The international open standards consortium, OASIS, has formed a new group to enable the collaborative and transactive use of energy. The new OASIS Energy Interoperation Technical Committee will develop Web services-based information and communication models for exchanging dynamic pricing, reliability, and emergency signals. The group's work will also extend to information on energy market participation (such as bids), load predictability, and generation.

“Dynamic pricing is key to addressing the growing needs for lower-carbon, lower-energy buildings, and net zero-energy systems,” explained David Holmberg of NIST, co-chair of the OASIS Energy Interoperation Technical Committee. “For energy providers and consumers to engage in dynamic pricing, we need standards that support automated, timely, and secure communication of pricing, capacity, and other grid information.”

“Our work at OASIS will enable consumers to take advantage of lower energy costs by deferring or accelerating usage,” added William Cox, co-chair of the OASIS Energy Interoperation Technical Committee. “By enabling consistent data communication technology, the same model will be able to be used for homes, small businesses, commercial buildings, industrial facilities, and electric vehicles. The same communications could be used inside and outside microgrids in office parks, college campuses, and green neighborhoods.”

The new OASIS Committee will base its work on the Open Automated Demand Response Communication Standards (OpenADR), donated by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Demand Response Research Center (DRRC). The project has been identified as a central deliverable for the U.S. government's strategic SmartGrid initiative to create a smart and secure electric power grid using open standards.

Participation in the OASIS Energy Interoperation Technical Committee is open to all interested parties. Archives of the Committee's work will be accessible to both members and non-members, and OASIS will offer a mechanism for public comment.