100 m) ‗relay mode‘, 2 – 20 km typical cell radius
depending on antenna heights and propagation environment. It
can handle a large numbers of outstations (typically 5,000 -
10,000) per hub (base station). Actual number of outstations
depends upon the data transmission volumes. Complete system
includes full radio protocol, data logging facilities, broad range
of standard interfaces and protocols for hub communications. It
is suitable for direct connection of hubs to the Internet.
3) Everblu
Everblu the network layer of EverBlu originates from the
former Radian protocol defined by the European user
association is a radio-based AMR system using a wireless
mesh point-to-multipoint communication infrastructure. It is an
ultra-low-power, bi-frequency, long-range (300 m), wireless
mesh technology. EverBlu operates in license-free bands e.g.
433/868 MHz in Europe with a transmit power of 200 mW.
Typically, EverBlu gateways (base stations) are backhauled via
public mobile networks, e.g., GPRS. Using one gateway for up
to 1200 endpoints lowers the infrastructure investment and
significantly reduces the operation costs related with
communication fees over GPRS. About 1 million EverBlu
radio modules for water, gas and heat meters have been
installed worldwide with major installations in France, UK,
Italy, and Australia [4], [5].
B. OPEN STANDARD WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES
1) IEEE 802.15.1 (Bluetooth) [11]
IEEE 802.15.1 (Bluetooth) is an open wireless protocol for
exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile
devices, creating personal area networks (PANs). It was
originally conceived as a wireless alternative to RS232 data
cables. It can connect several devices, overcoming problems of
synchronization.
4) IEEE 802.15.4 (WPAN)
The IEEE 802.15.4 (WPAN) standard operates on one of
three possible unlicensed frequency bands:
• 868-868.8 MHz: Europe, allows one communication
channel;
• 902-928 MHz: North America, up to thirty channels;
• 2400-2483.5 MHz: worldwide use, up to sixteen
channels.
5) ZigBee
ZigBee is standard-based protocol that provides the
network infrastructure required for wireless sensor network
applications. ZigBee is the communication protocol (network
and applications layer) that is based on IEEE 802.15.4 MAC
and PHY layers. ZigBee mesh networks ise ideal for some
metering applications because of their inherent redundancy,
self-configuring and self-healing capabilities.
6) 6LoWPAN
6LoWPAN is an acronym of IPv6 over Low power
Wireless Personal Area Networks. 6LoWPAN is the standard
from the Internet Engineering Task Force IETF [12] published
in 2007, which optimises IPv6 for use with low-power, low-
bandwidth communication technologies such as the IEEE
802.15.4. The 6LoWPAN group aimed at defining header
compression mechanisms that allow IPv6 packets to be sent to
and received from over IEEE 802.15-based networks. The base
specification developed by the 6lowpan IETF group is the RFC
4944. 6LoWPAN could realize the main concept of the
―Internet of Things‖ by making if feasible to assign an IP
address to smallest of devices, sensors and actuators.
7) IEEE 802.11 (WLAN/WiFi)
In the last ten years, broadband wireless technologies based
on the IEEE 802.11 standard have found broad acceptance
worldwide for wireless local area networking (WLAN).
TheseWLAN technologies are designed to operate either in the
2.4 GHz or 5 GHz ISM frequency bands. WLAN supports
services similar to those offered by wired LANs (e.g. Ethernet)
and can be used to build either stationary or mobile computer
networks. Today, the IEEE 802.11 standard family is the most
established (IEE802.11 a, b, g, h, n) and data rates range from
2 Mbit/s to 300 Mbit/s. Channel width in all standards is
between 10 and 30 MHz. Due to channel access and signalling
overhead, roughly 50% of the physical layer data rates are
available as actual user throughput.
8) IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX)
WiMAX (Worldwide Inter-operability for Microwave
Access) is a Wireless Broadband Access (BWA) technology
based on the IEEE 802.16 series standard. It has been designed
to provide transmission speeds up to 72 Mbit/s in both
directions and supports point-to-point and point-to-multi-point
network topologies and a multitude of transmission modes and
bandwidths to adapt to the different propagation conditions and
user demands.
The basic characteristics of the WiMAX air interface (IEEE
802.16e-2005) are a scalable OFDM scheme, bandwidths
ranging from 1.25 MHz to 20 MHz, adaptive coding and
modulation using BPSK, QPSK, 16-QAM or 64-QAM,
multiple antenna support (MIMO techniques), and FDD as
well as TDD modes.
9) 2G/2.5G GSM/GPRS/EDGE
In Europe, coverage of public cellular mobile networks is
very close to 100% in urban areas. Today, mobile services are
available almost everywhere making the cellular infrastructure
extremely valuable for all kind of applications including AMR.
2G cellular mobile networks commonly provide data services
at net data rates up to several kbps or several tens of kbps.
These data services are optimally tailored to most telemetry
and remote metering applications. Network operators also
provide special data call numbers and data-only SIM cards for
GSM data modem devices and offer data services at special
tariffs.
