Process Automation With the New Edifact Message Format PARTIN
Relocations are associated with many imponderables for everyone involved. Once new accommodation has been found, the planning and implementation phase begins. Are all belongings packed and stowed away? Which furniture will find its way into the new place or will it be replaced? Has the forwarding order been set? Do the telecommunications provider and energy supplier know about the move, and have they done all the de-registration at the previous address and re-registered at the new address? Have all the necessary authorities been informed about my move
Anyone who has already experienced one or more moves in private life can imagine that these common questions have to be answered. Market players on the German energy market also face these problems, and the associated information flows: changing addresses, adjusting bank details, informing new contacts, or exchanging previous contact data. However, the consequences for a company are significantly more serious if communication is not carried out properly than for a private individual.
Contact information is the basis of any business communication. The exchange of this information in the energy sector has been subject to few specifications and, in case of doubt, is associated with increased manual effort.
Why was the EDIFACT message format PARTIN developed?
The desire for standardization and automatisms in the German energy industry is not new. With the EDIFACT message format PARTIN, this desire became another small solution for the market participants of the electricity market. A data format used for the sole exchange of contact data sheets or master data sheets did not exist until now. From 01.10.2022, communication data and contact information of the individual market roles will be handled via market communication (MaKo). The original date of 01.04.2022 was moved back by the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) for various reasons.
Every market player will only send PARTIN?
No. Now (beginning of 2022), the PARTIN message format is intended exclusively for market players on the German electricity market. There are also exceptions to this, so that not every market role is covered by the PARTIN processes. The market roles network operator, metering point operator, and electricity supplier are the recipients and senders of the PARTIN message format. In the future, these market roles will exchange their communication data via PARTIN. However, the communication channels between network operators as well as metering point operators are excluded from this. All other players on the energy market are to be informed of a change in their communication data via the existing channels.
What are the rights and obligations of the individual market players in the energy market?
If you are a network operator, metering point operator, or electricity supplier, you will receive structured communication data in the PARTIN message format from these market partners in the future. These contain, for example, the contact information of various specialist departments, or several bank details, in order to contact them directly in the event of problems.
As a network operator, metering point operator, or electricity supplier, you have the responsibility to provide your market partners with the corresponding contact and communication data. The clear guiding principle here is the message description of PARTIN, which was developed by the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW). In it, specifications are postulated that both you and your market partners must fulfill in order to enable simple and structured handling.
What are the benefits of the EDIFACT message format PARTIN?
In the position of the network operator, metering point operator, or electricity supplier, the communication of the necessary contact information used to be a largely manual effort. With the introduction of the PARTIN message format, this is at least partially eliminated and creates new possibilities for the future. The resulting opportunity means standardization and automation for the departments that are usually overloaded with clarification cases.
Take up the PARTIN challenge. Discover the advantages of a solution to reduce manual effort, meet your legal obligations, and maximize your benefits from the new PARTIN message format.
At Arvato Systems, we will be happy to advise you on the scope of services required for your company in the German energy market. We take into account your requirements and existing solutions to be able to integrate the PARTIN contact data sheet service (PKS) of the Arvato Energy Platform.
Written by