Utilities Offering Electronic Data Interchange to Commercial Customers

See below for a list of utilities that offer Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) to commercial customers, including the required payment and file formats.

Source: Xebec Data as well as primary research with individual utilities is the source for the information in this table; the chart may not be comprehensive.

1) Where available, utility EDI web links are embedded in the utility's name.

2) EDI 820 is the file format for transferring information related to payment remittance. Information embedded in this file is often bundled with an Automated Clearing House (ACH) payment made by customers to their vendors. The information provided in an 820 document includes payer and payee identification, bank and account IDs, invoice numbers, adjustments from an invoice, and billed and paid amounts. This information allows the vendor to reconcile payments they receive against invoices they have issued. Utilities that require EDI 820 require that their customers remit payments using an EDI 820 formatted file.

3) Data-file delivery can occur through the Value Added Network (VAN), which is a service that acts as a virtual mailbox where the EDI data file is deposited by a utility and retrieved by the customer. Alternatively, files can be sent using a File Transfer Protocol (FTP), which is a standard network protocol used to transfer files from one host to another over the Internet.

4) The Gas Industries Standards Board (GISB) adopted a distinct file transfer protocol (FF/EDM) that allows for the transmission of data files.

5) These utilities transfer bill data using a "flat file," which is distinct from EDI and is an alternative mechanism for transferring utility-bill data electronically via a plain text file.