As communities across the country respond to an active hurricane season, NEMA today announced the publication of a new standard that will be key in building more resilient and connected infrastructure and cities.

ANSI/NEMA C137.10 standardizes lighting sensor data to facilitate better interoperability among different lighting systems within smart city applications. The collected data will further help interconnect city functions and monitor air quality, potential utility repairs, and street flooding, allowing for citizens to be alerted to potentially hazardous situations. NEMA’s Lighting Systems Committee (C137) developed the standard to serve as a resource for state and local jurisdictions looking to build their smart city infrastructure, as well as for manufacturers, customers, and utilities.

“As we witness the impact of extreme weather events across our communities, the need for resilient infrastructure has never been clearer. The ANSI/NEMA C137.10 standard will ensure lighting systems can communicate seamlessly and adapt to changing conditions. By enhancing interoperability, we’re enabling faster response times and more efficient monitoring of city services, which will ultimately help protect communities during times of crisis,” said Patrick Hughes, Senior Vice President of Technical Affairs, NEMA. “Implementation of this standard will empower cities to improve safety, streamline maintenance, and proactively address issues such as street flooding or air quality. This is a significant step forward in building more connected and resilient communities.”

“Itron is delighted with the industry effort to define and standardize the data models for the emerging smart city market, which includes applications such as air quality, traffic, stray voltage, noise, flood, and pole tilt monitoring. Whether a blue-sky day or during an extreme weather event, standards give the end-customers the confidence to invest knowing the products will be interoperable between manufacturers,” said Dan Evans, Director of Smart Cities, Itron, a NEMA member company that championed the creation of the ANSI/NEMA C137.10 standard. Itron is one of the leading providers of smart streetlights globally with 4 million streetlights under management.  

The new standard builds on NEMA’s ongoing work to bolster lighting resilience. NEMA recently harmonized the requirements of NEMA/ANSI C136.2 and NEMA/ANSI C82.77-5, to ensure that lighting equipment—especially for roads and outdoor areas—can handle electrical shocks and surges safely. For more information about this standard, visit here.