Description
We have identified a data quality / standards interpretation issue for electricity plans with demand charges.
For an Ausgrid NSW business demand plan, the plan is identifiable as a Demand plan and contains demand pricing, but the machine-readable demand time window is not populated in a usable structured form. In the affected case, the structured demand window fields are effectively empty or unusable:
days = []
startTime / endTime = 0 / 0 or equivalent empty values
The affected plan observed in testing is:
- Retailer: ENGIE
- Plan:
NSW -ENGIE Business NRMA elec
- Energy plan code:
ENG862819MBE1@EME
- Network: Ausgrid
- Rate type: Demand
The issue is not that demand tariffs cannot be calculated in principle. Other Demand plans with populated structured demand windows can be interpreted. The problem is that this Demand plan does not expose the demand window in a machine-readable way, so downstream participants cannot reliably determine when the demand charge applies.
Intention and Value of Change
The intended benefit is to make demand tariffs machine-readable and comparable across CDR participants.
Demand charges are material for business electricity customers. If a demand tariff has a price but does not provide a usable structured demand window, data recipients cannot accurately calculate or compare the plan. This can lead to misleading comparison outcomes, including plans appearing cheaper because the demand component cannot be applied.
Clarifying the required structured representation for demand windows would benefit:
- consumers, by improving the accuracy of business electricity plan comparison;
- data recipients, by reducing the need to parse free-text descriptions or apply retailer-specific exceptions;
- data holders, by clarifying the expected representation of demand charge applicability; and
- the CDR ecosystem, by improving interoperability for complex energy tariffs.
Area Affected
Energy product reference data, specifically the generic energy plan detail data model for electricity plans with demand charges.
Relevant standard areas appear to include:
- Energy APIs:
Get Generic Plans
- Energy APIs:
Get Generic Plan Detail
- Schemas for energy plan detail / contract / tariff period data
demandCharges within the tariff period structure, including:
amountmeasureUnitstartTimeendTimedaysmeasurementPeriodchargePeriod
Change Proposed
Please clarify or amend the standards so that, where an electricity plan includes a demand charge that applies only during a specific time window, the applicable demand window must be provided in structured fields rather than only in unstructured description text.
Description
We have identified a data quality / standards interpretation issue for electricity plans with demand charges.
For an Ausgrid NSW business demand plan, the plan is identifiable as a Demand plan and contains demand pricing, but the machine-readable demand time window is not populated in a usable structured form. In the affected case, the structured demand window fields are effectively empty or unusable:
The affected plan observed in testing is:
NSW -ENGIE Business NRMA elecENG862819MBE1@EMEThe issue is not that demand tariffs cannot be calculated in principle. Other Demand plans with populated structured demand windows can be interpreted. The problem is that this Demand plan does not expose the demand window in a machine-readable way, so downstream participants cannot reliably determine when the demand charge applies.
Intention and Value of Change
The intended benefit is to make demand tariffs machine-readable and comparable across CDR participants.
Demand charges are material for business electricity customers. If a demand tariff has a price but does not provide a usable structured demand window, data recipients cannot accurately calculate or compare the plan. This can lead to misleading comparison outcomes, including plans appearing cheaper because the demand component cannot be applied.
Clarifying the required structured representation for demand windows would benefit:
Area Affected
Energy product reference data, specifically the generic energy plan detail data model for electricity plans with demand charges.
Relevant standard areas appear to include:
Get Generic PlansGet Generic Plan DetaildemandChargeswithin the tariff period structure, including:amountmeasureUnitstartTimeendTimedaysmeasurementPeriodchargePeriodChange Proposed
Please clarify or amend the standards so that, where an electricity plan includes a demand charge that applies only during a specific time window, the applicable demand window must be provided in structured fields rather than only in unstructured description text.