This part of IEC 62056 specifies the overall structure of the OBject Identification System (OBIS) and the assignment of all data elements commonly used in measuring devices to their identification codes.
OBIS provides a unique identification number for all data in the metering facility; this includes not only measured values, but also abstract values ​​for configuration or obtaining information about the behavior of the measuring device. The ID codes defined in this standard are used to identify:
– logical names of the different instances of the interface classes or objects as defined in IEC 62056-6-2;
– data transmitted via telecommunications lines;
– data displayed in the measuring device, see section ‎A.2.
This standard applies to all types of metering equipment such as fully integrated metering equipment, modular metering equipment, tariff meter add-ons, data concentrators, etc.
The concept of medium and channel is introduced to also include metering equipment measuring other types of energy than electricity, combined metering equipment measuring more than one Measure type of energy, and cover measurement devices with multiple physical measurement channels. In this way, measurement data originating from different sources can be identified. While this standard provides a complete definition of the structure of the identification system for other media, the assignment of data elements belonging to energy other than electrical energy to their ID codes must be completed separately.