Overview
The MSCONS (Metered Services Consumption Report) message is a specialized EDIFACT message designed for the energy and utilities sector. It communicates metered consumption data — meter readings, consumption quantities, and load profiles — between the various participants in a deregulated energy market, such as distribution network operators, energy suppliers, metering service providers, and balance responsible parties.
In liberalized energy markets across Europe and other regions, the physical delivery of electricity or gas is separated from the commercial supply. A consumer buys energy from their chosen supplier, but the energy is delivered through the network operator's infrastructure. This separation creates a need for standardized data exchange about how much energy each consumer actually used, so that costs can be correctly allocated and billed. MSCONS is the message that carries this critical metering data.
The MSCONS message is widely adopted in European energy markets, particularly in Germany (where EDIFACT-based market communication is mandatory), Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Scandinavian countries. It is a key component of the market communication framework that enables supplier switching, network billing, and balancing settlement.
Message Structure
The MSCONS message identifies the metering point (the physical location where consumption is measured), the time period, and the consumption data. For simple meters, this is a pair of readings (start and end). For smart meters and load-profile meters, it includes interval data — consumption values for each 15-minute, 30-minute, or hourly interval over the reporting period.
Key Segments
| Segment | Name | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
BGM | Beginning of Message | Message type and function (meter reading, consumption report, correction) |
DTM | Date/Time/Period | Report creation date, metering period |
RFF | Reference | Reference to previous reports (for corrections), contract reference |
NAD | Name and Address | Message sender, recipient, metering point operator, energy supplier, network operator |
LOC | Place/Location | Metering point identification (e.g., MaLo-ID in Germany) |
CCI | Characteristic/Class ID | Type of measured quantity (active energy, reactive energy, power) |
DTM | Date/Time (detail) | Meter reading date/time, interval start/end times |
QTY | Quantity | Meter reading values, consumption quantities per interval |
STS | Status | Reading quality status (actual, estimated, substituted, provisional) |
Types of Metering Data
MSCONS handles several distinct types of metering information:
- Register readings: Cumulative meter register values at a point in time (e.g., meter reads 45,230 kWh on March 1). The difference between two readings gives the consumption for the period.
- Consumption values: Calculated consumption for a period (e.g., 1,200 kWh consumed in February). This is derived from register readings and communicated directly.
- Load profiles: Time-series data with consumption values for each interval (e.g., 15-minute intervals over a month, yielding 2,880 data points for electricity). Used for large consumers and smart meters.
- Maximum demand: The peak power demand recorded during the billing period, used for demand charges in commercial tariffs.
Data Quality Indicators
Each reading or consumption value in MSCONS carries a quality status indicator:
- Actual: Based on a real meter reading, either manual or remote.
- Estimated: No reading was available; the value is estimated based on historical consumption patterns.
- Substituted: The actual reading was invalid or missing and has been replaced with a calculated substitute value.
- Provisional: The value is preliminary and may be corrected in a subsequent MSCONS message.
Common Use Cases
- Monthly billing data: Network operators send MSCONS with consumption data to energy suppliers, who use it to calculate customer bills.
- Supplier switching: When a consumer switches energy supplier, MSCONS communicates the meter reading at the switch date to both the old and new supplier for pro-rata billing.
- Balancing settlement: Transmission system operators use aggregated MSCONS data to calculate imbalances between contracted and actual energy volumes, settling differences financially.
- Smart meter rollout: As smart meters replace conventional meters, MSCONS volume increases dramatically — from monthly readings to daily 15-minute interval profiles for millions of metering points.
- Correction and dispute resolution: When meter readings are corrected (e.g., after discovering a faulty meter), updated MSCONS messages replace the original data, triggering billing adjustments.
Example Snippet
UNH+1+MSCONS:D:04B:UN:2.3a'
BGM+7+MSCONS-2024-03150001+9'
DTM+137:202403150800:203'
NAD+MS+9900123456789::293'
NAD+MR+9900987654321::293'
LOC+172+DE00014545768S0000000000000003054'
DTM+163:202403010000:203'
DTM+164:202404010000:203'
CCI+++E02'
QTY+220:1247.5:KWH'
STS++7'
UNT+11+1'Implementation Considerations
MSCONS implementations are heavily regulated by national energy market rules. In Germany, the BDEW (German Association of Energy and Water Industries) publishes detailed implementation guides that specify exactly how MSCONS must be structured for the German market. Similar national guidelines exist in other countries. Always base your implementation on the applicable national market communication rules, not just the generic EDIFACT standard.
Volume is a major consideration. A network operator with hundreds of thousands of metering points generates millions of MSCONS messages annually. For smart meter data with 15-minute intervals, the data volume multiplies further. Ensure your EDI infrastructure can handle the throughput requirements, particularly at month-end when billing data is typically exchanged in bulk.
Data validation is critical because metering errors propagate through billing, settlement, and financial reporting. Implement plausibility checks on received MSCONS data — compare consumption values against historical ranges, flag negative consumption, detect implausible spikes, and verify that meter readings are monotonically increasing for cumulative registers.