Design and Implementation of Meter Simulator

for Smart Grid Technology

Hyunjeong Lee, Taein Hwang, and Il-Woo Lee Smart Green Life Research Department, IT Convergence Technology Research Laboratory, ETRI, Korea

Email: {hjlee294, tihwang, ilwoo}@etri.re.kr

Abstract—This paper describes a meter simulator for Smart

Grid technology based on IEC 61968-9. The standard

defines interfaces for meter reading and control and its

scope is the exchange of information between metering

system and other systems within the utility enterprise. There

are some interoperability issues among various kinds of

electric utilities manufactured by different vendors. To test

and certify these utilities, a meter simulator is needed, which

sends meter data periodically and on-demand. Also, it acts

as a metering system to test the functions of disconnection

and reconnection. Using this method, interoperability test of

electric utilities for Smart Grid technology can be easily

performed using the certification system.

Index Terms—meter, simulator, smart grid, IEC 61968-9,

certification, interoperability

I. INTRODUCTION

As the industrialization is progressed, the carbon

dioxide emission becomes the serious issues, because

they cause global warming and climate changes [1].

Therefore, many researches are being carried out for

smart and green technologies to solve them. One of the

goals for energy efficiency is to save resources by

monitoring and analysis of energy consumption [2]. The

Smart Grid technology provides various beneficial effects

by giving smart to the existing power grid, which can

provide new functions such as self-healing, high

reliability, energy management, and real-time pricing [3].

Many technologies related to power and energy topics are

converged for smart grid such as electrical engineering,

information technology, communication, control and

automation. The main contributions of the smart grid are

to reduce CO2 emission and save energy. They are

beneficial to the government in that costs of imported raw

materials used in the production of energy, to the energy

suppliers to minimize the reserved power, and to the

customers to save energy costs by monitoring the real-

time energy use, controlling the appliances, and

managing the scheduling pattern of their home electricity

usage, based on the real-time prices (RTPs) [4].

The international electro technical commission (IEC)

61968-9 is standardized by IEC, which is the global

organization that prepares and publishes International

Standards for all electrical, electronic and related

Manuscript received February 20, 2014; revised June 28, 2014.

technologies. IEC 61968-9 defines interfaces for meter

reading and control for application integration at electric

utilities. Also, it defines the metering system which

performs metrology, supports the distribution and

transmission network, and is represented using the meter

asset class in the common information model (CIM) [5].

The proposed meter simulator (MS) conforms to IEC

61968-9 standard, which describes the exchange of

information among a metering system and other systems

within the utility enterprise. It acts as an integrated

system of an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI)

headend and a meter system. The ability to meter read is

a basic interoperability requirement of utility systems [4].

Also, the MS performs the tasks of the metering system

including the control and reconfiguration, such as service

disconnection and reconnection. Using the proposed

method, the messages among the meter system and

utilities can be easily identified and tested for the

certification system.

II. IEC 61968-9 AND CERTIFICATION SYSTEM

The purpose of the IEC 61968-9 series of standards is

to facilitate inter-application integration as opposed to

intra-application integration. The aim of the intra-

application integration is at programs in the same

application system, usually communicating with each

other using middleware that is embedded in their

underlying runtime environment [4]. And, it tends to be

optimized for close, real-time, synchronous connections

and interactive request and reply or conversation

communication models. Since, these interface standards

are relevant to loosely coupled applications with more

heterogeneity in languages, operating systems, protocols

and management tools, the certification system to test

interoperability is needed to verify the utilities

manufactured by different vendors [6].

The certification system supports for vendors to

enhance their products by interoperability test and

provides certification services and information related to

the standard and technologies for their utilities. The

standard also extends the CIM to support the exchange of

meter data. The CIM is an abstract model that represents

all the major objects in an electric utility enterprise,

which is needed to model the operational aspects of a

utility. Also, the model includes public classes and

attributes for the objects, as well as the relationships

among them [5].

International Journal of Electrical Energy, Vol. 2, No. 3, September 2014

©2014 Engineering and Technology Publishing 254doi: 10.12720/ijoee.2.3.254-257

The capabilities and information provided by a meter

reading system are important for many purposes,

including interval data, time-based demand and energy

data, outage management, service interruption and

restoration, and so on. Fig. 1 shows the concept of

building Smart Grid certification system. First, the

certification platform includes the manual, knowledge-

based database (DB) and portal service. Also, the

proposed meter simulator is in the certification platform.

