Definition
Settlement is the process that turns metering values into financial claims. It exists in several layers: the grid companyCompany that owns and operates electricity grids and is responsible for power supply to end users. settles grid tariffsFees charged by grid companies for electricity transport, regulated by the regulatory authority under the revenue cap system. against the end customer, the supplier settles the energy sold, and at system level the balance is settled between what each balance responsible party nominated and what was actually measured. Every layer rests on the same foundation - correct metering values on the correct metering pointThe fundamental unit in Elhub - the unique point in the electricity network where energy is measured and settled, identified by an 18-digit GSRN number., tied to the correct customer in the correct period. That is why errors in master dataThe authoritative source data in a System of Record (Master) - data owned, maintained and edited in one place, from which all other systems retrieve copies. and gaps in metering dataData from electricity meters - the foundation for billing, balance settlement and market processes in the power market. are not technical annoyances but directly financial: an address on the wrong metering point, or one missing hour, becomes an invoice that is wrong. Settlement is the end consumer of almost everything else that happens in the market processes.