Why standardisation is critical to the future of smart utilities

As utilities invest in digital infrastructure that must last decades, interoperability and scalability are no longer optional. In this interview, DLMS UA President, Sergio Lazzarotto, discusses how DLMS GCPs unlock interoperability between legacy systems and digital platforms, enable secure edge data access for flexibility services, and expand standardised communication to smart water networks, a clear vision for secure, standards-based digital transformation.

Explaining the role of the DLMS and the need for interoperability, Lazzarotto said: “DLMS initially has been standardising data models which have been used for the digitalisation of the electricity infrastructure, particularly smart metering.

“Considering that the investment made by public utilities are investments which are done over decades, we had to find a solution to bring an additional level of standardization.

“This step was a major step. We are raising the level of the interoperability… devices will always behave in exactly the same way.”

He further notes that now one can enter into a model which is the Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS). "Therefore, you start to introduce now the concept of dynamic pricing.

“What DLMS has been developing… can be reusable into the water industry, into the gas industry. To bring a solution where all manufacturers can rely on an existing standard… raising the level of trustability of what the public utilities are buying.”

Watch the full interview to learn more on this topic. 

More interesting insights: A harmonised, optimised and integrated flexibility market is within reach

**This interview was filmed in November 2025 at Enlit Europe in Bilbao, Spain.