About Usage Transactions

Usage Calculation Group Determination

The first step in calculating the usage is to determine the usage calculation group holding the rules set used in calculating or validating the bill determinants. There are two ways of configuring the usage calculation group to use in the processing. It may be specified on the usage subscription during its creation with an effective and expiration date. If there are no usage calculation groups in effect for the usage transaction, the fallback usage calculation group specified in the usage subscription type will be used. The other way is to specify an algorithm – Determine Usage Calculation Group Override, on the usage subscription type. This option provides flexibility in cases where special or custom logic will be required to identify the usage calculation group. Base product delivered an algorithm that identifies the usage calculation group based on the rate and installed device. Additional details can be found in the Detailed Description of the D2-DRVUSGGRP Algorithm Type.

Calculation Period

Usage transaction requests must specify the date range for the usage transaction. This date range is referred to as the calculation period for the usage transaction. The dates that define the calculation period are specified by a subscribing system when it requests a usage transaction.

Multiple Device Configurations and the Calculation Period

In situations where a meter exchange has taken place at a service point, more than one device configuration can be in effect during the usage transactions cutoff period (the time period between the End Date/Time From and End Date/Time To values).

To account for this, the Meter Exchange Option on the Usage Subscription Type can be used to specify how the usage calculation should handle multiple device configurations in effect during the cutoff period. If the flag is set to 'Defer Calculation', new device configurations are excluded in the current usage transaction. If the flag is blank or set to 'Calculate Usage', new device configurations are included in the current usage transaction.

Date Breaks

As noted above, date breaks are used to break up a usage period into sub-periods based on the dates on which rate changes took place for the service point. For example, suppose a subscribing system requests usage for the month of January. The customer for this request has an interval meter, and the customer's usage is calculated by applying a TOU map to their interval consumption. The subscribing system detects that the customer's rate changed in the middle of January (on January 16) and wants the TOU consumption calculated in two "chunks" (before and after the rate change). Because the customer has an interval meter, the exact consumption amounts before and after the rate change can be precisely calculated (as opposed to calculating each period's amount by dividing the total usage by the number of days in each period).

One approach to this situation would be for the subscribing system to request two usage transactions (where each has the desired date range). Another approach is for the subscribing system to request a single usage transaction with date breaks that define the date ranges before and after the rate change. To continue the above example, a usage transaction could be created with a date break on January 16.

If a usage transaction has date break(s), the usage calculation engine segregates the usage into multiple usage periods based on the date breaks. If there are no date breaks in the usage transaction, a single usage period is created for the entire calculation period.

As of the v2.0.0 release, the only way a usage transaction can have date breaks is if the subscribing system supplies these when it requests usage (only the subscribing system knows if and when its prices and pricing rules change during the billing period). If an implementation has additional criteria that causes date breaks, these criteria can be easily added to the usage transaction's business rules.

Service Quantities

Every usage period created for a usage transaction contains one or more service quantities. Service quantities are calculated by the usage calculation group's rules specified for the usage subscription from which the usage transaction is created. For example, a usage transaction might have service quantities calculated by a single rule that applies a TOU map to the kWh channel on the device configuration installed at the service point.

Each service quantity lists details about that quantity, including a UOM (or TOU or SQI as appropriate) and a quantity. In addition, each service quantity also references the source (measuring component) of the quantities (for audit purposes).

Service Quantity Rounding

The manner in which service quantities are rounded can be defined using the SQ Rounding Details parameters. These parameters allow configuration of the method by which quanitities are rounded (Up, Down, or Nearest) and the number of decimal positions retained after rounding.

Quality Assessment for Bill Print Options

Usage transaction service quantities can also contain information about the quality of the measurements used in their calculations and other information that can be sent to an external customer information or bill print system. This information is included in both the usage transaction and its related outbound message.

Quality Assessment

The Daily Scalar Usage Calculation Rule, Get Interval Data, Get Scalar Details, and Get Time of Use Mapped Usage usage calculation rules include a "Perform Measurement Quality Assessment" option that indicates (yes or no) if the measurement conditions of the measurements used when calculating usage should be evaluated and included in the resulting usage transaction and outbound message. When enabled (set to "Yes"), the usage calculation rule algorithm evaluates the condition codes of the measurements used in the calculation to determine if they fall within a "Regular" range of conditions (this range is defined by the "Bottom Regular Condition Range" and "Top Regular Condition Range" algorithm parameters). The result of this assessment is displayed in the "Data Quality Assessment" column in the Usage Periods section which indicates if the service quantity is based on "regular" or "non- regular" data. (If the "Perform Measurement Quality Assessment" option is disabled, the "Data Quality Assessment" column displays "No Assessment Done). In addition, the "Source Measurement Quality List" column contains XML that contains a list of measurements aggregated by condition/quality.

Maximum/Minimum Dates and Times

The Get Interval Data, Get Time of Use Mapped Usage, and Vector and Service Quantity Math usage calculation rules can be configured to identify the date/time of the maximum or minimum measurement value used when calculating the service quantity. For these functions, if "Max" or "Min" is selected as the "Calculation Function" (or the "Comax" and "Comin" functions for the "Vector and Service Quantity Math" rule), the date/time of the maximum/minimum value will be included in the resulting usage transaction and outbound message. The "SQ Highlight Date/Time List" column contains XML that contains a list of maximum/minimum date/times, based on condition/quality.