For AMR applications, data is typically transmitted either
via SMS or the circuit-switched non-transparent GSM data
service (CSD) based on Radio Link Protocol (RLP) providing
9.6 kbps net throughput in both directions.
If higher transmission speed is required, HSCSD
supporting multi-slot transmission and higher rate coding
(FEC) schemes can be used. GPRS or EGPRS (EDGE)
enhanced GSM networks can provide packet-oriented data
services at even higher speed up to 80 kbps and 237 kbps,
respectively, depending on link quality. In Europe GSM
networks operate at 900 MHz and 1800 MHz.
10) 3G UMTS
Similarly to 2G/2.5G technologies, the W-CDMA-based
3G/UMTS technologies and evolutions thereof (HDSDPA,
HSUPA) are principally able to provide data-only services
suitable for telemetry and metering applications. These
services are normally packet oriented and IP based. Likely,
operators could offer 3G data services at more economical
conditions than 2G services.Today, deployment of 3G
networks operating at 2 GHz is still far behind 2G.
11) LTE
The main advantages of LTE [13] are high throughput, low
latency, plug and play from day one. LTE supports seamless
connection to existing networks, such as GSM, CDMA and
WCDMA. However LTE requires a completely new RAN and
core network deployment and is not backward compatible with
existing UMTS systems. The 3GPP (LTE) is defining IP-
based, flat network architecture as part of the System
Architecture Evaluation (SAE) effort. LTE–SAE architecture
and concepts have been designed for efficient support of mass-
market usage of any IP-based service.
12) PMR (TETRA, TETRAPOL)
TETRA (TErrestrial Trunked Radio) is a European digital
radio standard originally developed in ETSI for all sorts of
Private Mobile Radio (PMR) and Public Access Mobile Radio
(PAMR) applications such as police, ambulance, fire, transport
and security services. TETRA uses time division multiple
access (TDMA) technology with four slots on one radio carrier
and 25 kHz carrier spacing. TETRAPOL is a proprietary
standard originally developed by MATRA for the French
Gendarmerie (RUBIS system) but that has later been promoted
to an ETSI [14] standard as well. A list of frequency bands
currently allocated for TETRA is from 380-976 MHz (Uplink)
and 390 – 921MHz (Downlink). Deploying new TETRA
infrastructure solely for metering, smart grid and house
automation purposes could hardly be justified.
13) 2-way radio paging (ERMES, ReFLEX)
Before GSM networks have been deployed in large scale,
radio paging system enjoyed great popularity to alert people
and for short messaging. Radio paging systems have the
potential to provide a nation-wide or area-wide coverage with a
minimum of infrastructure (large cell radius). Data rates are in
the order of 10 kbps or higher. Some paging standards also
support a return channel (2-way paging), which makes them
potentially suitable for AMR applications. Moreover, paging
systems are typically operated at VHF e.g. 138 MHz, providing
good penetration into buildings. The European ERMES
specifies a return channel transmitting at 50 bps, which is
considered rather low in regards to a future AMI. However, the
proprietary standard ReFLEX (Motorola) seems to support
higher transmission speed in the return link (9.6 kbps).
14) European Radio Ripple control
European radio ripple control is a low data rate long wave
(VLF) broadcast system presently used in Germany and
Hungary for various energy related applications such as:
• remote control of street lighting (lighting
management)
• Power plant load management
• Customer tariff switching and load management…
Carrier frequencies are at 129.1 kHz (Mainflingen, D),
139.0 kHz (Burg, D), and 135.6 KHz (Lakihegi, H). The
system is transmitting at 200 Bd using binary FSK (340 Hz
shift). Radio telegram formats are specified by IEC 60870-3
and DIN 19244. Coverage radius by a single transmitter is
typically 300 to 500 km thanks to ground wave propagation
along earth curvature, which are peculiar at VLF. Users of the
system send their control applications to the host computer via
Datex-P, ISDN or via the Internet using the user control
station. From there, the switch commands are passed on to the
high power (100 kW) broadcast transmitter. Appliances then
receive control signal using radio receiver/decoder modules.
Though transmission speed of this system is much faster than
classical audio frequency ripple control via power lines, the
system cannot meet data capacity requirements a future AMI.
Furthermore, it is unidirectional, thus requiring extra
communications infrastructure for the return link resulting in
no real advantage over other solutions.
15) Satellite systems
The use of satellite systems for metering and energy related
end-user services in areas where there is no suitable terrestrial
communication infrastructure may be an alternative solution.
Today, a number of satellite systems offering low speed data
services would be available. Candidates are UIridiumU that is
based on a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) non-stationary multi-
satellite constellation and USpaceCheckerU using a
geostationary (GEO) space segment.
III. WIRE-LINE TECHNOLOGIES
1) IEC 62056
This is a set of standards for electricity metering, data
exchange for meter reading, tariff and load control. The set
include the following standards:
 IEC 62056-21: Direct local data exchange (3d edition
of IEC 61107) describes how to use COSEM over a
local port (optical or current loop),
 IEC 62056-42: Physical layer services and procedures
for connection-oriented asynchronous data exchange,
 IEC 62056-46: Data link layer using HDLC protocol
 IEC 62056-47: COSEM transport layers for IPv4
networks,
 IEC 62056-53: COSEM Application layer,
 IEC 62056-61: Object identification system (OBIS),
 IEC 62056-62: Interface classes.
