Echelon Corp. announced that it has partnered with the Energy Services Network Association (ESNA), a non-profit corporation composed of utilities, manufacturers, and integrators, to publish and standardize the Open Smart Grid Protocol (OSGP) as a European and International standard. OSGP is the protocol used by Echelon’s Networked Energy Services (NES) System, a market leading smart grid infrastructure.
By publishing OSGP as an open standard, it will enable independent implementation of interoperable meters and other smart grid devices from multiple vendors on the same network. This gives electric utilities the ability to buy “best of breed” products and to avoid vendor lock-in that increases costs and reduces innovation. More than just a protocol for smart meters, OSGP provides secure, scalable control networking services for any device connected to the low voltage power grid, as well as critical information about the health of the distribution line itself, which further improves reliability and lowers operating costs.