Definition
EDIFACTElectronic Data Interchange For Administration, Commerce and Transport - UN standard for electronic data exchange. is not one format but a catalogue. Each message typeSpecific type of Ediel message with a defined format and business process in Elhub. has its own structure, its own set of segments and its own implementation guide, and every name is exactly six characters. That is why they look the way they do: UTILMD is utilities 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., INVOIC is invoice, DELFOR is delivery forecast. The names were cut to six characters because the catalogue was built when characters cost money.
These are the ones in use in the Nordic power sector:
MSCONSEDIFACT message format for exchange of metering data in the electricity market - used in Elhub to transmit hourly, daily and monthly values between market participants. carries metering values, meaning consumption and production per 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.. UTILTS carries time seriesMeasurements of the same quantity repeated over time. The order and the timestamp are part of the data, not decoration.. UTILMD carries master data about metering points and customer relationships, and is the one used for supplier switches and moves. INVOIC is an invoice. PRODAT is product data. DELFOR is a delivery schedule. REQDOC is a request for a document.
The last two are not business messages at all, and they are worth separating from the rest. CONTRL is a technical receipt: it says the message arrived and that the syntax held. APERAK is an application-level acknowledgement: it says the system on the other side actually managed to process the content, or why it could not.
The distinction matters in practice. A message can receive a clean CONTRL and still be rejected by the recipient's business system. If you only ever get CONTRL and never APERAK, you know the message was delivered but not that it was used.