Monday, May 7, 2012

Itron Backs Wireless Smart Grid Standard

The smart meter industry said today that it has released a new, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard, 802.15.4g, aimed at connecting smart grids using wireless networks, with the backing of Liberty Lake-based smart meter maker Itron. Itron, Elster, Landis+Gyr, he National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) of Japan, and Silver Spring Networks all said they are backing the new standard, which is intended to increase smart grid technology interoperability. The new standard was published on April 28th. Generally, once standards make it to official IEEE working groups, a majority of industry players have expressed some level of agreement on the definitions of that standard, and strive to meet the details of the standards that those working groups are publishing.