Multispeak is a specification / standard that defines standardized interfaces among software applications commonly used by electric utilities. It defines details of data that need to be exchanged between software applications in order to support different processes commonly applied at utilities. MultiSpeak effort is funded by National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA).

Multispeak standard makes use of three components.

• Definitions of common data semantics- It contains the details of data that need to be exchanged. Data semantics are documented in the form of an extensible markup language
  Extensible Markup Language
  Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
  
   (XML) schema.
• Definitions of message structure- It defines message structures to support the required data interchanges. Web services calls with specific structures are used for real time exchanges.
• Definition of messages are required to support specific business process steps- This details the business process steps to accomplish the data.

Comparison between CIM & Multispeak

• CIM covers transmission
  Electric power transmission
  Electric-power transmission is the bulk transfer of electrical energy, from generating power plants to Electrical substations located near demand centers...
  
  , generation
  Generation
  Generation , also known as procreation in biological sciences, is the act of producing offspring....
  
   and distribution
  Electricity distribution
  File:Electricity grid simple- North America.svg|thumb|380px|right|Simplified diagram of AC electricity distribution from generation stations to consumers...
  
   whereas MultiSpeak is distribution focused.
• MultiSpeak is focused to meet the needs of electric cooperatives in the US, while IEC 61968
  IEC 61968
  IEC 61968 is a series of standards under development that will define standards for information exchanges between electrical distribution systems. These standards are being developed by Working Group 14 of Technical Committee 57 of the IEC...
  
   / CIM is focused towards all utilities in the international marketplace.
• IEC 61968 is transport independent while MultiSpeak is transport specific. SOAP
  SOAP
  SOAP, originally defined as Simple Object Access Protocol, is a protocol specification for exchanging structured information in the implementation of Web Services in computer networks...
  
   messages using HTTP, TCP/IP sockets connections directly between applications & file-based transfers are used for transferring data in multispeak.
• Both standards use XML Schema for definition of messages & focus on interfaces between applications, as opposed to data structures internal to applications.
• Message headers can be readily mapped between MultiSpeak and IEC 61968 but Mapping of message content between the two is more complex.

Harmonization between Multispeak & 61968

In June 2008 MultiSpeak and WG14 announced an initiative to establish two sets of standards that will lead towards harmonization of their respective specifications. After completion of the same, will provide a mapping between MultiSpeak Version 4.0, IEC 61970

IEC 61970

The IEC 61970 series of standards deals with the application program interfaces for energy management systems . The series provides a set of guidelines and standards to facilitate:...

 Version 13 and IEC 61968

IEC 61968

IEC 61968 is a series of standards under development that will define standards for information exchanges between electrical distribution systems. These standards are being developed by Working Group 14 of Technical Committee 57 of the IEC...

Version 10. Two sets of standard work planned for the same are listed below

• IEC 61968-14-1-3 to 14-1-10 — Proposed IEC Standards to Map IEC61968 and MultiSpeak Standards.
• IEC 61968-14-2-3 to 14-2-10 — Proposed IEC Standards to Create a CIM Profile to Implement MultiSpeak Functionality.