The authors describe how the Device Language Message Specification (DLMS) is a tool to make electricity meters interoperable, which in turn is a precondition for a liberalised energy market. They detail how real products are on the market, and how the DLMS User Association will help to co-ordinate the implementations, as well on the application side as on the channel side. The DLMS User Association is not a standardising body, but it closely works together with national and international bodies, in order to bridge the gap of official standardising work to real implementations.