System and method for communicating over power lines

A data transmission system for communicating with meters at remote locations through power transmission lines, comprising:

• a first power network providing power a first voltage level;
• a second power network connected to the first power network and distributing power at a second voltage level to a remote location, the second voltage level being lower than the first voltage level;
• a server connected to the first power network, the server communicating with a plurality of meters in communication with the second power network, the server comprising:
• a first module to
• generate a broadcast message in an Internet Protocol (IP) signal to a first set of meters in the second power network through the first power network based on a load index indicating a maximum number of meters that the server can communicate with simultaneously;
• and
• broadcast a second broadcast message to a second set of meters in the second network when a number of responses received from the first set of meters matches a predetermined number based on a difference between the load index and the responses received at the server;
• and
• a second module to
• receive the responses from the first set of meters and track the number of responses received;
• and
• a gateway connecting the first power network to the second power network, the gateway relaying messages from the first power network to the first set of meters in the second power network and relaying the responses to the broadcast message from the first set of meters to the server,
• wherein based on the load index, each meter of the first set of meters can generate and send its response to the server and the server will be able to process each its response message.