European Commission adopts common reference model for smart metering data access

The European Commission has adopted new rules on “interoperability requirements and non-discriminatory and transparent procedures” for access to smart metering and consumption data.

The new rules, one of the deliverables of the action plan on the digitalisation of energy, set out a reference model for EU countries defining interoperability requirements for access to and exchange of smart metering data by consumers and energy market participants.

Under these new rules, consumers should be able to get easy access to their metering data and also give permission for data on their energy consumption or generation to be used by third parties in ways which benefit them.

As such the aim is to provide consumer protections while at the same time empowering them to be active participants in the energy transition.

Have you read?
How does IoT work for smart metering?
Smart meters and data enablers of the energy transition – Landis+Gyr CEO

For businesses and system operators, the rules, and others that follow, should facilitate their operation on the internal market and the easy, safe and secure flow of data to those that need it.

In turn, this should help operators to improve existing processes and incentivise the development and delivery of new energy services, such as energy sharing and demand response.

Rules on data access

The EC reports the new rules as the first of a number of such regulations that will be put in place in the next two years in order to facilitate the interoperability of energy consumer data.

Their implementation follows what is described as an intensive development phase and consultation process with the relevant stakeholders to ensure the new rules cover all the necessary issues and are workable in practice.

Among the participants in the process were network operators, which also will be key to the implementation of the rules.

Commenting, Paul de Wit, Regulatory Advisor at Alliander and Chair of the DSO Entity Expert Group on Data, said harmonising the access to metering and consumption data is key to enabling massive consumer participation in the energy market.

“Therefore, DSO Entity, which represents over 900 DSOs that directly connect more than 250 million consumers, will contribute to accelerating the European energy transition by assisting the European Commission to guide member states implementing the new rules.”

Common reference model

The common reference model is composed of a set of reference procedures for access to data and of the required information exchanges between the roles acted by market players.

Its focus is on the business, function and information layers of interoperability, with the other two layers – communication and component – able to be determined at a national level in accordance with local specificities and practices.

The reference model describes the workflows that are required for specific services and processes based on a minimum set of requirements to ensure that a given procedure can run correctly, while allowing for national customisation.

It is composed of a ‘role model’ with a set of roles/responsibilities and their interactions; an ‘information model’ that contains information objects, their attributes, and the relationships between these objects; and a ‘process model’ detailing the procedural steps.

The model also is technology-neutral and not directly tied to any specific implementation details.

The EC is planning a series of workshops, along with representatives from the DSO Entity and ENTSO-E, to introduce the new regulations to national authorities and system operators.

The regulations also require the setting up of a common repository of national practices on how the reference model is being implemented in EU member states for public access and sharing at the EU level as a measure of transparency as well as lowering the barriers of access for new market participants.