DH-120 Accounting point information maintenance
- 1 Accounting point information in Datahub
- 2 Life cycle of an accounting point
- 3 Time zone
- 4 Reactive energy time series available
- 5 Heating depending on electricity
- 6 Metering time step
- 7 Related accounting points
- 8 Annual consumption estimate
- 9 Accounting point information update request
- 10 Management of temporary accounting points
- 11 Accounting point information maintenance events
Accounting point information in Datahub
Accounting point information stored in Datahub is outlined in the diagram below.
Data for accounting points and – more broadly – for all metering points, is data owned by the DSO. As such, the maintenance of accounting point data in Datahub is the responsibility of the DSO. It is the responsibility of the DSO to create new accounting points, update data and report accounting points as removed from use.
Suppliers and third parties can retrieve accounting point data from Datahub. Some of the information is only accessible with the customer’s authorization.
Life cycle of an accounting point
The life cycle of an accounting point and its possible statuses throughout its lifetime are set out in the diagram below.
Accounting points should be created in Datahub as soon as they are established in the DSO’s system. Because the agreement information is valid for complete days, accounting point data will also be updated for complete days. Datahub’s unique, GS1-system-based GSRN code should be reported for the accounting point.
An accounting point can be located near Finnish borders but not in Finland and still belong to a DSO registered in Datahub. This is why the country information is needed in Datahub.
An accounting point can be created in Datahub while still in the construction phase, whereupon its status will be ‘under construction’. This data is meant to inform the supplier that an agreement can be made and reported to Datahub, but for the time being delivery to the site cannot begin. Delivery cannot begin, for example, if the accounting point is new and no meter has been installed yet.
When the accounting point is ‘metered’ – that is, delivery can begin – the DSO activates the accounting point by updating its status to ‘connected’ or ‘disconnected’ depending on whether or not delivery is initiated. Statuses ‘connected’ or ‘disconnected’ can only be updated using connection and disconnection events. A connection of an ‘under-construction’ accounting point affects the start dates of the agreements on the accounting point as described in its own section.
The ‘Deleted’ status is updated using the accounting point deletion event. Other statuses are updated using the accounting point update event.
The DSO can temporarily make the accounting point passive by changing its status to ‘under construction’. This takes place at, e.g., renovated sites, when it is temporarily not possible for delivery to begin at an accounting point. A valid sales agreement is not automatically terminated when an accounting point’s status is changed to ‘under construction’; instead, the supplier must come to an agreement with the customer on the matter as necessary.
When it is possible to begin delivery to an accounting point as normal, its status in Datahub is ‘connected’ or ‘disconnected’. For accounting points with these statuses, agreements can be made and delivery can begin immediately (‘connected’) or as soon as the accounting point is connected (‘disconnected’).
The DSO sets the status of the accounting point to ‘removed from use’ in Datahub when the accounting point is permanently taken out of use, such as when the DSO dismantles a connection. In this case, the DSO reports the termination of the accounting point’s grid agreement to Datahub before reporting the removal of the accounting point, so that the supplier of the accounting point knows to terminate the sales agreement based on the DSO’s grid agreement termination notification. Once an accounting point is reported as removed from use, it is no longer possible to make agreements for that accounting point or return this back to status ‘Connected’. If an accounting point has been removed from use incorrectly and there is still a need to make corrections to it, the DSO can request the Datahub operator to restore the accounting point to active state (status ‘under construction’). After being restored, the accounting point can be used normally in the processes and the DSO can make the necessary updates and, if necessary, remove the accounting point from use again using the existing processes. An accounting point restore done by the Datahub operator does not trigger any notifications to market parties.
Accounting points that are erroneously created in Datahub must be removed from Datahub. In Datahub this is done using the accounting point deletion event. The accounting point ID used for the deleted accounting point cannot be reused when creating a new accounting point. The deleted accounting point remains in the Datahub in status deleted. These accounting points are not visible to other market parties, for example when requesting the accounting point ID. If events have been reported for the accounting point before the error is noticed and these events are not valid yet, these events must first be cancelled, after which the accounting point should be set to ‘removed from use’.
The table below sets out a summary of accounting point statuses during a accounting point’s life cycle and their meanings.
Status | Agreements | Delivery start | Status at accounting point |
Under construction | Can be made | Cannot begin | Unmetered |
Connected | Can be made | Can begin | Default – electricity connected |
Disconnected | Can be made | Can begin | Default – electricity not connected |
Removed from use | Cannot be made | May not begin | Connection cancelled |
Deleted | Cannot be made | May not begin | Erroneously reported accounting point deleted before any events reported to it |
In addition to the accounting point status, the DSO should also update other data for its accounting points in Datahub (the exception is the accounting point identification, which may never be updated). Data should be updated as soon as it changes in the DSO’s own system. Datahub stores accounting point history data – this means that the time of creation or modification for the accounting point data is always saved in Datahub. These times are taken into account in data retrievals in accordance with parties’ rights.
