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18 June 2003 - Schlumberger announced Tuesday that 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 co-ordination body for public companies in the energy sector, has selected SchlumbergerSema to develop, implement and operate the Clearing House system.
INTER-REGIES is the organisation responsible for co-ordinating public companies in the electricity, gas and cable television sectors. "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."
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."
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