2) IEC61107
IEC 61107 is a communication protocol for smart meters
published by the IEC that is widely-used for utility meters in
the European Union [9]. It is superseded by IEC 62056, but
remains in wide use because it is simple and well-accepted. It
sends ASCII data using a serial port. The physical media are
either modulated light, sent with an LED and received with a
photodiode, or a pair of wires, usually modulated by EIA-485.
The protocol is half-duplex. IEC 61107 is related to, and
sometimes wrongly confused with, the FLAG protocol.
Ferranti (UK electrical engineering and equipment firm, 1885
– 1993) and Landis+Gyr [10] were early proponents of an
interface standard that eventually became a sub-set of
IEC61107. IEC 62056 -21 is a more modern European meter
protocol and superset of IEC 61107. The IEC organization
considers that IEC61107 will be superseded by IEC 62056, but
it remains in wide use because it is simple and well-accepted.
More than 200 manufacturers in the world still produce meters
that support this communication protocol.
3) DLMS/COSEM
In the starting phase the communication with energy meters
has been complicated by manufacturer- and user-specific
communication systems with a variety of corresponding
protocols. With the new DLMS/COSEM standard protocol,
meter communication is immensely simplified. This protocol
has an object-oriented structure, allowing reading application
data of different manufacturer's meters in the same way. For
communication in today's changing multi-media environment,
DLMS sets the new dimensions: The whole range of common
communication media from telephone to hand held units, PLC
to radio can be used. DLMS is a universal abstract language for
meter communication being standardised in IEC. DLMS is an
open standard and has been issued as IEC 61334-4-41. DLMS
is also open to other than electricity revenue meters i.e. gas,
heat and water meters. COSEM or Companion Specification
for Energy Metering includes a set of specifications that
defines the Transport (IEC 62056-47) and Application Layers
(IEC 62056-53) of the DLMS protocol.
4) IEC 61850 and UCA 2.0
IEC 61850 is a standard for the design of electrical substation
automation. In ‘97 the IEC and EPRI harmonized their efforts
to develop a common international standard, which led to the
IEC 61850 specification. IEC 61850 can therefore be
considered as a superset of UCA 2.0 and is primarily designed
with intra-substation communication in mind, but it can also
be used between substations or control centers and for
metering applications [3]. IEC 61850 is placed at the
application layer. The abstract data models defined in
IEC61850 can be mapped to a number of protocols. All
services and models are designed in an abstract form called
ACSI (Abstract Communication Service Interface) and thus
independent of the underlaying medium. ACSI is then mapped
to protocols such as MMS2 (Manufacturing Message
Specification) and TCP/IP over Ethernet. In addition to ACSI,
IEC61850 provides the multicast besed GSE (Generic
Substation Events) as a way to quickly transfer event data
over an antire substation network to obtain the necessary
response times below 4 milliseconds for the protective
relaLonying.
5) IEC 61968-9
IEC 61968 is a series of standards under development that will
define standards for information exchanges between electrical
distribution systems. IEC 61968 defines interfaces for all the
major elements of interface architecture for Distribution
Management Systems (DMS) and is intended to be
implemented with middleware services that broker messages
among applications. IEC 61968-9 covers interface message
profiles for meter reading and load control. The scope of this
standard is the exchange of information between a metering
system and other systems within the utility enterprise. This
standard will recognize and model the general capabilities that
can be potentially provided by smart and/or legacy meter
infrastructures, including two-way communication capabilities
such as load control, dynamic pricing, outage detection,
distributed energy resources (DER) control signals and on-
request read. In this way, this standard will not be impacted by
the specification, development and/or deployment of next
generation meter infrastrucutres, either through the use of
standards or proprietary means.
6) EURIDIS
The Euridis protocol is safe and reliable remote meter
reading solution, which guarantees a good compatibility
between various items of equipment and ensures appropriate
development geared to the new deregulated markets. The
EURIDIS technology, introduced at the beginning of the
1990s, is an efficient and low cost solution, now well proven in
many countries for the remote management of energy meters.
About ten million meters using the EURIDIS interface have
been installed all over the world, generating new needs and
new applications. EURIDIS is the international standard (IEC
1142 and the latest version IEC 62 056-31) [4] working with
twisted pair cables for the remote reading of residential meters.
7) Current loop
For industrial process control instruments, analog 4 –
20 mA and 10–50 mA current loops are commonly used for
analog signaling, with 4 mA representing the lowest end of the
range and 20 mA the highest. The key advantages of the
current loop are that the accuracy of the signal is not affected
by voltage drop in the interconnecting wiring and that the loop
can supply operating power to the device. Even if there is
significant electrical resistance in the line, the current loop
transmitter will maintain the proper current, up to its maximum
voltage capability.
