Balancing

Balancing is the process by which all of the gas that has been received or delivered is accounted for. Accordingly, the amount recorded in each section of the pipeline where a measurement is taken is accounted for by the Measurement application. These sections of the pipeline can exist in reality or they can merely exist for reporting or accounting purposes.

Each of the Balancing Objects (Line Segment, Sub Region, Region, Company) can be designated as having a particular function.

Line Segments, in particular, are categorized by their Type in addition to their Balancing Category. There are three Types listed in the properties:

• Physical. The balancing object is physical: it is a real part of the pipeline that is being measured.

• Logical. This balancing object exists primarily for reporting purposes. The grouping makes it easier to gather reporting information.

• Accounting. This balancing object exists primarily for accounting purposes. The grouping makes it easier to gather accounting information.

While Line Segments are designated by both Type and Balancing Category, the other Balancing Objects (Sub Region, Region, Company) are defined by Balancing Category alone (Balancing Categories are used for reporting purposes only):

• Accounting. The object is designated as an accounting object.

• Measurement. The object is designated as a measurement object.

• Both. The object is used for both accounting and measurement purposes.

The Balancing module consists of the following main sections:

• Initial inventory settings

• Line segment summary

• Sub region summary

• Region summary

• Company summary

• Balance data

• Balance connectivity

The hierarchy moves upwards like this:

• One or more measuring stations can be connected to a line segment. The connection is not allowed if the physical station is already connected to another physical line segment with the same contribution, either positive or negative. The values associated with each measurement station connected to the line segment are summed, taking into account the connectivity contribution. This sum provides the net balance for the line segment.

• One or more line segments can be connected to a subregion. The values associated with each line segment that constitutes part of the subregion are summed, taking into account the connectivity contribution. This sum provides the net balance for the subregion.

• One or more subregions can constitute part of a region. The values associated with each subregion that constitute part of a region are summed, taking into account the connectivity contribution, and a net balance for the region is calculated.

• One or more regions can constitute part of a company. The sum of the contributing regions, taking into account the connectivity contribution, provides the net balance of the company.

To view a graphical representation of the flow of information in the balancing hierarchy, refer to Objects.

Note: While each of the Balancing Objects are interconnected, the Precision Profiles at each level (the Balance Station Profile, the Balance Line Segment Profile, the Balance Sub-Region Profile, the Balance Region Profile, the Balance Company Profile) are defined separately. They should be set to the same precision. All of the balance-level data is rounded to the number of decimals defined in the Precision Profile before they are summed. The Precision Profile used is defined at installation time, as the Balance Profile for each of the Balancing Objects has a Profile Control level of Reserved. Accordingly, in an effort to ensure that the values are rounded in the same way, the Precision Profile used throughout balancing must be consistent.