Patent ID: 9664531
Date: 2017-05-30
CPC Classifications: G01D,H04L,H04Q,Y02B,Y04S

Claim:
1. A utility meter for metering at least one utility consumption comprising: a metering circuit for metering at least one utility consumption value; a communication circuit for sending messages to, and receiving messages from, a plurality of remote utility management centers assigned to the utility meter for processing said utility consumption value; a memory to store a unique identifier pertaining to the utility meter and to store a plurality of first keys for encrypting control messages dedicated to the plurality of remote utility management center centers, wherein each of the plurality of first keys is specific to a single one of the plurality of remote utility management centers; a key generator for generating a payload key shared with the remote utility management centers; an encryption circuit for encrypting said utility consumption value as a first cryptogram using the payload key, and for generating a second cryptogram by encrypting said payload key using the first key associated with one of the remote utility management centers; and a message generator for generating a shared payload message containing said first cryptogram to be sent to the plurality of remote utility management centers and a control message including the second cryptogram to be sent to the remote utility management center associated with the first key used to generate the second cryptogram.