About VEE

As measurements are received into Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management there is a need to ensure the data is accurate, fill in any missing data with estimations, and flag any failures for review by users. The VEE (Validation, Estimation, and Editing) process is the primary method for ensuring that these objectives are met.

VEE acts as a multi-layered filtration system for IMDs. Raw data is received from the Head End as Initial Measurement Data and only clean, validated data is received on the other end in the Measurement table. The IMD has both a Pre-VEE and Post-VEE section that details any data changes made as part of VEE.

This illustration shows the Validation, Estimation, and Editing process.

Initial measurement data can come from different sources, such as a head-end system or estimation processes, or it can be manually created by a user (to override or estimate consumption). Measurement data from these different sources might use different VEE Rules. For example:

  • Initial measurements sent a head-end system might use strict VEE Rules
  • Initial measurements created by a user (to override or estimate consumption) may use less strict rules
  • Initial measurements created by the system to estimate consumption have very few (if any) VEE Rules

To assist with this need, you can define different VEE Groups for different sources of IMDs. The base package roles are:

  • Initial Load: Used for initial measurement data received from a head-end system or import process
  • Manual Override: Used for initial measurement data manually created by a user or created by the reconciliation process for scalar or subtractive interval measuring component types
  • Estimation: Used for initial measurement data estimated by the system
  • Projection: Used for "what if" services that are projecting future energy use for a measuring component

Refer to About Initial Measurement Data for additional functional information about the reconciliation process.

A measuring component's Measuring Component Type can define "fallback" VEE groups for each of these roles. In addition, an individual measuring component can specific a VEE group for each role. If the measuring component doesn't have a VEE group specified for a role, the "fallback" VEE group defined for the measuring component type is used.

The VEE process has a number of different objects that are detailed below that allow for configurability and flexibility in how the process executes.

VEE Groups

VEE groups are collections of VEE Rules that are applied to initial measurement data. During the VEE process, the system executes the VEE Rules defined in each VEE group. The rules within a VEE group are defined in a specific sequence, allowing control over the order in which the rules are executed.

VEE groups can be associated to a specific measuring component, or to a measuring component type (or both). VEE groups associated with a measuring component type are applied to all measuring components of that type, while those associated to a specific measuring component are applied only to that measuring component. VEE groups associated to a measuring component override those assigned to a measuring component type.

For information on configuration, reference the related section for Configuring VEE Groups in the Administration Guide.

VEE Rules

The specific validation and estimation processing performed on initial measurement data is defined in individual VEE Rules, each performing a specific set of targeted logic. The base product contains many VEE Rules you can use in your implementation, but you can also create your own custom VEE Rules.

Some VEE Rules generate VEE Exceptions if the initial measurement data fails the conditions specified for the rule. Other rules override measurements, changing measurement values as dictated by the rule's parameters. Some rules can both create exceptions and override the measurement as part of a single process. By convention, VEE Rules change the Post-VEE quantities of initial measurement data, but VEE Rules can change anything on an initial measurement.

For a list of validation VEE Rules, reference the About IMD Validations section. For a list of estimation VEE Rules, reference the About IMD Estimations section. For a list of general VEE Rules that handle decision-making within the VEE process, reference the Decision-making VEE Rules section.

For information on configuration, reference the related section for Configuring VEE Rules in the Administration Guide.

VEE Exceptions

Each VEE Rule defines an exception type and severity that specify how exceptions are tracked by the system. When an initial measurement fails a validation, an exception of the type specified for the failed VEE Rule is created. A single initial measurement can have multiple exceptions, one (or more) for each rule the measurement fails. This allows users to see all of the problems detected during the VEE process.

There are three levels of severity for VEE Exceptions:

  • Info: Used to highlight something interesting, but not sufficient to cause the initial measurement to be put into the Exception state. Exceptions of this category can be used to report on the frequency of interesting, but not fatal issues.
  • Issue: Used to report a problem that will prevent the initial measurement from being finalized. Multiple "issue exceptions" can be created during VEE processing. If at least one issue exists after all rules have been applied, the initial measurement is transitioned to the Exception state.
  • Terminate: Used to report a severe issue that will cause the VEE process to stop and the initial measurement to be transitioned immediately to the Exception state. Only one terminate exception can be issued (as the first one causes VEE to stop on an initial measurement).

Note that exceptions are not deleted when an initial measurement is adjusted or corrected. After any issues are corrected or the initial measurement is overridden (or manually completed), the exceptions persist in a closed state for reporting purposes.

For information on configuration, reference the related section for Configuring Exception Types in the Administration Guide.

VEE Rule Eligibility Criteria

Each VEE Rule may optionally have eligibility criteria that controls if the rule is applied. This feature can greatly reduce the number of VEE groups you need to create, because it allows a single VEE group to have conditional VEE Rules based on eligibility criteria (rather than requiring a distinct VEE group for every combination of VEE Rules). Below are a few examples of ways you can use eligibility criteria:

  • You might create a rule that compares interval consumption against related scalar consumption (such as might be the case with a device with both interval and scalar measuring components). This rule might use eligibility criteria that specifies that the rule is only applied if the initial measurement's measuring component has a corresponding scalar register measuring component.
  • You might want to have a common VEE group but only have certain rules execute to execute based on Unit of Measure. An eligibility criteria can be setup so that a VEE Rule only executed for kWh whereas is skipped for kVARh.
  • Another example might be a rule that compares the current consumption against standard consumption for measuring components of a certain type for the first six months after installation. You might create eligibility criteria that specifies that the rule is only applied if the measuring component's Device Configuration has been installed at a Service Point for less than six months.

For information on configuration, reference the related section for Configuring VEE Rules in the Administration Guide.