8) DATA OVER PSTN
Data transmission over the Public Switched Telephone
Network (PSTN) has been used since long. With advances in
voice-band modem technologies in the recent years,
transmission speed has been steadily increasing virtually
reaching Shannon limit of the bandwidth limited end-to-end
analogue phone line channel (0.3 – 3.1 kHz) with the V.34
standard. The V.34bis standard achieves a maximum
throughput of 33.4 kbps over an entirely analogue channel. It is
based on trellis coded higher order modulation and
sophisticated equalization techniques.
With the digitalisation of the PSTN behind local exchange
(end office) providing a 64 kbps digital channel per phone call
(the basic DS0 circuit), the use of even faster modem standards
have become possible to bridge the remaining analogue ‗last
mile‘ segment only.
The V.92 is an ITU-T [15] recommendation, titled
Enhancements to Recommendation V.90 that establishes a
modem standard allowing near 56 kb /s download and 48 kb /s
upload rates. The use of the PSTN is principally an interesting
option for AMR and related applications, since today in Europe
every house is connected to the PSTN via at least one twisted
pair.
9) ADSL
ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) [16] is a data
communications technology that enables much faster data
transmission over copper telephone lines than conventional
voiceband modems can provide. It does this by utilising
frequencies well above the voice band (>25 kHz). The band
from 25.875 kHz to 138 kHz is used for the upstream, whilst
138 kHz –1104 kHz is used for the downstream. Today in
Western Europe, a high percentage of PSTN local loops are
equipped with ADSL. Its use at flat-rate tariff makes this
technology an interesting candidate in an AMI concept.
10) FTTB, FTTH
Fiber to the premises (FTTP) [17] is a form of fiber-optic
communication delivery, in which an optical fiber is run
directly onto the customers‘ premises. This contrasts with other
fiber-optic communication delivery strategies such as fiber to
the node (FTTN), fiber to the curb (FTTC), or hybrid fibre-
coaxial (HFC), all of which depend upon more traditional
methods such as copper wires or coaxial cable for "last mile"
delivery.
11) M-BUS
M-Bus ―Meter bus‖ is a European standard, used mainly
for one-way or two-way data exchange with gas, water and
heat meters. It can also be used with various sensors and
actuators. M-bus also supports remote powering of
communication devices via the data wires (power over data) It
is standardised by CEN TC 294, "Communication systems for
meters and remote reading of meters" in the EN 13757 series.
TC 294 covers data exchange with all utility meters except
electricity meters, which are covered by IEC / CENELEC TC
13. EN 13757-1 [18] is a general standard for meter data
exchange, covering several physical media, protocols and the
COSEM application data model. The parts EN 13757-2 ... EN
13757-6 specify the M-Bus protocol layers. M-Bus can
alternatively be used with DLMS/COSEM: the COSEM
Application layer specified in IEC 62056-53, the COSEM
objects specified in IEC 62056-62 and the OBIS identification
system specified in IEC 62056-61 (electricity) and in EN
13757-1 (other than electricity). M-Bus is a protocol optimised
from the point of view of the meter, allowing simple and low
cost implementations and long battery life.
12) SCTM
Serial Coded Tele-Metering (SCTM) protocol or IEC
60870-5-102 represent a protocol that assures the
communication between measuring instruments, (energy
meters, water or gas meters) placed in sub-stations or home
and a central acquisition station that could be the computer of
regional utilities distributor. Introduced by Landis & Gyr on
data concentrators and energy counters, the protocol is base on
telegram transmitted between above-mentioned elements
placed in a network (often the bus is a RS485/X.27 bus).
Having, like example, the OSI model, SCTM define all the
seven layers of the protocol and can transfer data using
telegrams with a variable length
13) SML
The Smart Message Language is a communication protocol
for data acquisition and parametrization developed by the
German utility companies RWE, EON and EnBW [3]. The
main idea is to have simple structure that is usable in low-
power embedded devices. The application layer defines a file
and document structure to carry data between the measuring
point and collection centar. Push and pull operation is
supported. For the presentation layer, SML provides two
operations: readable XML encoding or more efficient SML
binary coding. In tipical metering applications SML messages
will then be transported using TCP/UDP over IP networks.
But for serial link like such as GSM/PSTN or direct redout the
SML transport protocol is available.
14) BACnet
BACnet stands for Building and Automation Control
Networking and become ISO standard 16484-5 in 2003. [3].
Furthemore, BACnet is an entirely non-proprietary system,
with typical application in HVAC, lighting and security
domain. Standard BACnet objects such as the LCO (Load
Control Object) can already be useb to track consumption and
execute preprogrammed actions accordingly. The BACnet/WS
(Web Services) specification allows external applications to
interact with building automation system. Future additions
will include a standard meter object and energy profiles.
15) DPWS
DPWS stands for Device profile for Web Services and defines
a minimal set of implementation constraints to enable secure
Web Service messaging, discovery, description, and eventing
on resource-constrained devices.
