OREANDA-NEWS. Toshiba Corporation announced that it has developed the first communications unit to meet the G3-PLC (ARIB BandPlan, TTC JJ-300.11) standard for international power line communication between a smart meter and Home Energy Management System (HEMS), including home appliances connected to the HEMS. The communication unit will be built into smart meters that achieve high-level interoperability with HEMS. Installation of smart meters integrating the unit is scheduled to begin in the next fiscal year in Tokyo Electric Power Company, Incorporated's (TEPCO) service area in Japan.

G3-PLC (ARIB BandPlan, TTC JJ-300.11) is the international standard for narrow-band power line communications developed by the G3-PLC Alliance that TEPCO has adopted as a communication route between smart meters and HEMS within its service area. Compliance with the standard realizes safe, stable communications between a smart meter and HEMS, ensuring delivery of accurate power consumption data and secure interconnectivity. In the future, the power consumption data provided by a smart meter will be used to perform efficient energy management of home appliances with HEMS.

With the development of a communication unit which has been certified as compliant with the Wi-SUN standard for 920-MHz low-power radio, and the G3-PLC-compliant communication unit, Toshiba has achieved compliance with the international standards for all communications with HEMS within the TEPCO's service area, regardless of whether the network is wired or wireless. Depending on the installation environment of individual smart meters, Toshiba will deploy the devices to improve connectivity with the HEMS at home, and provide many users with interoperable communication services.