1. (a) An interface element, where applicable, is any component within a system that is external to the operations of the EGS that assists in the collection and processing of data that is sent to a system.

2. (b) All critical interface elements shall:

   1. (1) Be installed in a secure area (which may be inside an EGS);
   2. (2) The interface elements setup/configuration menu or menus must not be available unless using an authorized access method;

   3. (3)

      1. (A) When not directly communicating with EGS meters, the interface element must maintain:

3. (i) Separate electronic meters of sufficient length to preclude the loss of information from meter rollovers; or

   1. (ii) A means to identify multiple rollovers, as provided for in the connected EGS.

      1. (B) These electronic meters should be capable of being reviewed on demand at the interface element level via an authorized access method;

   2. (4)

      1. (A) The interface element must retain the required information after a power loss for a minimum of thirty (30) days.
      2. (B) If this data is stored in volatile RAM, a battery backup must be installed within the interface element;

   3. (5)

      1. (A) If unable to communicate the required information to the on-line monitoring system, the interface element must provide a means to preserve all mandatory meter and significant event information until such time as it can be communicated to the on-line monitoring system.
      2. (B) EGS operation may continue until critical data is overwritten and lost.
      3. (C) There must be a method to check for corruption of the above data storage locations;

   4. (6)

      1. (A) The interface element must allow for the association of a unique identification number to be used in conjunction with an EGS file on the on-line monitoring system.
      2. (B) This identification number will be used by the on-line monitoring system to track all mandatory information of the associated EGS.
      3. (C) Additionally, the on-line monitoring system should not allow for a duplicate EGS file entry of this identification number; and

   5. (7)

      1. (A) An on-line monitoring system may possess a front end processor that gathers and relays all data from the connected data collectors to the associated database or databases.
      2. (B) The data collectors, in turn, collect all data from connected EGS.
      3. (C) Communication between components must be a defined communication protocol or protocols and function as indicated by the communication protocol or protocols.

      4. (D) An online monitoring system must provide for the following:

         1. (i) All critical data communication shall be protocol-based and/or incorporate an error detection and correction scheme to ensure an accuracy of ninety-nine percent (99%) or better of messages received; and
         2. (ii)
4. (a) (a) All critical data communication that may affect revenue and is unsecured either in transmission or implementation shall employ encryption.
5. (b) (b) The encryption algorithm shall employ variable keys or similar methodology to preserve secure communication.

Codification Notes: “RAM” means random access memory.