Survey of centralised data exchange in the electricity market initiated

At the beginning of this year, Fingrid initiated a survey project to comprehensively analyse the current status and development needs of data exchange in the electricity retail markets. The main goal of the project is to explore the possibility of replacing the current distributed data exchange system with a so-called data hub. Data exchange is needed in various business process in the electricity market, such as imbalance settlement, end-users' relocations and electricity supplier changes. The project analyses the current status of data exchange from different angles, estimates how the future development trends of the electricity market will affect data exchange, and describes the data hub projects completed or in progress in the nearby regions. Based on these analyses, a new data exchange solution will be defined and explained, and a scheduled implementation plan will be prepared for it.

- It is our understanding that centralised data exchange can improve the quality of data and add efficiency to electricity companies' business processes. The centralising of data exchange can open opportunities for new functions and services in the electricity market, states Project Manager Pasi Aho from Fingrid.

Aho tells us that the currently used data exchange system is EDI (Electronic Data Interchange), which features the transfer of fixed-format data from one computer to another. In other words, data is transferred through electronic channels using an agreed message standard. A data hub would serve as a central data storage to which market operators submit data and from which they receive data relevant to the retail market. Moreover, the data hub can process data, which could lighten the market operators' information management workload.

The project is conducted in close co-operation with industry stakeholders. The current status analysis conducted at the beginning of the year involves interviews with industry operators. In addition, an electronic survey will be conducted to complement the interview data. The project is supported by two separate groups of industry representatives: a small core group and a larger reference group. In this way, the diverse competencies and views of various market operators, authorities and other stakeholders can be utilised in the project.

An interim report of the survey project will be released in the spring of 2014, and the final report will be prepared by the end of 2014. The possible implementation of a data hub in Finland is subject to decision by the Ministry of Employment and the Economy.