PARTIN: New Format for Market Communication in the German Energy Sector. It‘s Goodbye to Excel and Welcome to PARTIN EDIFACT

+++ Update January 2023: Extension of PARTIN to all market roles in the electricity division as of 1 October 2023

With the format change in the German market communication as of October 1, 2023 (ruling BNetzA BK6-22-128) and the simultaneous start of the communication via AS4, the use of PARTIN for the communication of contact data will be extended to all market roles in the electricity division. With the inclusion of the additional market roles balancing group managers, transmission system operators, balancing coordinators and energy service providers, all required market roles in the electricity division will then be covered.
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+++ Update June 2022: Date for the Implementation of the Legal Requirements was postponed from 01.04.2022 to 01.10.2022

The deadline for implementing the electronic exchange of communications master data is drawing closer: However, the German Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur BNetzA) has postponed the original date for the implementation of the legal requirements from 01.04.2022 to 01.10.2022. With the SEEBURGER PARTIN App, you can successfully implement the legal requirements for the exchange of communication master data via EDIFACT on time. Please contact us to integrate the PARTIN app into your IT landscape. For more information on booking the SEEBURGER PARTIN service, visit our Cloud Shop.

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The new EDIFACT data format PARTIN is being introduced. What does PARTIN mean for the players in the electricity market? What are the advantages and disadvantages of PARTIN? SEEBURGER expert Katharina Koch has summarized the facts for you.

PARTIN is coming  – What do we know so far?

The German Bundesnetzagentur is sticking to its decision to introduce the new EDIFACT data format PARTIN. With the publication of the document Business Processes for supplying Customers with Electricity in appendix 1a of BK6-20-160, the Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA) has decided against the other options.  This new format will be mandatory for network operators, meter operators and suppliers in the electricity sector. It is not mandatory for other players or for the gas sector.^[1] During the consultation phase, the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW) proposed that communication data only be exchanged via the BDEW code number database.

• PARTIN: higher data quality, better processes

The stipulations on processes and participants don’t centralise data management. It is also not a unified solution for all the market roles in the German energy market. However, it is a significant step towards better data quality.

It is now possible to access current contact details for market partners, which will help improve processes. This primarily applies to contact people. However, we are also anticipating significant improvements in certification.

Until now, it was only possible to maintain the quality of contact records with a lot of effort and research. There wasn’t a defined process, meaning automatic updates were out of the question. The only measure to assure data security was to exchange certificates.

Although the network operators are required to publish other master data,  this hasn’t applied to suppliers, for example. As a result, network operators have found it difficult to reliably keep information up-to-date. As well as conducting their own research, they have been dependent on their counterpart to either provide a named contact or to have a good updating process. This will change with EDIFACT PARTIN, as automated data exchange will keep those involved up-to-date on any changes.

What does PARTIN EDIFACT mean for the future?

A central code number database for market communication in the energy industry, containing all certificates and contact data, the BDEW codes and the code numbers of the German Technical and Scientific Association for Gas and Water (DVGW), is now on the distant horizon.

What role can PARTIN play in the future? With the foreseeable introduction of AS4, replacing e-mail dispatch, there will certainly be process changes in certificate handling that go beyond the PARTIN process.

However, PARTIN EDIFACT covers far more data needed day-by-day.  Therefore, PARTIN will remain important despite a change in communication channel. What is more, 10 years of market communication have shown us that processes introduced in market subsets have eventually been rolled out throughout.

We are therefore confident that PARTIN EDIFACT will start playing a role for other aspects of the electricity market, as well as in the gas sector.

PARTIN: The advantages of a central cloud app with  API integration

How can you use PARTIN’s high quality data?

In many companies, more than one department works in market communication. On the one hand, there are a number of technical areas involved. On the other hand, you have the function-based departments, too. All have an interest in at least some of the information from PARTIN EDIFACT. To make this information equally available and useable to all users, it’s worth investing in a centralised data storage service outside of your ERP.

Centralised services can easily be mapped via cloud applications. User access is relatively simple, while maintenance, development and format-related updates are covered by a service fee.

A modern architecture with APIs lets you provide data where it is needed. A cloud service gives great added value in several ways. One example is that it if you need to clarify contact details, it contains API functions which let you retrieve the correct data. This information is then shown in the application being viewed by the user. Crucially, the data does not need to be kept in several places for this purpose. Instead, it can be retrieved as required.

The advantages of API functions as a cloud service include:

• save time updating
• access your data from anywhere via an API
• free up local storage space
• avoid storing data duplicates
• access publically accessible data through the PARTIN-App

PARTIN: What can SEEBURGER do for you?

SEEBURGER is proud to present the above in its new PARTIN-App.

This cloud-based application provides central data storage and lets you convert and send your own communication data in PARTIN EDIFACT.  This user-friendly application also lets you comfortably extract and edit information from the communication sheets you receive from your counterparts. Naturally, we’d be delighted to integrate this cloud service with your ERP system or other software using modern API technology.

We already manage communication data for the market participants in our MaKo Cloud. Therefore, we see the PARTIN-App as the next logical step to what we offer in the MaKo Cloud. Naturally, the PARTIN-App will also be available for customers with on-premises MaKo solutions.

^[1] Source: BDEW Artikel „Kommunikationsdaten“