In terms of the OSI model that sounds like data link, or maybe network level. Given that, going up to the transport layer (TCP/IP) and providing some QoS guarantees, or "session" (authentication, permission, expiration, privacy related controls) services seems inevitable. The standards NIST is forwarding appear to assume AES-128 encryption... that's "presentation layer". In other words they are going to provide more services than most ISPs but receive none of the retail revenues from the easy-to-provide services (like TV, phone and Internet)? Are they going to charge a percentage of revenue for access to all these well-managed wires?

And more for the applications that cause them some potential privacy headaches, outage risk, and etc.

Seems there is also some risk of a lack of a single smart/resilient home/building platform emerging:

"Houston-based CenterPoint Energy [is building] a platform on which retail providers can innovate... Similar roles are evolving in Pennsylvania, the mid-Atlantic, and portions of Canada and Europe, where a single infrastructure provider services multiple energy retailers. Those retailers and other third parties are the ones that conceive, create and manage energy services and the ones that interact directly with customers."

"NU is sending the price signals, while providing a home energy monitor, an "energy orb" that glows red when prices are high, and a web site with additional services."

"Florida Power & Light and its partners Cisco, GE and Silver Spring Networks talked in terms of an open applications development platform. Their hope was that developers would create apps for that platform the way they create apps for the iPhone."

Or Android. But how is the app developer to be sure that they are not going to end up orphaned like the BlackBerry developers may be?

Google, intel, IBM, Samsung, Sony, Apple, many others have expressed a strong interest in these markets. I doubt they will just passively adopt Cisco+GE's platform. It's at least a standards fight. So what standards, other than the extant IEEE 1901/1905 and G.hn, are going to apply to an existing-wire network? What level of services for an "app" developer?