Schlumberger
and INTER-REGIES clearing house system
Posted: 18 June 2003
Schlumberger announced its information technology business segment,
SchlumbergerSema, and the Flemish members of INTER-REGIES have established
a Clearing House system for the Belgian energy market.
The system handles the secure exchange and processing of information
between the various market players.
Conforming to new market regulations, the Clearing House manages
the access register to the distribution network, the settlement
of metering data and the integrity of the processes related to the
change of energy supplier.
July 1, 2003 is the deadline for the deregulation of the energy
market in Flanders. On this date, through the application of European
directives and regional decrees, the Distribution Grid Operators
(DGO) for electricity and gas must allow energy suppliers free access
to the networks.
Publiclear, a temporary company created by the Flemish members
of INTER-REGIES, a coordination body for public companies in the
energy sector, has selected SchlumbergerSema to develop, implement
and operate the Clearing House system.
"This system, which handles the exchange and processing of
information impartially and in strict confidentiality between the
various players in the market, is a strategic feature," explained
Gert De Block, general secretary of INTER-REGIES. "The global
experience of SchlumbergerSema in the complex, deregulated energy
and utilities markets has enabled us to meet this challenge successfully,
while at the same time minimizing risks."
A strategic system for market liberalization
The Clearing House has been integrated by SchlumbergerSema with
the information systems of the DGO who are members of INTER-REGIES
(including Interelectra, IVEG, PBE and WVEM), and has been linked
up with professional users (energy suppliers, ELIA, and other DGOs).
Designed to manage 800,000 delivery points for electricity and
gas, it offers multiple functions:
- Communication with the users via the EDIEL protocol, in conformity
with the technical specifications imposed by the Flemish regulatory
body, the VREG
- Automation of the process of changing supplier via EDIEL messages.
A web portal also enables suppliers to manually enter information
and notify supplier changes
- Synchronization with the client information systems of the
DGO involved in Publiclear and their respective metering systems
- Preservation of the integrity of the Access Register, a confidential
database including all points of access using EAN identification
- Calculation of the total consumption per distribution area
for each supplier/ balance responsible, using real or synthetic
load curves (allocation and reconciliation processes)
- Archiving of metering data and messages
SchlumbergerSema handles the hosting, administration and support
for the system, and each of the Publiclear DGOs are able to carry
out operational supervision.
Communication between the users is secured through an EDIEL messaging
server via the Internet, which will soon be routed through a dedicated
value added network (VAN).
"The system is today fully operational, and we are ready for
the July 1, 2003 deadline," stated Filip Drijkoningen, project
manager at Publiclear. "Thanks to the flexible solution developed
by SchlumbergerSema and their support services, we have succeeded
in minimizing the non-negligible impact upon existing systems, and,
therefore, on distribution prices."
For more information see www.slb.com.
Posted by Richard Price,
Editor Pipeline Magazine
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