As described in an earlier blog post, "Warning: Without Gas Scheduling Software, You May Be Losing Money," the need for robust gas scheduling functionality within an ETRM solution is understood to be a necessary requirement of ETRM software.
Many ETRM/CTRM software solutions claim to support the gas scheduling function. Yet many times we find that when these solutions are implemented, this functionality is not used by the schedulers — instead, they continue to rely on spreadsheets and only update the numbers periodically within the ETRM system. Not only are there accuracy and control issues with the use of spreadsheets, but additionally, timely updates of critical information required for positions, P&L, credit, and accruals (to name a few) are not available.
So, what are the 5 must-have gas scheduling features energy companies need in an ETRM software solution?
The ETRM software should be fully integrated to include support for all of the physical transaction types that affect scheduling including physical buys/sells, transportation, storage, and interconnects, as well as components that affect volumes such as automatic loss calculations on transportation and storage activity, and unit of measure conversions between facilities and on transport where needed.
Point balances should be updated immediately when scheduled volumes are changed, transportation paths are adjusted, or injections/withdrawals are made to/from storage. While exchanges such as ICE have reduced the need to be able to enter day trades directly through the scheduling function, this is still important to see the immediate effect of trades made directly with a counterparty and, in the case of transportation for example, when negotiating interruptible transport for the next day or entering new paths/diversions.
When scheduling changes are made, the impact of these changes should be carried through the system in real-time or near real-time and reflected in position, P&L, accrual, and settlement reporting.
Gas schedulers should be able to view pipeline data as they see fit. Daily and monthly views of the schedule should be available to facilitate pipeline and point balancing. Transaction data and deal information should be included. Users should have flexibility in the way they view their balances. For example, users should be able to see balances on multiple pipelines at the same time, and be able to define logical groupings of points/meters and view the balance for the group.
The most important factor is ease of use. Schedulers cannot be switching back and forth between various screens, and they need to be able to drill down to the appropriate levels and quickly see the information needed to perform their activities. If the scheduler cannot quickly view and update volumes, they will stop using the gas scheduling functionality within the ETRM software.
The scheduling and supply chains of energy products have become increasingly complex. Today's next-generation ETRM software should be a real-time solution for gas schedulers, not an after-the-fact data repository. Give up the end-of-month data entry madness.
Unlike many of our competitors' solutions, Eka's ETRM customers are using and benefiting from the gas scheduling functionality within our platform. Eka's InSight CM - Natural Gas manages the entire lifecycle of natural gas including transaction capture, scheduling, confirmations, operations, risk management, credit, and settlement. InSight CM - Gas Scheduling supports complex scheduling using real-time balance, capacity, and transportation cost data. The platform supports extremely complicated itineraries with multiple legs across the entire pipeline network.