Its objectives are similar to those of Universal Plug and Play
(UPnP) but, in addition, DPWS is fully aligned with Web
Services technology and includes numerous extension points
allowing for seamless integration of device-provided services
in enterprise-wide application scenarios. DPWS 1.1 was
approved as OASIS Standard together with WS-Discovery 1.1
and SOAP-over-UDP 1.1 on June 30 2009. DPWS defines an
architecture, in which devices run two types of services:
hosting services and hosted services. Hosting services are
directly associated to a device, and play an important part in
the device discovery process. Hosted services are mostly
functional and depend on their hosting device for discovery.
IV. POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS (PLC)
A. NON-STANDARDISED NARROWBAND PLC
TECHNOLOGIES
1) Echelon and others
Echelon Corporation (US) has developed a CENELEC
band powerline technology based on a BPSK scheme enabling
very low cost AMR solutions. In the CENELEC band A, it
uses two frequencies, the primary at 86 kHz and the secondary
at 75 kHz to increase reliability of communication. If the
primary is blocked by noise, the system jumps to the
secondary. If configured to the upper CENELEC bands e.g. for
in-house communications, the system operates at 123 kHz
(Band C) and 115 kHz (Band B), respectively. The PHY layer,
as specified in CEA 709.2 specification, is based on a 5482.45
bit/s BPSK (Binary Phase Shift Keying) modulated signal
operating in CENELEC C Band at a center frequency of
131.579 kHz. LonWorks®, previously known as LonTalk®, is
a protocol suite defined by Echelon Corp. In the early ‗90s that
became a standard in Europe (EN 14908), America
(ANSI/CEA 709) and China (GB/Z 20177). Though using the
LonTalk protocol that has been accepted as a standard for
control networking, the Echelon‘s PLC system itself cannot be
considered as an open standard. Supported data rates may also
be too low with respect to requirements of a future AMI.
2) PRIME
PRIME (PoweRline Intelligent Metering Evolution) [19] is
the specification of the lower layers of a system to provide an
open, royalty free narrowband PLC solution for PHY and
MAC layer, together with certain convergence layers
definition. PRIME is intended to operate in CENELEC band A
in LV power grids. PRIME seeks interoperability for different
vendors‘ equipment and systems. PRIME members, involved
in the definition of the technology, include Advanced Digital
Design, CURRENT Group, ERDF - Electricité Réseau
Distribution France, Iberdrola, Landis+Gyr,
STMicroelectronics, uSyscom and ZIV Medida. The PRIME
PHY layer is based on channels adaptive OFDM along with
FEC. The advantage of OFDM is its ability to cope with severe
channel conditions such as frequency selective attenuation and
narrowband interference without complex additional
mechanisms (e.g. equalisation filters). Furthermore OFDM is
spectrally efficiencient, thus allowing for higher data rates
given the limited usable frequency range in CENELEC band
A. A total of 96 data subcarriers are transmitted between 42
kHz and 89 kHz using convolutionally coded frequency
differential M-ary PSK where M can be 2, 4 or 8.
3) SITRED, LonTalk /Telegestore
Italy‘s largest energy distribution company ENEL started in
October 1999. project Telegestore. Electronic meters
communicate with a concentrator close to transformer via PLC
(DLC). The concentrator communicates with the acquisition
center through an access server using GSM, PSTN or satellite.
Two communication protocols (using PLC) are used: an
enhance version of LonTalk and more recently ENEL
reintroduced its proprietary SITRED protocol that was used in
the original pilot project. SITRED uses a simple narrowband
FSK-based solution (CENELEC band A, 2400 baud). LonTalk
and SITRED differ in the PHY and MAC layers but same
proprietary application layes is used on top of both.
4) ZIV
ZIV is a proprietay narrowband technology developed by
the Spain based company ZIV Medida to bidirectionally
communicate via the LV network in CENELEC band A.
B. OPEN NARROWBAND PLC TECHNOLOGY
STANDARDS
1) European PLC regulation norm
Power line communication (PLC) carries data on a conductor
that is also used simultaneously for AC electric power
transmission or electric power distribution to consumers. The
European PLC regulation norm is called CENELEC EN
50065-1: Signaling on low-voltage electrical installations in
the frequency range 3 kHz to 148.5 kHz. It defines the
allowed frequency ranges of power-line communication,
maximum signal amplitudes, as well as the limits of the
interference to the surrounding frequency bands. The
frequency range division is shown in Table 1.
TABLE I
FREQUENCY RANGES ACCORDING TO EN 50065-1
Band Frequency Purpose
range [kHz]
3-9 for electric distribution companies use only
A 9 – 95 for electric distribution companies use
and their licenses
B 95 – 125 available for consumers with no
restriction
C 125 – 140 available for consumes only with media
access protocol
D 140- 148.5 available for consumers with no
restriction
Maximum output levels in the range from 9 kHz to 150
kHz for a single phase-device is shown in Table 2.
Measurement has to be done according to the CISPR 16
publication (quasipeak detector, 1-minute long measurement at
specified points on the CISPR artificial network).