Some of the accounting point data reported to Datahub are described in more detail below.
Time zone
Information on the time zone of the accounting point, which is part of its basic data, provides the supplier with the necessary details when selecting a product for the customer’s sales agreement. The time zone reported for the accounting point must correspond to the product of the grid agreement associated with that point.
Reactive energy time series available
The information ‘Reactive energy time series available’ is not forwarded in accounting point events. Datahub determines this information based on the received metering data.
Heating depending on electricity
The accounting point attribute ‘heating depending on electricity’ is a factor in determining whether a party has a right to disconnect an accounting during winter (Verkkopalveluehdot VPE 2019 part 9.1.4). The DSO is responsible for maintaining the attribute in Datahub. However, Datahub does not validate supply disconnection requests or notifications based on the attribute.
Metering time step
The Finnish electricity retail market will move from hourly metering to 15-minute metering starting from January 1, 2023. The transition is performed flexibly so that the reporting of hourly metering data is possible during the transition period. The transition period is defined in legislation (Government Decree on supply and metering transitional provision). Due to the transition period, DSO’s must manage the time step (hour or 15 minutes) of the metering point (accounting point, production unit or exchange point) on a metering point basis.
The time step used at the accounting point is reported using a separate time step update event. The time step for production units and exchange points is updated via the Datahub user interface. The update also applies for the reactive energy of the metering point. Datahub does not update the metering time step of a possible related accounting point automatically. The DSO will always need to notify the change for each accounting point separately. Often related accounting points are measured with the same meter and the time step is the same. However, suppliers should note that a different time step may occur in related accounting points if the DSO has changed the time step for only one of the accounting points.
The time step can be updated retroactively, but only while the balance window is open (11 days). However, the retroactive update cannot be done if values have already been reported to the accounting point in the previous time step for the time after the update takes effect. If there has been an error, the DSO may request the Datahub operator to perform a retroactive update for the time of the open balance window by service request.
Related accounting points
Consumption and production accounting points can be located in the same physical location, but they are processed in Datahub as separate accounting points. Consumption and production accounting points are separated in Datahub with accounting point type information. The production accounting points don’t need the word “Production” in accounting point address as an identification.
With regard to the functionality of agreement processes, there is need to maintain a more secure manner of linking these accounting points together in addition to address. Linking takes place by reporting the identification code for the production/consumption accounting point with which the consumption/production accounting point is physically located in the same place. This is done using a separate process for maintaining accounting point relation information. Linking between accounting points is two-directional, i.e., both accounting points include the information about the other linked (related) accounting point. Related accounting points are included in netting calculations if the conditions for netting are met.
Annual consumption estimate
As part of the update of the accounting point information, the DSO also updates the estimated annual consumption information for the accounting point. The annual consumption estimate must be updated in Datahub at least once a year, and at most once a month.
When updating the annual consumption estimate, the following points must be considered:
If only the annual consumption estimate is being updated, it must be submitted to Datahub as a limited update to accounting point information (event DH-122 with the reason code ‘Annual consumption estimate update’). In this case, only the reported annual consumption estimate is saved and forwarded to other market participants, and no other accounting point information is included.
To balance the load caused by these updates, the DSO must distribute the updates evenly within the chosen update cycle (e.g., monthly updates). Additionally, updates must be spread throughout each day so that all updates for a given day are not sent at once.
The annual consumption estimate must reflect the value used in billing, which may be netted or calculated based on energy community, rather than the measured value.
For accounting points with two time-of-use periods, both annual consumption estimates must be updated.
When the customer of an accounting point changes, the DSO must update the annual consumption estimate based on its own assessment. The estimate must not be reset to zero.
Accounting point information update request
The current supplier, future supplier and third party also have the opportunity to report changes to accounting point data. Accounting point data reported to Datahub by the supplier or third party is not automatically updated in Datahub. Instead, it is forwarded to the DSO which then carries out the update. The DSO is to respond to an update request by sending Datahub the accounting point data update, which includes either data reported by the supplier/third party (the DSO approves the update request), or accounting point data in the grid owner’s own system (the DSO rejects the update request). If the DSO rejects the update, then the DSO must also send the reason for the rejection.
The diagram below outlines the process description for an accounting point data update.
Management of temporary accounting points
How a worksite, event or other temporary accounting point is processed within the DSO’s internal processes has no bearing on Datahub’s functionality. DSOs employ various operating methods for processing temporary accounting points. If a DSO always establishes a new accounting point in its own system for a temporary accounting point, the new accounting point will be reported to Datahub in accordance with the normal creation process. If, on the other hand, the DSO uses a single accounting point identification and only updates the accounting point address in accordance with where the temporary accounting point is located at a given time, corresponding changes in address must be reported to Datahub using the accounting point update event. In such cases the DSO must ensure that the accounting point is not reported to Datahub as removed from use for as long as it will be re-used.
Accounting point information maintenance events