Do I need two BRP registrations?

Yes. TenneT recognises you as a BRP in the Netherlands; in Germany you sign a Bilanzkreisvertrag with each transmission system operator whose control area you operate in.

Why is the German data exchange so different?

Germany standardised on EDIFACT messages over AS4, with format versions that change every 1 April and 1 October. The Netherlands uses XML over TenneT's MMC-hub.

How often is imbalance settled?

Per quarter hour in both countries. TenneT sends daily imbalance overviews and invoices weekly; the German TSOs settle balancing groups monthly.

Knowledge

What does a BRP operating in the Netherlands and Germany need from one platform?

Q: What is an IT carrier?

TenneT's term for a company that exchanges the messages with TenneT on a BRP's behalf. The BRP stays responsible for the data.

Short answer: The two markets share the EU rules and little else. The Netherlands has one TSO, an energy programme before 14:30, XML over TenneT's MMC-hub and daily imbalance overviews. Germany has four control areas, quarter-hourly schedules, EDIFACT over AS4 with new format versions every April and October, and a monthly balancing group settlement. A platform earns its place when it hides those differences behind one API and one operating picture, and keeps up with both regulators' changes without a project on your side.

Last updated: 5 October 2026 Author: Rainer Notter, Product Director at Engrate.

The two markets side by side

	Netherlands	Germany
Role	Balanceringsverantwoordelijke, recognised by TenneT and listed in its register (Systeemcode elektriciteit 2026, articles 10.2 and 10.3)	Bilanzkreisverantwortlicher, with a Bilanzkreisvertrag per control area; the TSOs consult the contract with the market under article 10 of the electricity balancing guideline
Transmission system operators	TenneT	50Hertz, Amprion, TenneT, TransnetBW
Nomination	Energy programme before 14:30 for the next day (article 10.12)	Schedules (Fahrpläne) per quarter hour to each TSO
Data exchange	XML over the MMC-hub	EDIFACT messages such as UTILMD and MSCONS over AS4; format versions each 1 April and 1 October
Imbalance data	Overviews on the first, fifth and tenth working day after each delivery day (article 10.24)	MaBiS time series from each grid operator and the TSO's monthly settlement
Settlement	Weekly imbalance invoice; reconciliation of profiled connections in month M+5 (article 10.26)	Monthly Bilanzkreisabrechnung with Ausgleichsenergie per quarter hour
Financial security	Minimum EUR 96,000 at TenneT, recalculated every six weeks	Sized by each TSO from the expected imbalance
Settlement period	15 minutes	15 minutes

The Dutch side in detail: become a BRP in the Netherlands and TenneT imbalance settlement and reconciliation. The German side, in German: Bilanzkreisverantwortlicher werden, Marktkommunikation erklärt and Bilanzkreisabrechnung nach MaBiS.

What API-first has to mean here

One model for both countries. Positions, portfolios and time series per quarter hour, with the country as an attribute, not as a second product.
Nominations both ways. The energy programme to TenneT, schedules to each German TSO, with their acknowledgements, mismatch reports and corrections surfaced as events your systems can act on.
Settlement data in. TenneT's daily overviews and the grid operators' allocation data; the MaBiS time series and the monthly settlement in Germany, matched against your own position.
Master data. Dutch allocation points and EAN codes; German Marktlokationen, UTILMD processes and balancing group assignments.
Formats and transport as the platform's problem. AS4 certificates and the two German format changes a year; TenneT's MMC-hub certificates and process changes. Your API does not change when they do.
Monitoring in one place. Rejections per counterparty, missing data and deadlines, for both countries on one screen.
The roles you need. BRP in both countries; supplier and direct marketer in Germany if you hold those roles too.

Questions to ask a vendor

Which processes are live in each country today, and for which roles?
Who runs TenneT's qualification scenarios and the German communication tests, you or the vendor?
How did the last German format change go, and how many changes did it cause on customers' side?
Is the unit of the API a message or a position?
Is it one contract and one service level for both countries?

How Engrate does it

Engrate runs both markets on one platform and one REST API: as a registered IT carrier on TenneT's MMC-hub in the Netherlands, and with market communication, schedules and MaBiS data in Germany. Format versions and certificates are handled centrally, and the API does not change with them. More on the product: Energy Market Communication. What an IT carrier does: What is an IT carrier for TenneT?