A gas wholesaler buys on the market or from other operators and sells on at the REMIs to sales companies. Between purchase and invoice lies logistics: master data, volumes, nominations, settlement. Here is how it works, step by step.
A wholesaler's gas logistics is the process that links what it buys to what it sells on: REMI and PDR master data, volumes from the SII and transmission operators, capacity and nominations, through to settlement and invoicing the sales companies. Every month the wholesaler has to rebuild the physical and financial position of its supplies and turn it into correct invoices for its customers, the UdDs.
Who does what in the gas supply chain
The wholesaler, often also a balancing user (UdB), buys gas on the market or from other operators and sells it on at the REMIs to sales companies, which may belong to its group or be third parties. The sales companies, acting as distribution users (UdD), serve end customers. Data flows between these parties: the Integrated Information System (SII) for master data and metering of supply points, SNAM and the other transmission system operators (TSOs) for volumes and capacity on the transmission network.
The wholesaler's work lies in reconciling these sources, which publish different data at different times, and turning them into procurement decisions and invoices.
REMI and PDR: the master data behind everything
The REMI is the point where gas passes from the transmission network to the local distribution network. The PDR is the delivery point at the end customer's premises. Every contract with a sales company relates to one or more REMIs and the PDRs downstream of them, and everything else depends on this master data: how much gas is needed, where to deliver it, whom to invoice.
Master data changes constantly, with activations, terminations and supplier switches. Keeping it aligned with the SII is the first condition for reliable volumes and invoices.
Volumes: contractual, forecast and actual
The same point has several figures. The contractual volume states what was agreed; the forecast volume is used for procurement; the actual volume, expressed in Smc and published by the SII and TSOs, is the basis for settlement. Adjustments and the gross calorific value (PCS), which links volumes to the energy content of the gas, complicate the picture.
The job of logistics is to build, at any given moment, the best available figure: the most reliable for deciding how much to buy and the most accurate for invoicing. Quality checks and anomaly alerts stop an error in a file from reaching the invoice.
Daily capacity and Edig@s nominations
Bringing gas to the REMIs requires capacity on the transmission network, and the expected quantities must be communicated to the transmission operator through nominations. The exchange takes place via the Edig@s protocol, the industry standard for messages between operators. Nominations depend on available daily capacity and forecast volumes: a wrong starting figure translates into schedules to correct and balancing costs.
Settlement: from volumes to value
Settlement puts a value on what logistics has handled. Volumes become commodity value and charges according to the contracts' price formulas: indices, market quotations, fixed and variable components. Alongside the sales contracts are the purchase contracts, on the market or with other balancing users, and comparing the two gives the open position, that is, how much gas is still to be bought or placed. It is this information that drives the procurement strategy. Since the portfolio's value changes with quotations, it pays to update them regularly and set alerts that flag when the position moves away from expected limits.
Invoicing the UdDs
The invoice to the sales company is the document that brings logistics and settlement together: volumes by REMI and by PDR, prices, tariffs, fixed and variable charges and the penalties set out in the contract. Calculation methods may vary from contract to contract, and the required granularity can go down to a single day for each PDR. On the other side, the wholesaler has to check the incoming invoices it receives from its suppliers. Cross-checking invoices, volumes and settlement reduces adjustments in the following months and disputes with counterparties.
Why spreadsheets are no longer enough
Many wholesalers still handle these steps with files and procedures built up over time. They work while the portfolio is stable, but every new UdD, every regulatory change and every update to the Authority's tariffs requires manual work. The process depends on the knowledge of a few people and the month-end close gets longer. A dedicated system makes the process automatic and traceable, and makes it possible to serve more UdDs without increasing the effort.
How MAS does it: LAGO Suite
LAGO Suite, the MAS suite for gas logistics, settlement and billing, covers the process in a single vertical solution, available in the cloud as SaaS. LAGO, the software for gas contract logistics, automatically loads master data and volumes from SII, SNAM and other TSOs, manages daily capacity and nominations via Edig@s, values the portfolio and generates invoices to the UdDs with selectable calculation methods, while the MAS Watch module regularly checks data quality.
LAGO Vendita, for gas purchase and sale contracts, manages price formulas, indices and quotations, green gas contracts included, and calculates the open position that drives procurement. Gas offers accepted in QUE MAS go straight into LAGO, and forecast volumes can come from FAST, which we covered in our article on FAST NOVA and multi-model energy forecasting. To see LAGO on your contracts, request a demo.
Frequently asked questions
What is meant by gas logistics?
The set of processes through which a wholesaler or balancing user keeps its portfolio under control: which supply points it serves, under which REMIs, how much they consume, and what capacity and nominations are needed to supply them.
What is the difference between a REMI and a PDR?
The REMI is the delivery point where gas passes from the transmission network to the local distribution network; the PDR is the delivery point at the end customer's premises. Each REMI has the PDRs downstream of it.
What are Edig@s nominations?
They are the daily gas schedules sent to the transmission operator via the Edig@s protocol, the industry's data exchange standard. They are based on available capacity and forecast volumes.
What is gas settlement for a wholesaler?
It is the valuation of what logistics has handled: volumes become commodity value and charges, according to the price formulas, indices and tariffs set out in the contracts.
How is gas invoiced to the UdDs?
The wholesaler issues invoices to the sales companies, the UdDs, combining logistics volumes and settlement values with the tariffs, fixed and variable charges and penalties set out in the contract.
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