Periodic clearing and settlement process
Wholesalers
The wholesalers must submit schedules for the next day, compliant with the ETSO Scheduling System (ESS) format, no later than 14:30. They must submit schedules by 14:30 on the last working day before weekends and public holidays; these must be accompanied by schedules for the following working day.
The schedules are automatically read into the APCS system provided that they are correctly formatted, and are displayed in the restricted area of our website a few hours later (together with the components affected by them).
In the event of errors and corrections, schedules can also be sent after the deadline; the valid schedule is always the one with the highest version number. The final deadline for corrections to schedules is the tenth working day of the following month (last day of the subsequent data submission extension).
The wholesalers’ external schedules are reported to the control area manager (CAM) on a daily basis, no later than 14:30. The CAM transmits the data required by us on the following day.
We launch the netting process once a day, and shortly afterwards all the valid data reported to us is displayed on the clearing platform (Balancing menu item), and can be verified by market participants.
System operators
The system operators (SOs) must transmit the data specified by the Other Market Rules and the GTC BGC to APCS within eight working days of the first day of the month; the data must comply with the Metered Series Consumption (MSCONS) message format.
Correctly formatted data are automatically read into the system, and are displayed in the restricted area of our website a few hours later (under the components affected by them). We launch the netting process once a day, and shortly afterwards all the valid data reported to us is displayed on the clearing platform (Balancing menu item), and can be verified by market participants.
The procedure for rectifying any errors is the transmission of corrected data; the last mail sent always overwrites previous messages.
After the eight-day data submission deadline there is a two-day subsequent data submission extension. This is the last opportunity for corrections before the monthly clearing calculations begin.
On the 11th working day, APCS launches the first clearing round, which can take several hours. After a plausibility check, the data are forwarded to Oesterreichische Kontrollbank AG (OeKB) for invoicing. The bank immediately begins drawing up and checking the invoices, and wherever possible sends them by email to the balance group representatives (BGRs) and the SOs with their own system losses balance groups on the same day.
The invoiced amounts are directly debited from/credited to the BGRs’ and SOs’ accounts within three working days.
The BGRs and SOs have 14 days from invoice presentment to object to invoices and/or request subsequent charging. For more detailed information, please consult the GTC BGC and the annexes thereto.