Cooperation of PTB and industry in developing a test environment for smart metering

PTB, the network operator Mitteldeutsche Netzgesellschaft Strom mbH (Mitnetz Strom) in Halle and the exceeding solutions company, a spin-off of the Merseburg University of Applied Sciences, are going to work together in devel-oping a test environment for smart meter gateways.

The future law on the digitalization of the energy transition stipulates the introduction of smart metering in Germany in the coming years. When using smart metering, the electrical energy that is recorded for billing purposes is registered with so-called intelligent measuring systems. The heart of the intelligent measuring systems is the smart meter gateway, which processes the measurement values from the meter and safely transmits them to the market operator. The gateways may only be used for billing purposes if they meet the requirements stated in the Measures and Verification Act. For many of these requirements, appropriate proof that the technology at the gateway is working is necessary with the help of a "test machine". 

The development of such test machines is both a demanding and a complex task: the developers need a deep understanding of the fields of secure data communication and cryptology, and they also have to understand the applications of a gateway in the energy sector and to take them into proper consideration. For PTB, it makes sense to look for suitable industrial partners who have these skills to develop test equipment suitable for gateways. This is so that PTB can focus its own work on metrological issues.

PTB has, therefore, committed itself to cooperating with partners from industry who have developed a test machine with which interoperability tests and the inspection of incoming goods at gateways can already be performed. In the cooperation agree-ment reached with PTB it is planned, on the one hand, to realize the legally relevant test cases from the PTB Requirements 50.8 at the test machine and, on the other hand, to validate the test machine with regard to its proper mode of operation relating to the legally relevant tests. A period of 18 months is planned for the duration of the project.