Then, several types of certification applicants, such as

industry, university and institute, can apply for the

certification through the portal service. Finally, the

certification authority issues the certificate for the

systems tested and passed. Using these procedures, the

certification services of utilities for Smart Grid can be

performed.

Figure 1. Concept of smart grid certification system

III. SCENARIOS FOR READING METERS

Three kinds of scenarios are considered to read and

control a meter simulator, which are scheduled, on-

demand, and disconnect/reconnect [7]. Scheduled meter

reads is the function for the periodic gathering the meter

data from a MS for billing through the customer billing

system, and the request for meter reading should specify

a meter or group of meters [4]. Scheduled meter reading

messages may be requested using a variety of parameters

including specific meter, end device (meter) groups, time

schedule, and the set of desired reading types. Manual

meter reading is referred as on-demand, and manually

obtains meter data. Meters may collect many different

measurement types, which collect values for non-

electrical measurements, such as water or gas. Therefore,

MS has to consider the various kinds of meter read cases

and types. The procedures for disconnect and reconnect a

customer are performed for a variety of reasons, such as

non-payment [4]. When disconnected, the recorded usage

should be zero and out of power complaints should be

ignored. If it is impossible to perform disconnect and

reconnect remotely through a meter system, then a meter

service request will be issued to perform the procedures

manually.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example of message flows for

disconnect meter [4]. In the figure, the disconnection

process is performed first, and reading meter data is

carried out. In the reconnect procedure, reading meter

data is performed, and the reconnection process is

conducted. In some cases, the messages are transferred

directly between customer information system (CIS) and

MS without meter data management system (MDMS).

CIS MDMS Meter Simulator

CREATE (MeterServiceRequest)

CREATE (EndDeviceControls)

REPLY (EndDeviceControls)

Perform remote

disconnect

REPLY (MeterServiceRequest)

CREATE (MeterReadings)

REPLY (MeterReadings)

CREATED (MeterReadings)

UPDATED (MeterServiceRequest)

Read meter

Figure 2. Example of message flows for the meter disconnect

procedure

Testsuite &

Testcases

Test

ConfigurationTest Result

Testing Result

Aggregator

Test Monitor

Test

Configuration

(routing, trap

information)

Meter

Simulator

Test

Configuration

& Test case

Trapped Messages

Testing Coordinator

read meterSimulation

Result

Customer

Information

System

(CIS)

Units Under Testing

Meter Data

Management

System

(MDMS)

Meter Simulator

(MS)

Trap messages

Units Under Testing

Figure 3. Configuration of interoperability test for IEC 61968-9

Fig. 3 shows the configuration of interoperability test

for utilities based on IEC 61968-9. In the scheduled meter

read, CIS sends a message for creating meter schedule.

Then, MDMS transmits the message to the MS, which

creates a response message and meter data, and sends

them to the CIS through MDMS. The test system

captures the messages among CIS, MDMS, and MS, and

certifies that the messages conform to IEC 61968-9

standard. First, the testing coordinator configures the test

environments such as test nodes, routing path and trap

information. And, it creates and changes the test cases,

initiates test processes for each test case, and shows the

test results. Secondly, the test monitor traps messages

among CIS, MDMS, and MS. It recognizes the trapped

messages, and sends them to the destination of the

message. Finally, the MS receives the request message to

read meter, creates a response message and the meter data,

and sends them to the MDMS. Also, it acts as a meter or

a group of meters, and sends meter data periodically and

manually when requested. It performs disconnect and

reconnect procedures when received the request message

for service control from the CIS through MDMS.

International Journal of Electrical Energy, Vol. 2, No. 3, September 2014

©2014 Engineering and Technology Publishing 255

IV. DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MS

The architecture of the MS is illustrated in Fig. 4,

which is composed of the six modules, such as interface,

display, meter period, meter management, meter data

creation, and MS log.

