AI Wiki orientation
ISV Technology Committee · 25 June 2026 · wiki walkthrough · metering layers · emerging focus
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Call purpose
Orient volunteers on the Tech Comm knowledge base — main sections, how Tasks tie to GitHub Issues, and where Village Metering work is heading (field problems, register checklist, Street Pole EMS).
Agenda
- Wiki layout — Home, About ISV, Supported Projects, Village Metering, Meeting Notes, Tasks, Events, Knowledge Base
- Tasks — issues on
overview-solutions/isv-ai-wiki, meeting labels, status from labels + comments
- OBIS · VMRS — register tiers and northbound normalization
- Street Pole EMS — pole-gateway hardware thread (ems-dev)
- Open floor — other items from attendees
Discussion notes
- EPRI & IEEE 1547 — EPRI wrote it; IEEE implemented it. IEEE 1547 covers DER interconnection (ride-through, export limits, grid tie-in). EPRI’s ongoing open-source grid work: github.com/epri-dev. Relevant when village feeders connect behind-the-meter solar/storage or evolve toward utility interconnection — parallel track to village prepaid metering, not a replacement for it.
- STS key management — STS provides key mgmt for prepaid token vending (STSA key hierarchy). Separate from DLMS and OEM key stacks discussed in the May topology note. Northbound VMRS / MQTT profiles intentionally exclude STSA key operations — token path stays on SMS/USSD/CIU; meter reads stay on gateway normalization.
- EnAccess Foundation · OpenAMI on site — enaccess.org/openami · running OpenAMI on live deployments — field validation of the open stack (MPM + geo asset model + gateway path) beyond conference decks. See Village Metering and Power Africa OpenAMI (Sep 2025).
- OSEAS · Global Off-Grid Solar Forum — EnAccess OSEAS (Open Source Energy Access Symposium) runs in parallel to the Global Off-Grid Solar Forum — same week / venue ecosystem (Kigali, Oct 2026; see OSEAS wiki page). Worth coordinating ISV / Tech Comm attendance across both. ISV will contribute a hackathon code challenge at OSEAS.
- AMDA outreach — decided not to pursue — Africa Minigrid Developers Association (africamda.org/our-team) was on the table for Power Africa workshop invites, OBIS codes, and open-stack alignment (#14 · pitch PDF). Decision: do not engage AMDA on additional items — a separate group is already busy developing a solution for SteamaCo and SparkMeter interoperability; avoid duplicating that effort.
- OpenAMI community (Discord) — project chat is on the OSEA server: discord.osea-community.org. Tech Comm needs to get more active there — see wiki OpenAMI page.
- OpenAMI definition (working) — OpenAMI is driving actionable energy telemetry (reads and events operators can act on) and leakage visibility at every part of the system (feeder, branch, customer). See OpenAMI page and table below.
- OpenADR — pushes prices / DR events to devices (VTN/VEN). Phase 3 on the roadmap — useful when a utility/aggregator counterpart exists; not year-one village prepaid focus.
- MeshEMS / pole power rails — voltage budget and PCB notes from Glenn; see section below. Workshop kits need explicit 5 V paths for temp reference and SSRs.
- MeshEMS board distribution — recipient list started: Redwan Hussain (+1 646-361-6130); Sean White — Energy IoT Open Source and NABCEP installer training. See distribution table · MeshEMS hub (upstream/downstream · technological autonomy).
- Jude · EMS board scale-up — hoping to deploy 10× EMS boards in the field. Design constraint for now: do not include PII in meters (no customer-identifying data on the meter read path today). Follow up with Jude on deployment plan and what telemetry stays anonymous vs operator-backend only.
OpenAMI stack — working definitions
How the pieces fit together in field conversations (Sep 2025 deck + today’s call). Hub: OpenAMI page · EnAccess · OpenAMI.
| Component | Role | Notes |
|---|
| OpenEMS | EMS / edge orchestration | More urban — grid present (e.g. Aaron’s grid in Uganda). Stack can stop at the DCU when that is enough. |
| MeshEMS | NAN mesh | Lets DCUs form a mesh when pole-to-pole RF backhaul is needed. |
| OpenAMI / MQTT | Actionable telemetry · interop | Northbound contract — normalize southbound OEM/DLMS at gateway to registers operators can bill, vend, and disconnect on; ISV Village Metering thread. |
| EnAccess MPM | Operator backend | MicroPowerManager as HES/billing layer — instead of OpenEMS backend in village deployments. |
| OpenAMI (geo + asset model) | Networking / topology semantics | Asset and connectivity layer above gateways — complements MQTT register payloads. |
| OpenADR | Price / DR signals to devices | Phase 3 — utility VTN/VEN programs; deferred until grid/aggregator counterpart · roadmap |
MeshEMS / pole power architecture
Working notes for MeshEMS and Street Pole EMS workshop hardware — multiple rails must be planned explicitly; 18650 cell voltage alone is not enough for every peripheral. Hub: MeshEMS board page. EMS board schematic (NESL): github.com/nesl-admin/nesl-meshems — see repo README. Street Pole firmware: ems-dev.
