AS4 market communication for gas

Timely changeover, low effort – with Z1 Energy

When will AS4 be introduced for gas market communication in Germany?

The changeover to AS4 in the gas sector will take place in several phases and must be completed by 01.04.2025 at the latest. Please note that the introduction of AS4 in the schedule process (due 01.12.2024) partly takes place in parallel. If you act as balance responsible party (BRP) or transmission system operator (TSO) and are affected by both process changes, we recommend early planning.

What are the tasks ahead?

Planning phase
01.04.24 – 01.08.24

Plan your internal project
Research and select a suitable AS4 solution

Test and implementation phase
01.08.24 – 30.09.24

Order AS4 certificates
Configure the AS4 solution and create market partners
Carry out internal tests (for example, integration tests with the specialist ERP/B2B application)

Transition phase/parallel operation
01.10.24 – 31.03.25

Ensure that all market partners are able to use the necessary AS4 functionality
Ensure that it is still possible to receive messages by email
Switch the transmission channel for each external market partner to AS4 (“path switch”)

Live mode
from 01.04.25

Ensure that all market participants have switched to AS4 by 01.04.2025 00:00 at the latest.
The use of email in gas market communication is no longer permitted after this time.

Maximum automation for the AS4 changeover with Z1 Energy

Automatic path switch

The changeover to AS4, also known as path switch, takes place before the first exchange of actual productive data: One market partner asks the other market partner to switch the communication channel from email to AS4. In Z1 Energy, you can configure whether this process should take place automatically for all market partners or for individual market partners. Especially if you have many external market partners, this feature can save you a lot of work during the changeover.

Automated handling of AS4 certificates

You can order AS4 certificate triples directly via Zertificon in conjunction with our Z1 Energy solution. We offer certificates issued by the registered sub-CA DARZ.CA. In addition to procurement, Z1 Energy also manages your own AS4 certificates and finds, validates, and stores the AS4 certificates of your external market partners.

Z1 Cryptographic Module – a low-cost HSM alternative

An HSM is not mandatory for everyone. If your company acts as passive external market participant, it can comply with the required security level 1 by using our significantly more cost-effective Z1 Cryptographic Module.

Connecting to your ERP/B2B applications

Our AS4 solution can be seamlessly integrated into all specialist applications (ERP, B2B). This works either via a REST API or an email interface.

AS4 schedule management with Z1 Energy

Use our AS4 solution for EDIFACT market communication (electricity and gas) via AS4, for schedule management via AS4, and for Redispatch 2.0 process data via email.

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