Read MeterMeter data

Meter

Simulator

Meter PeriodMeter

Management

Meter Data

CreationMS Log

Interface Display

Figure 4. Architecture of the MS

When a request message for reading meter is received

from the MDMS using the interface module, MS decodes

the message, and recognizes the period and the number of

meters to read data. Then, meter period module manages

the period to read meter. The meter management module

controls the meters for disconnect and reconnect

procedures, and administrates the meter information such

as a manufacturer, status. Meter data creation module

makes the meter data to send, according to the request

messages and predefined setting. The meter data and

response messages are sent to MDMS through interface

module. The display module shows these processes of the

MS, and the MS log module saves the received and sent

messages and the simulation results of the MS. Using this

method, the certification process can be provided for

Smart Grid utilities based on IEC 61968-9.

Figure 5. A GUI for test case selection

Figure 6. A GUI for test case configuration

Fig. 5 shows an example of the graphic user interface

(GUI) of the MS. First, one of six test cases can be

chosen for a MS, and pressed a button, named open, to

use an existing test case. Then, test nodes can be added or

deleted in the Fig. 6. There are four kinds of test nodes,

including CIS, MDMS, MS and meter (MR). Also, a

capability for each test node can be configured in the Fig.

6. The changed node is appeared in the “3 run” tab as

shown in Fig. 7.

Fig. 7 shows a sequence chart view before running a

test case. Test nodes in the Fig. 7 are illustrated as

configured in the Fig. 6. After pressing the running button,

the messages and its result for each step of a test case are

shown in the Fig. 8.

Figure 7. A GUI for running a test case

Operation result can be shown in the three kinds of

view including sequence chart, text and table views in the

Fig. 8. Each message has its testing result as pass or fail.

If a message has errors, then the result of the message is

fail.

Fig. 8 shows the results after running a test case. When

a running button is pressed, messages are appeared in

sequence order. Operations for a test case are triggered

and carried out, and the details for the current operation

can be shown in the test results. Since, the operation of

MR is in the MS, there are no messages between MS and

MR in the figure.

Figure 8. A GUI after running a test case

A text view and a table view of the simulation results

are shown in Fig. 9 and Fig. 10. Fig. 9 illustrates the

detailed view of the test result including the time, the

name of message and its source and destination, result of

International Journal of Electrical Energy, Vol. 2, No. 3, September 2014

©2014 Engineering and Technology Publishing 256

the simulation, and the messages. Fig. 10 shows the

summary of the test results. Using these results,

certification processes for each utility for Smart Grid can

be provided. Using the results, the test nodes are decided

to pass or fail of the interoperability test.

Figure 9. A text view of test result

Figure 10. A table view of test result

V. CONCLUSION

In this paper, a meter simulator for Smart Grid

technology based on IEC 61968-9 is described for a

certification system. It is needed to test interoperability

among utility systems from different vendors. Test nodes

can be changed as needed, and test results are shown as

sequence, text and table views. Using the proposed meter

simulator, interoperability test of electric utilities for

Smart Grid technology can be easily performed using the

certification system.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This work was supported in part by the R&D program

of Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE),

Republic of Korea, under Grant of no. 10046464,

Construction of certification system for Smart Grid.

Hyunjeong Lee received her B.S. and M.S.

degrees in computer science from Chungbuk

National University, Korea in 1997 and 1999 respectively. She joined the Electronics and

Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) in 1999. She has been engaged in the research

and development of communication protocols,

home network service, context-aware

framework, content transformation technology

and so on. She is currently working as a senior engineer of energy IT technology research

section. Her current research interests include multimedia streaming,

energy optimization, and smart grid technology.

Taein Hwang received his B.E., M.E., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical, electronic and

computer engineering from Sungkyunkwan

University, Korea in 1999, 2001, and 2009, respectively. In 2001, he joined Electronics

and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), where he has been involved in

projects related to networking and control

services. His research interests include home networking and control services, peer-to-peer

networking, IPTV security platform, and smart grid technology.

Il-Woo Lee received B.S. and M.S. degrees in

Computer Engineering from Kyung Hee University, Korea, in 1992 and 1994

respectively and Ph.D degrees in Computer

Engineering from Chungnam National University, Korea, in 2007. He joined

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) in 1994 and has

been engaged in the research and development

of ATM, CDMA Switching system, home network system and P2P network, etc. Now,

he is a head of energy IT technology research section and his research interests are green home/building/industry solutions, smart grid

standardization framework, network, and energy-IT technology.

International Journal of Electrical Energy, Vol. 2, No. 3, September 2014

©2014 Engineering and Technology Publishing 257

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