| Load | Rail | Notes |
|---|
| MeshEMS gateway | 5 V | Temperature reference needs a 5 V supply. PCB865B-NESL-EMS-Controller schematic on |
| 18650 battery holders | 3.3 V or 6.6 V → 5 V | Need a buck or boost converter depending on pack wiring (single cell ~3.3 V nominal vs two-series ~6.6 V). |
| SSRs | 5 V | Solid-state relays on the pole stack also require 5 V drive. |
| ESP32 dev kit (MeshEMS / Street Pole) | 5 V → 3.3 V | Typical dev boards accept 5 V on USB/VIN and step down to 3.3 V onboard for the MCU — no separate 3.3 V feed needed for the kit if a 5 V rail is available (check board spec). |
| CircuitSetup meter board | 3.3 V | Logic / stack interface runs at 3.3 V. |
| CircuitSetup base board | 3φ AC → 9 VDC → 3.3 V | Base draws from 3-phase AC, supplies ~9 VDC for measurement ICs, can regulate down to 3.3 V on the stack pin. |
Glenn’s AC-derived PCB (schematic on file)
Manages pole power from 240 VAC (3-phase): mini transformers, rectifier, surge diodes — produces a 5 V reference and three 9 V references. Would not recommend field use without an ETL or UL-certified board (safety, isolation, and utility voltage context).
Action for workshop BOM: specify buck/boost modules for 5 V where cell or stack voltage does not natively match; ESP32 dev kits can derive 3.3 V from 5 V onboard — keep CircuitSetup 3.3 V stack power separate from SSR / temp-reference 5 V budget.
MeshEMS gateway and board distribution
Recipients and field partners for PCB865B-NESL-EMS-Controller used by meshEMS/Street EMS — shipping, deployment, and installer training. Board Schematic: by NESL.
| Name | Contact | Role / notes | Status |
|---|
| Energy IoT Open Source |
website |
10 Boards to support Mini-Grid on Wheels and Solar Traning Center projects |
On list |
| Redwan Hussain |
+1 646-361-6130 |
Energy IoT Open Source Volunteer, Open Energy Hackathon 2.0 participant |
On list |
| Sean White |
— |
Early adoptor of Energy IoT Open Source Open microgrid solutions. Teaches NABCEP certified installer coursework — technician training for power / solar systems. |
On list |
Related: Jude · 10× EMS board field deployment (#15) — no PII on meter read path.
Field notes · Addis Ababa grid
Reported from the call — context for urban / grid-connected OpenEMS work and why local distribution telemetry matters more than export marketing alone.
| Observation | Detail |
|---|
| Outages | 2–4 hours every few days, observed ~2 miles from the airport — not only rural feeders. |
| T→D capacity | Not enough transmission-to-distribution cross-connect; distribution layer is overloaded. |
| Transformer life | Among the shortest transformer lifetimes reported — ~15% failure rate vs ~2% typical elsewhere. |
| Utility priorities | More emphasis on international electricity sales to neighboring countries than on local distribution servicing. |
| EV fast charging | 160 kW DC fast chargers — up to 8 cars on the same block; charging equipment fails when power surges hit the overloaded local network. |
Implication for ISV: leakage and load visibility at the distribution edge (OpenAMI / OpenEMS) is not abstract — overloaded T→D handoff and cluster EV load are breaking real assets. Compare IEEE 1547 / EPRI grid tooling vs village prepaid track.
Layer reminder
| Layer | Example | ISV wiki thread |
|---|
| Grid interconnection | IEEE 1547 (EPRI wrote · IEEE std) | Standards · DER / microgrid tie-in |
| Prepaid / payment | STS token + key mgmt | Problems · L6 payment layer |
| Register semantics | OBIS · VMRS tiers | Register checklist |
| Northbound | MQTT / JSON at gateway | Village Metering |
Attendees & open items
Add names, claims, and new follow-ups during or after the call.
Action items (tracked)
- AMDA outreach — closed, not pursuing (#14) — decided not to engage AMDA further; SteamaCo / SparkMeter work already covered by another group
- OpenAMI Discord — increase Tech Comm presence on OSEA Discord; point people to OpenAMI page for stack summary
- Follow up with Jude — 10× EMS board deployment; confirm meters stay without PII on northbound reads (#15)
Full board at the top of this page and in Knowledge Base · Tasks. Comment and update status on GitHub Issues ↗.
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