TABLE II
MAXIMUM OUTPUT LEVELS ACCORDING TO EN50065-1
Frequency Maximal Type of devices
range [kHz] transmission
level
3 – 95 134 dB (µV)
95 – 148.5 116 dB (µV) general purpose devices
95 – 148.5 134 dB (µV) special devices (such as industry
applications)
2) IEC 61334-5-1 S-FSK
IEC 61334-5-1, specifying the physical and the MAC
layers, is the PLC standard (DLC in IEC terminology)
supported by IEC. It uses Spread Frequency Shift Keying
modulation (SFSK). The IEC 61334 series provide the
specification of all OSI layers necessary for efficient PLC
communication. In particular, the application models of IEC
62056-61/62 (DLMS/COSEM) with the IEC 52056-53
application layer can be connected via the IEC 61334-32 link
layer to IEC 61334-5-1. The physical and MAC layers are
supported by chips from several manufacturers. Smart
metering systems based on IEC 61334-5-1 are offered by
several meter/system providers. The IEC 61334-5-1 standard is
part of the Dutch NTA DSMR specification.
PLC systems based on the Spread Frequency Shift Keying
standard achieve reliable communication by combining
frequency diversity, a robust repeating scheme and extensive
error control with a lean protocol stack. However, supported
data rates may be too low with respect to requirements of a
future AMI.
3) IEC 61334-5-2
IEC 61334-5-2 describes an FSK based Physical Layer for
PLC. The PHY layer relies on a binary differential FSK
modulation. Its main characteristics are:
• Half Duplex operation
• Synchronous transmission
• Bit rate of 600 bit/s or 1200 bit/s.
4) IEC61334-5-4
IEC61334-5-4 describes an OFDM-based PHY layer for
communication via power lines. The basic modulation scheme
is DPSK. Carrier spacing is 4.5 kHz leading to a data rate per
carrier of 4.5 kbps. To increase the robustness with respect to
channel impairments, a rate ½-convolutional code is used.
5) CENELEC EN50090 (KNX – PL)
The Konnex protocol is a communication protocol suite for
home automation approved as International Standard (ISO/IEC
14543-3), European Standard (CENELEC EN 50090 and EN
13321-1) and Chinese Standard (GB/Z 20965). Konnex
supports communications via several physical media, among
others: power line, twisted pairs, RF, and IP tunnelling.
Regarding power line two profiles are defined:
• PL110 profile is an S-FSK scheme based on the EIB
PL110 physical layer. Center Frequency is 110 kHz
(CENELEC band B) with maximum signalling speed
of 1.2 kbps.
• PL132 profile is an FSK scheme based on EHS
physical Layer. Center frequency is 132.5 kHz
(CENELEC band C) with maximum signalling speed
of 2.4 kbps.
6) Linky PLC [21]
ERDF, the European Union‘s largest electricity distribution
network operator has published the specifications of the power
line communications (PLC) protocol for meter/concentrator
communication developed and deployed by Atos Originand
Trialog. The protocol is the backbone of the PLC Laboratory,
which will guarantee metering equipment interoperability and
serve as the sole certification authority for devices from all
equipment manufactures. IskraEmeco, Itron and Landis+Gyr
helped develop the open PLC protocol and have already
demonstrated their ability to ensure the interoperability of their
equipment. The aim of the PLC protocols implemented for the
Linky project is to allow a Client device (the concentrator) to
communicate with the Server devices (the meters) by using the
services defined by the COSEM or DLMS application layer
over a PLC network infrastructure. The COSEM application
layer is defined by the IEC 62056 series of standards and its
extensions described in the DLMS UA Books. The DLMS
application layer and the lower layers of the PLC protocol are
defined by the subset of the IEC 61334-4 standards. This
communication objective also includes network management,
using the services provided by the CIASE layer described in
IEC 61334-4.
7) G3
G3-PLC is a standards-based powerline communications
specification promoting interoperability in smart grid
implementations worldwide. Promotes Interoperability, 10 kHz
to 490 kHz operation complies with FCC, CENELEC, and
ARIB, Coexists with IEC 61334, IEEE® P1901, and ITU G.hn
systems. Transmission over 6km on medium voltage lines,
communication across transformers allows fewer data
concentrators Built-In Robustness. OFDM-based PHY ensures
robust operation. IEEE 802.15.4-based MAC layer is well
suited to lower data rates. Robust mode overcomes noisy
channel conditions. Two layers of forward error correction.
6LoWPAN adaptation layer supports IPv6 packets and fast
AES-128 cryptographic engine.
8) G.hnem
New NB-PLC technology developed by ITU-T in
cooperation with members of the G3-PLC and PRIME
Alliances
9) IEC 50065-1
Signalling on low-voltage electrical installations in the
frequency range 3 kHz to 148,5 kHz. General requirements,
frequency bands and electromagnetic disturbances (EN 50065-
1:2001/A1:2010)
C. NON-STANDARDISED BROADBAND PLC (BPL)
TECHNOLOGIES
1) Homeplug
HomePlug 1.0 and HomePlug AV are the two major
industrial standards for Broadband Powerline Communications
(BPL) specified by The HomePlug Alliance [22], a large
stakeholder group encompassing about 70 companies.
