IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2016 - 47

IEC Standard 61968-9 defines a number of message payload
definitions that are used for the bidirectional communication
of meter information within the enterprise.
is almost always involved in the physical capture of the data,
and a secure, unbroken chain of custody must be shown for
any data that is used to support revenue calculations or customer-facing actions such as disconnection.
in the absence of information standards, each data-enrichment scenario would, at worst, involve its own implementation effort to reconcile different local representations, with
no ability to reuse artifacts from similar previous efforts.
The Cim is designed and targeted to address the following big data integration issues:
1) naming and object identification using a master resource id
2) heterogeneous modeling practices such as operations
versus planning
3) the ability to group data in different ways
4) data correlation between messages
5) data ownership through the use of model authorities
6) the ability to extend the Cim as needed for proprietary or utility specific data.
using these concepts in conjunction with big data repositories, the analysis of the archived data allows the utility to
promote efficiencies, optimize operations, and save on cost.
some examples of the kinds of ad-hoc compositions
of Cim classes that may be required for utility analytics
include the following:
✔ data generated in the context of the meter-to-cash
process may be analyzed for indications of energy
theft by correlating readings at specific usage points
with expected averages and with customers' payment
and credit history.
✔ interval readings can be analyzed together with
weather data, distribution grid loading, and the history of all of these, where available, to support load
forecasting.
✔ Complex patterns of meter events, combined with
readings from environmental sensors and patterns of
communications errors, can be used to predict meter
failure or to detect tampering.
✔ interval readings aggregated at the circuit level can be
used to drive transactive-energy systems that implement real-time pricing or other demand-response
programs.
✔ The effectiveness of consumer energy-conservation
programs can be assessed using much the same kinds
of data as load forecasting.
The Cim defines representations of all of these kinds
of data at the class level. The various compositions of Cim

january/february 2016

classes required for each analytic algorithm would be too
numerous and too specialized to themselves be candidates
for standardization, but modeling and software development
tools driven by the Cim unified modeling language model
would allow the construction of component libraries, corresponding to Cim classes, that could then be composed with
consistent and predictable results.

Summary
There is an ever-growing set of uses for smart meters and
their information, far beyond basic customer billing. The
Cim provides the means to readily capture, correlate, maintain, and communicate this information for current and
future uses, where many future uses are yet unknown.

For Further Reading
m. goodrich. (2015, July 9). 61968-9 meter reading and control. [online]. Presentation given in Cim university at the
Cim user's group meeting, oslo, norway. [online]. available: http://cimug.ucaiug.org/meetings/oslo2014/supporting%20documents/Cim%20university/04-61968-9%20
meter%20reading%20and%20Control.pdf
s. neumann, m. goodrich, l. malesku, and f. wilhoit,
"enterprise integration using the ieC Cim," presented at the
Cim users group spring meeting, Prague, Czech republic,
may 10-13, 2011.
s. neumann, d. haynes, and T. Viegut. (2012, Jan.). enterprise integration of metering systems using ieC 61968-9.
[online]. distribuTech 2012 session on enterprise integration and asset management, san antonio, Texas, usa, January 24-26, 2012. [online]. available: http://uisol.com/new/
wp-content/uploads/2015/08/distribuTeCh-2012-scottneumann-ieC-61968-9-2nd-edition-r2.pdf (accessed 24
sept. 2015).

Biographies
Scott Neumann is with uisol, an alstom Company, minneapolis, minnesota.
Frank Wilhoit is with Broadheath Consulting, Centerburg, ohio.
Margaret Goodrich is with Project Consultants, llC,
shell Knob, missouri.
VSK Murthy Balijepalli is with the Powergrid Corporation of india.
p&e

ieee power & energy magazine

http://cimug.ucaiug.org/meetings/oslo2014/support http://www.uisol.com/new/

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2016