BS EN 61968-8-2016 PDF

Full title and description

BS EN 61968-8:2016 — Application integration at electric utilities — System interfaces for distribution management — Part 8: Interfaces for customer operations. This standard (the EN adoption of IEC 61968-8:2015) defines message types, information content and XML schemas used to exchange customer-support-related information (service requests, customer agreements, trouble/ticket information, POS events and related messages) between Customer Support Systems and other utility enterprise systems.

Abstract

IEC 61968-8 / EN 61968-8 specifies a set of standardised message payloads and information models to support business functions related to customer support (customer service, trouble management, point-of-sale interactions and related service orders). The document includes reference/static information models and normative XML schemas to enable consistent, interoperable exchanges between CIS, OMS, WMS and other enterprise applications.

General information

• Status: Published / Active (EN adoption of IEC 61968-8:2015).
• Publication date: EN publication (BS EN) — 31 May 2016 (EN adoption of IEC 61968-8:2015). IEC original publication date: 27 May 2015.
• Publisher: CENELEC (European adoption) / national standards bodies for the BS EN edition (published as BS EN by BSI). IEC is the originating international publisher of IEC 61968-8:2015.
• ICS / categories: 33.200 — Telecontrol, telemetering and associated communication for power systems (power systems information exchange).
• Edition / version: EN 61968-8:2016 (identical to IEC 61968-8:2015), Edition 1.0 (IEC).
• Number of pages: Varies by publisher/format — IEC webstore lists 130 pages for IEC 61968-8:2015 (international publication); national EN/BS formatted editions commonly list between ~62 and ~72 pages depending on layout.

Scope

The scope covers exchange of information between a Customer Support System (CIS) and other systems within a utility enterprise for customer-related business functions. Typical message types include service requests, service orders, customer agreements, trouble/ticket management, work requests and point-of-sale events. The standard is intended for loosely coupled integration across heterogeneous systems to enable consistent semantics and schema validation (XML schemas provided in an annex).

Key topics and requirements

• Defined message types and payload structures for customer operations (service requests, trouble tickets, customer agreements, POS events).
• Reference and static information models aligned with the CIM extensions for distribution to ensure consistent attribute/class definitions.
• Normative XML schemas (XSDs) for message payloads to support implementation and validation (typically supplied as an annex).
• Support for asynchronous, inter-application exchanges suitable for CIS ↔ OMS, CIS ↔ WMS and third‑party integrations.
• Guidance to map business functions to message types and to integrate customer-support components with other distribution-management systems.

Typical use and users

Used by utility integration architects, enterprise/system architects, system integrators, CIS/OMS/WMS software vendors, consultants and project teams performing system integration, migration or implementation of customer support workflows. Typical applications include trouble management handover, service-order orchestration, customer lifecycle synchronization and POS/order-processing integration.

Related standards

Part of the IEC/EN 61968 series and closely related to EN/IEC 61968-1 (architecture), 61968-3 (network operations interface), 61968-6 (maintenance and construction interfaces), 61968-11 (CIM extensions for distribution) and 61968-100 (implementation profiles). It also aligns with EMS/CIM standards such as IEC 61970-301.

Keywords

Application integration, customer operations, customer support, CIS, message payloads, XML schemas, CIM extensions, distribution management, system interfaces, service request, trouble management, point-of-sale, service order.

FAQ

Q: What is this standard?

A: EN 61968-8:2016 is the European adoption of IEC 61968-8:2015 that specifies interfaces and message content for customer operations in electric utility distribution management.

Q: What does it cover?

A: It covers the information content and message types used to support customer support business functions — service requests, customer agreements, trouble management, POS events, service orders and related exchanges — and provides normative XML schemas for message payloads.

Q: Who typically uses it?

A: Utility IT teams and architects, system integrators, CIS/OMS/WMS vendors and consultants working on enterprise integration, outage/customer interaction workflows, field-work coordination and billing/CRM synchronization.

Q: Is it current or superseded?

A: The EN adoption (BS EN 61968-8:2016) is the published version of the IEC 2015 edition. Check national standards bodies or IEC/CENELEC for corrigenda or later revisions; the IEC record shows the 2015 edition and national EN publication in 2016. (If you need the very latest status or any corrigenda, consult the issuing body for updates.)

Q: Is it part of a series?

A: Yes — it is Part 8 of the IEC/EN 61968 series (Application integration at electric utilities — System interfaces for distribution management). Other parts provide architecture, CIM extensions, network‑operations interfaces, maintenance interfaces and implementation profiles.

Q: What are the key keywords?

A: Customer support, CIS, message types, XML schema, CIM, distribution management, service order, trouble ticket, POS, system interfaces.