HomePlug 1.0 has been specified with a specific focus on
home networking (in-house LANs on existing power wiring),
whilst HomePlug AV aims at home audio and video
distribution over powerlines. In May 2008, ANSI/TIA
incorporated HomePlug 1.0 powerline technology into the
newly published TIA-1113 international standard. Similarly to
WLAN 802.11a/g, HomePlug 1.0 is based on OFDM and a
CSMA/CA protocol but uses the frequency range 4 – 21 MHz
over powerline.
2) Panasonic BPL
The Panasonic BPL technology is a proprietary solution
designed for providing in-home audio/video distribution.
Panasonic Corporation and Panasonic System Networks Co.,
Ltd. [23] announced in 2010. that a wavelet-based broadband-
over-powerline (BPL) technology jointly proposed by the two
companies has been accepted as part of Draft 2.0 by the IEEE
P1901 Working Group (WG). The Panasonic BPL technology
is based on a wavelet OFDM scheme and concatenated RS and
convolutional coding providing a maximum PHY data rate of
210 Mbps. The technology uses the frequency range from 2 to
28 MHz. Medium access is based on a CSMA/CD scheme.
The technology can provide transmission speeds up to 90
Mbps at MAC layer and up to 65 Mbps at TCP layer. The
technology supports different higher layers such as IPv4, IPv6,
TCP and UDP.
3) OPERA/UPA (DS2)
OPERA/UPA is another industrial standard for BPL, which
has been promoted by the Universal Powerline Association
(UPA) [24] and specified by the Open PLC European Research
Alliance [25], a consortium of about 26 partners, within EC-
funded projects OPERA I and OPERA II. OPERA/UPA is
based on the technology developed by the Spanish Valencia-
based chip design house DS2 with a specific focus on the ‗last
mile‘ access market. Today, the OPERA standard also includes
enhancements for in-house networking. OPERA/UPA operates
in the frequency range from 2 to 32 MHz using a thoroughly
designed OFDM scheme with narrow carrier spacing (typically
<10 kHz) and a well-defined transmit spectrum. It supports
various bandwidth mode (10, 20, 30 MHz) and configurable
highly efficient frequency notching to protect radio services if
required. The standard supports a maximum PHY layer
payload rate of 205 Mbps (half-duplex) with an effective
throughput at Ethernet port in the order of 130 Mbps.
D. OPEN BROADBAND PLC TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS
1) IEEE P1901
IEEE P1901 ―Draft Standard for Broadband over Power
Line Networks: Medium Access Control and Physical Layer
Specifications" is a draft standard for broadband over power
line networks covering medium access control and physical
layer specifications. The standard is one of the most important
initiatives for a global BPL standard that could cover, among
others, BPL application to smart grids and metering. This
standard is in a drafting stage yet. Its initial scope, as defined
when the group was created back in June 2005, was to develop
a standard for high speed (>100 HMbit/s) PHY layer rate via
powerlines. The standard will use transmission frequencies
below 100 MHz and support Access BPL (‗last mile‘) as well
as Inhome BPL for in-building LANs.
2) ITU-T G.hn
G.hn is an ITU-T working group defining a standard for
high-speed networking over power lines, phone lines and
coaxial wiring. The Physical layer proposed by G.hn
(Recommendation G.9960) was adopted by ITU in Dec 2008,
and has wide industry support from silicon vendors, equipment
manufacturers, service providers and various industry groups
(HomeGrid Forum, UPA, HomePNA and CEPCA).
3) IDIS
Interoperable Device Interface Specification (IDIS) [26] is
an association established to maintain and promote publicly
available technical interoperability specifications based on
open standards. The specification team of the IDIS association
is currently completing the detailed specifications for IDIS
package 1 (based on secured S-FSK PLC communication
according to IEC 61334-5-1 considering the latest extensions
of the DLMS User Association), supporting the smart
metering.
V. LISTED STANDARDS AND OSI LAYERS
The Open System Interconnection (OSI) reference model
describes how information from a software application in one
computer moves through a network medium to a software
application in another computer. The OSI reference model is a
conceptual model composed of seven layers, each specifying
particular network functions. The model was developed by the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1984,
and it is now considered the primary architectural model for
intercomputer communications (ISO/IEC 7498-1). The OSI
model divides the tasks involved with moving information into
seven smaller, more manageable task groups. A task or group Overview of selected technologies and protocols for all
of tasks is then assigned to each of the seven OSI layers. Each relevant interfaces is given in Table 3.
