New G3-PLC and M2M LTE-CAT-M Working Groups Established by OSGP Alliance
23 May 2022

The OSGP (Open Smart Grid Protocol) Alliance announced today that two new working groups have been established within the OSGP Alliance standards committee.


Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 23 May 2022


In 2015, OSGP Alliance members started collaboration with the G3-PLC Alliance to develop a G3-PLC based implementation of OSGP. One of the members, Networked Energy Services (NES), with OSGP compliant smart meters, received certification for G3-PLC communication in 2016 for their single phase meters and in 2017 for their poly phase meters. After this initiative, various utilities, who were looking for smart grid solutions based on G3-PLC technology, supported creating the G3-PLC working groups due to their positive experience and confidence in using the Open Smart Grid Protocol (OSGP).


The OSGP G3-PLC implementation is compliant with the G3-PLC specification enabling interoperability of devices from different Smart Meter and Smart Grid infrastructure suppliers.  This allows utilities to achieve outstanding KPIs as well as ensure a high level of security (with 128-bit AES encryption and other features). This has not been realized before on the G3-PLC physical layer platform using the regulated utility CENELEC frequency band. There have already been several projects by DSOs in Sweden and Romania confirming these results.


Starting 6 May 2022, the Standards Committee within the OSGP Alliance established a G3-PLC working group for existing OSGP Alliance members and G3-PLC technology based providers of Smart Meters, data concentrators or gateways. The purpose of the working group is to establish active collaborations in worldwide markets to develop, test and promote this implementation. In addition, the objective of the working group is to enable support for the energy transformation which requires more power quality data and control of the low voltage grid with appropriate level of safety and security. 


At the same time, another working group within the OSGP Standards Committee was initiated for M2M or P2P devices, based on LTE-CAT-M and NB-IOT. The objective is to further expand the communication options available via OSGP.


The Open Smart Grid Protocol suite is based on the 7-Layer OSI model which allows implementation of various communication technologies under the same application layer. The two new working groups enable the opportunity to mix and match various older, current and future technologies to be integrated within OSGP based Smart Metering and Smart Grid Systems.

 

The OSGP Alliance is the global non-profit association dedicated to promoting the adoption of the Open Smart Grid Protocol (OSGP) and infrastructure for Smart Grid Applications towards a future proof modern smart grid. With a key focus on security, Smart Metering, Smart Grid, Grid Analytics, Distribution Network Management and Smart Cities our members, including utilities, hardware manufacturers, service providers and system integrators, all share a common goal and vision: promoting open standards for Energy Demand Side Management, Smart Grid and Smart Metering systems. 


Contact:

Elly Kreijkes, Director

secretariat@osgp.org