Usage Transaction Export Configuration

Usage transactions can also include additional information about its related meters and service points, as well as an indication if the service quantity is based on estimated usage. The "Usage Transaction Export Configuration" master configuration is used to control the export of this data. It holds the device and service point business objects used to supply meter and service point information included in the usage transaction and outbound message.

The "Usage Transaction Export Configuration" master configuration also defines the threshold percentage above which a service quantity being exported via the usage transaction outbound message is marked as an estimate. For example, of the "Estimation Threshold Percentage" is set to 35%, any service quantity being exported that was calculated from measurements containing more than 35% estimated usage is marked "estimated".

Service Quantities for Scalar Usage

Usage transactions and service quantities for scalar usage differ in some ways from those created from interval usage. For example, suppose a subscribing system requests usage for the month of January for a customer with a scalar meter that has been exchanged mid-month. In this case, the customer's usage is calculated by finding the scalar readings in the requested period (including all meter exchanges), and the subscribing system requires a record of all scalar readings AND a total of their consumption

Scalar rules cannot use date breaks because the system doesn't store interval values so it cannot accurately compute the amount in each period. In this case, scalar usage calculation rules retrieve scalar readings for the service points linked to the usage subscription, and then creates a single usage period for the usage transaction's entire calculation period. The individual scalar readings are captured as "scalar details" in the usage transaction.

To continue the example above, there would be 2 entries in the Scalar Details, one for each meter, and a single usage period that contains the total consumption for the entire calculation period. The tables below illustrate what this might look like.

Usage Estimation

When calculating usage for monthly read scalar meter, the end read may not be available by the end of the bill cycle window. If the request indicated that estimated measurement is allowed, the Get Scalar Details usage calculation rule creates an estimated end read that will be used to calculate the scalar usage.

Calculating Usage for Items

Usage transactions can also calculate usage for items installed at service points. Usage for items is calculated through use of Get Item Counts and Consumption usage calculation rule. This rules calculate usage based on the number of items installed at each service point and the average daily service quantity defined for each item's type. The specifics of how usage is calculated for items is based on the service point category (defined on the service point type) at which the items are installed (item or multi-item).

Hypothetical Calculations - Rate Comparisons

When Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management is integrated with Oracle Utilities Customer Self Service, customers can perform rate comparison calculations to see the impact to their usage and billing charges based on a set of user-defined usage adjustments. Rate comparison usage transactions are flagged "Hypothetical Calculation" in the Calculation Mode field.

Profile Accumulation Usage Calculation Rules and Usage Adjustment Profile Factors

Rate comparison usage transactions can be created through the use of Profile Accumulation usage calculation rule. This rule combine a service point's measurements with "usage adjustment" measurements derived from measurement data for profile measuring components defined as characteristic values for one or more profile factors.

Usage adjustment profile factors are associated to usage adjustment types defined in the Usage Adjustment Type extendable lookup and rates defined in the CC&B Rate Schedule extendable lookup (this association is defined in the Self-Service Master Configuration). When the usage transaction is created, the rate determines the usage calculation group to execute and usage adjustment profile factors to include in the calculation based on the CC&B Rate Schedule extendable lookup.

Note: The Profile Accumulation usage calculation rule should be configured with eligibility criteria such that they are only executed when the Calculation Mode for the usage transaction is set to "Hypothetical Calculation" (D2HC).

Including Summary Service Quantities and Interval Data Snapshots with Usage Transactions

Usage transactions can be configured to include summary service quantities and an interval data "snapshot" along with service quantities and other information sent to external systems. This used when sending usage to a billing system that performs interval-based pricing calculations.

Only usage transactions created (in whole or in part) by either the Get Interval Data or Vector and Service Quantity Math usage calculation rules can include interval data snapshot information. These rules use the Extract Interval Data flag to indicate ("Yes" or "No") if a "snapshot" of the interval data resulting from the usage calculation rule should be sent to external systems when usage from the usage transaction is sent to external systems.

In the base package, the Usage Transaction Outbound Message (D2-UsageTranOutboundMesg) business object is used to create outbound messages containing usage transactions. This business object includes the "Build Summary SQs" (D2-BLDSUMSQ) Pre-Processing algorithm which calculates and creates the interval data snapshot and other summary service quantities.

How Summary Service Quantities and the Interval Data Snapshot is Calculated

As noted above, the "Build Summary SQs" (D2-BLDSUMSQ) algorithm builds the Summary Usage Periods List based on the usage transaction's details. For every usage period within the usage transaction:

An entry is inserted into the summary service quantity list for every distinct UOM/TOU/ SQI combination in the usage period service quantity list.

An entry is inserted into the service point service quantity list for every distinct service point ID/UOM/TOU/SQI combination in the usage period service quantity list.

Interval data for multiple service quantities are combined into a single interval data curve per UOM/TOU/SQI combination. Intervals are summarized and scaled based on a common SPI

The "Build Summary SQs" (D2-BLDSUMSQ) algorithm uses the "Target Interval Size" parameter to define the interval size of the combined curve when one or more curves are combined with different interval sizes. For example, when combining interval data with 15 minutes intervals (SPI 900) and data with 60 minute intervals (SPI 3600), a Target Interval Size of 60 minutes (SPI of 3600) would result in combined data with an interval size of 3600 (the 15 minute intervals would be scaled up to 60 minute intervals before being combined with the 60 minute interval data).

Refer to About Usage Calculation for a broader functional view of the overall process. For information on how to configure the request and response process for Usage Transactions, reference the Integrating Usage Transactions section of the Admin Guide.