[September 05, 2000] In August 2000, the XML-based PIPE Specification was updated to version 3.0 and posted to XML-PIPE.org; a full set of XML sample files and W3C XML schemas now support this specification. PIPE (Partner Interface Processes for Energy) "is a set of XML documents with supporting schemas designed for electronic business to business (B2B) transactions." The PIPE specification documents have been developed by sponsor members of XML-PIPE.ORG (currently Keane, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Excelergy), which is a "member sponsored organization established to further the development and acceptance of PIPE in the retail energy industry." Background: "Many states have followed the lead of Pennsylvania and adopted EDI (Electronic Data Interchange), a set of electronic business transactions (EBTs) developed by the Utility Industry Group (UIG) and other participating standards groups. While EDI has worked effectively to date, the costs associated with implementing, supporting, and transmitting EDI have proven to be expensive when compared with the promises of XML based PIPE. Trading partners and others need a common set of B2B transactions using a common set of schemas to send, receive, and process transactions efficiently. PIPE contains many common transaction schemas necessary to perform these electronic business transactions (EBTs). Trading partners in the deregulated energy industry who would benefit from the use of PIPE include: (1) LDCs [Local Distribution Companies]; (2) ESPs [Energy Service Providers]; (3) MSPs [Meter Service Providers]; (4) MDMA [Meter Data Management Agents]. XML-PIPE.ORG will enlist interested stakeholders in the retail energy industry to: (1) facilitate PIPE's momentum by developing and testing all necessary XML based B2B transaction sets for the retail energy sector; (2) promote the use of XML and PIPE as a necessary, efficient, and cost effective standard for industry stakeholders; (3) work with state utility commissions and their 'standards advisory groups' to approve and support PIPE standards for trading partners; (4) establish a working group to maintain the PIPE standards as necessary to ensure that PIPE's structures and schemas continue to meet the needs of all its trading partners." The 'PIPE Framework' package in the XML-PIPE.ORG library contains the schemas, XML sample files and transaction descriptions. Use the tree structure to view the individual Partner Interface Process (PIP) transaction components. The 'PIPE Download' contains the PIPE download including detailed information about the PIPE framework, schemas and sample XML files. The The XML for Retail Energy Transactions white paper introduces a framework of business-to-business (B2B) electronic transactions using XML in the deregulated retail energy industry. It was first published in November of 1999. The Appendix has been updated as of August 2000 to reflect the evolution of the PIPE framework since the initial white paper release."
[August 09, 2000] PIPE is a development initiative sponsored by Excelergy Corporation. Excelergy Corporation is "a leading provider of web-enabled application and transaction services for the deregulating retail energy industry. [...] "Excelergy believes that XML can improve the competitive landscape within retail energy markets by lowering the barrier of entry to new competitors and unlocking the data contained in legacy customer systems. Retail energy transactions among trading partners are complex and data-intensive. Today, EDI (electronic data interchange) is the primary method for exchanging retail transaction information. Unfortunately, EDI does not give Energy Service Providers (ESP's) and Local Distribution Companies (LDC's) a single set of procedures for determining who gets what customer and billing information, in what format and in what time period. The large degree of options available within the EDI standards results in increased complexity. XML, by its nature, provides a means to simplify the exchange of information in the retail energy sector."
PIPE (Partner Interface Processes for Energy) is "an XML-based messaging protocol for the exchange of transactions among trading partners in the retail energy industry. PIPE defines the format, content, and method of the transaction exchange; along with the roles and responsibilities of the trading partners involved with that exchange. PIPE also provides support for managing and tracking the exchange. We anticipate this to be the first of several releases that will form the foundation for a set of XML standards for the retail energy industry. While many of the activities here relate to the UIG-EDI standard transaction sets, subsequent XML standards will include activities not explicitly covered by EDI such as Customer Acquisition , Partner Maintenance, and Invoice Presentment." [PIPE Framework document]
"PIPE is a messaging format which addresses the need to be able to exchange transactions over the Internet (or private networks) as well as the content and structure of the transactions. The messaging protocol is basic and easily implemented in almost any networked environment. The message format is partitioned to allow subject areas to be implemented independently. In both cases the use of XML makes implementation easier and includes validation of messages and data."
"PIPE provides a structure to allow the exchange of PIPE Functional Acknowledgment and PIPE Document messages between trading partners. PIPE Functional Acknowledgment: The PIPE functional acknowledgment message will be used as the communication vehicle between the receiver of a PIPE document and the sender of such document. The functional acknowledgment "FA" is similar in function to the EDI 997 Functional Acknowledgment transaction set. The FA communicates the receipt of a PIPE document, indicates the validity of the document's reference number, and posts the results of a syntactical analysis of the document content. The FA provides status details at the PIPE document and PIP transaction level. PIPE Document: This PIPE document message will be used as the communication vehicle between sender and recipient of business data. This message will contain a trading partner directory and a PIP transaction. The trading partner directory defines all trading partners within the entire message. The sender tag is used to identify the sender of the document. The recipient tag is used to identify the intended recipient, and the third parties tag is used to identify any third parties within the message. The PIP transaction will include several Utility domain business data transaction sets. The Customer Identification tag will uniquely identify a customer associated to a trading partner.
[Background]: "The need for seamless and efficient communication among energy participants in the New Energy Economy has created innovations and the employment of new technology such as eXtensible Markup Language (XML). Excelergy is the first company to introduce XML standards for the deregulated retail energy industry. PIPE 2.0 (Partner Interface Process for Energy) is Excelergy's contribution in support of this Internet-based New Energy Economy. This XML standard business library is highlighted in the paper, "XML for Retail Energy Transactions: A White Paper." Both the White Paper and PIPE 2.0 are available for download."
References:
PIPE Library. "The 'PIPE Framework' package contains the schemas, XML sample files and transaction descriptions. Use the tree structure to view the individual Partner Interface Process (PIP) transaction components. The 'PIPE Download' contains the PIPE download including detailed information about the PIPE framework, schemas and sample XML files. The The XML for Retail Energy Transactions white paper introduces a framework of business-to-business (B2B) electronic transactions using XML in the deregulated retail energy industry. It was first published in November of 1999. The Appendix has been updated as of August 2000 to reflect the evolution of the PIPE framework since the initial white paper release."
PIPE Version '2.0' and XML Whitepaper - Download. February, 2000. The PIPE 2.0 package contains some ninety-one (91) files, including several with documentation (overview, data dictionaries) and many with the XML schema and XML sample documents illustrating the use of this business library. The whitepaper supplies an overview of issues germane to 'XML for Retail Energy Transactions' (45 pages), complete with samples and the 'PIPE.DTD'. [PIPE 2.0, cache] and [Excelergy XML White paper]
Contact: Questions@XML-PIPE.ORG
