The open versus closed debate in smart grid has reached the highest halls of power. USA Today reports that Itron, Landis+Gyr, Elster and Aclara sent a letter to U.S. Senators requesting that they change a provision in the massive $819 billion stimulus bill that they say will favor companies like Silver Spring Networks and other smart grid companies. The charges revolve around the fact that the version of the stimulus bill that came out of Congress initially said that companies that wanted to qualify for the $4.5 billion in funding for upgrading the grid would have to adopt Internet standard protocols. The version that passed said that companies would have to use Internet protocols or other open standards. Older meter makers tend to use proprietary networking standards. The new companies like Silver Spring, Eka Systems and Trilliant have adopted open standards. The open versus closed debate has become a recent bone of contention. We posted a detailed story on the standards debate before the letter to the Senate was published. (Thank you very much, Jeff St. John.) "The initial language would have put some companies out of business," says Dan Delurey, executive director of the Demand Response and Advanced Metering Coalition, according to USA Today. Both arguments have merit. Proprietary standards are established and robust. Open standards, however, can adapt as technology changes and have long been associated with steep price declines and rapid technological adoption. Some further say that part of the network--the part that connects household devices to the meter -- needs to be open while other parts -- the segment connecting the meters to substations --  could be open or closed. Overall, open standards appear to have the upper hand. Itron and company, in fact, are adapting to open standards. As Tendril CEO Adrian Tuck pointed out, about one-third of utilities favor proprietary standards. But that means they are outnumbered two to one by utilities that want to see open standards.