The Zigbee guys are part of this.

“The Grid-Interop Forum … will inform and engage public and private electric systems stakeholders in the integration issues associated with the increasingly complex, distributed automation systems that will be involved in system operations, as well as the interface standards and codes needed to enable a more efficient, reliable, and resilient electric system.

Grid-Interop is being organized by the GridWise Architecture Council, whose mission is to enable all elements of the electric system to interact.”

http://www.grid-interop.com/2007/content/overview.asp?tabvar=a