To maintain reliability of advanced metering infrastructure network in smart grid, data sent from a smart meter must reach a data concentrator unit efficiently. Parent selecting mechanism in routing protocol for low-power and lossy (RPL) is a key to maintain the reliability by balancing workload of meters in the network. In this paper, a parent selecting mechanism with three criteria including expected transmission count, residual energy, and expected transmission time is proposed to improve

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... kload balancing and lifetime differences of all meters. A meter selects an immediate parent based on three factors. From simulation results, parents' workload is better balanced and the lifetime of all meters in the network is depleted nearly at the same time. Moreover, a simulation with cognitive radio enabled meters, where data can be transmitted on a licensed channel opportunistically when the channel is not utilized, shows an improvement in the packet delivery ratio.