layer is reasonably self-contained so that the tasks assigned to
each layer can be implemented independently. This enables the TABLE III
SELECTED TECHNOLOGIES AND PROTOCOLS
solutions offered by one layer to be updated without adversely
Interface Selected Selected Selected
affecting the other layers. The following list details the seven
Technology Type Technologies Protocols
layers of the Open System Interconnection (OSI) reference 1 Wireless Bluetooth DLMS
model: Layer 7—Application, Layer 6—Presentation, Layer Zigbee ZigBee SEP
5—Session, Layer 4—Transport, Layer 3—Network, Layer
2—Data link, Layer 1—Physical. A rough sketch of the 2 Wireless IEEE802.15.4 DLMS
IEEE802.11 SML
described standards and their position in the OSI planes is
given in Figure 1. 3 Wireless IEEE802.15.4 DLMS
IEEE802.11 SML

4 PLC PRIME DLMS

IEC61334-5-1 SML
5 Wireless UMTS DLMS
GPRS SML
6 Wireless UMTS DLMS
GPRS SML
7 Wireless Zigbee DLMS
Wifi SML

VII. SMART METERING COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES IN

Fig. 1. OSI layers placement of described standards
VI. SELECTED TECHNOLOGIES AND PROTOCOLS FOR SMART
METERING
Reliable, secure and fast telecommunications are the core
of the Smart metering. One assessment of potentially suitable
telecommunication technologies and protocols is given in
OpenMeter project [28]. The technologies and protocols have
been evaluated against smart metering requirements using
predefined method. Only publicly available
telecommunication technologies and protocols have been
considered for the assessment. Smart metering system
components and interfaces are shown on Figure 2.
Fig. 2. Smart metering system components and interfaces
REPUBLIC CROATIA
Metering service for electric power system in Croatia
provides primarily HEP Distribution System Operator (HEP
ODS). Electricity distribution is the last component of the
system, responsible for delivery of electricity to customers. In
addition to distributing electricity taken from the transmission
network, HEP ODS is responsible for metering, billing and
payment collection, maintenance, replacement, reconstruction
and development of distribution network and plant. Data
relating to the possibilities of using the distribution network are
public, they are updated once a year and published on the
official website. The operation and control of the distribution
network are regulated in the Croatian Electricity System Grid
Code. At the end of 2012, in distribution network were about
2.3 million electricity customer metering points. Of these, 2.1
million customers belong to the residential category,
accounting for more than 44 percent of electricity sales.
TABLE IV
NUMBER OF METERING POINTS BY CONSUMPTION CATEGORY – 2012
NUMBER OF METERING
CATEGORY
POINTS
Commercial – high voltage 4
Commercial – medium voltage 2.124
Commercial – low voltage 191.182
Commercial – public lighting 21.351
Residential 2.130.247
TOTAL: 2.344.908
In 2006th HEP ODS established a Team of experts to
define a further Meter strategy. This team defined the technical
specifications of the meter and communication protocols for
different consumption categories. Mandatory installation of
electronic meters for new metering points began in 2007. Two
protocols are used to communicate with electronic meters;
IEC62056-21 and IEC 62056-31. The use of a specific protocol
type is decided based metering point type, the requirements of
individual connections and the requirements on the frequency
and amount of data reading. Typically IEC 62056-21 protocol
is used for individual measurement points of industrial
consumers, and IEC 62056-31 protocol is used to read the
measurement data of household customers (it is possible to
read up to 100 meters connected in a local area network within
a residential or business property). All measuring points on the
high voltage (HV), middle voltage (MV) and low voltage (LV)
with connected load above 30 kW, approximately 19,000
measurement points, are equipped with load profile
measurement and remote reading. Communication with these
meters is done via GSM / GPRS communication channel.
TABLE V
MEASUREMENT POINTS THAT CAN BE READ REMOTELY
Consumption category Remote meter reading
HV, MV and LV P>30 kW 100%
Commercial low voltage P<30 1%
kW and public lighting
Residential (Household) 0.3%
Current AMR system reads about 40,000 meters which
measure about 40% of the total energy consumption of all
customers. Beside the two main protocols, DLMS protocol is
being used increasingly, and IEC61334 protocol (PLC) is
tested in few smart meter pilots. Currently in the system is
about 11% of electronic meters which have the possibility of
communicating by some protocol.
The new Energy Law (NN 120/2012) and the Electricity
Market Act (NN 22/2013) defines the procedure for the mass
installation of smart metering devices. The Distribution System
Operator defines the technical requirements and costs of
introducing smart metering devices and systems and this
information submit to the Regulator Agency (HERA). Based
on received data the Regulator Agency carried out a cost-
benefit analysis and obtains the opinion of representatives of
Consumer Protection. Minister on the basis of the analysis
provides a plan and program of measures for the
implementation of smart metering devices for end customers.
The Regulator Agency monitors the implementation of this
decision. Currently HEP ODS preparing several pilot projects
with goal to define technical specification and realizing cost of
smart metering system.
VIII. CONCLUSIONS
The smart metering enables instant reading and recording of
many signals, from failure detection to power quality, for
purposes of billing or process conducting. In this paper we
tried to present an overview of smart metering communication
technologies and protocols. Our intention was that the reader
gets basic information about each of the protocols that will
help him in the future exploration of detailed protocol data.
Very briefly is described one smart metering system and
recommended protocols for all relevant interfaces besed on
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the results of OpenMeter project under the mandate of the
European Commission. The situation in the Republic of
Croatia and used communication technologies is briefly
described at the end of the article.
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