MaBiS-Hub: Central Balancing Settlement for the Power Market from 2028
The MaBiS-Hub bundles the aggregation of quarter-hourly metering data and the balancing settlement of power on a central, nationwide platform. The Bundesnetzagentur opened the procedure BK6-24-210 for it on 2 October 2024. This article explains what the MaBiS-Hub really is, how the central architecture replaces decentral settlement, how the two-block structure and the timeline to 2029 fit together, who the change affects and how grid operators, municipal utilities and balancing group managers can prepare without putting the running operation at risk.
The MaBiS-Hub is a nationwide, centrally operated platform for aggregating quarter-hourly metering data and for the balancing settlement of power. Tasks that today sit decentrally at each distribution grid operator are being centralised. The Bundesnetzagentur opened the procedure BK6-24-210 on 2 October 2024, and one driver is the pseudonymised market communication under Section 52 (3) MsbG. The procedure is split into two blocks: Block 1 (BK6-24-210-1) governs central metering data processing and pseudonymisation, Block 2 (BK6-24-210-2) governs balancing and balancing settlement. The hub is expected to be operated by the four transmission grid operators as a consortium. One point on the timeline matters: 1 April 2028 is the start of the staged introduction and migration scenario, not the go-live. The final go-live is not yet fixed, the BDEW proposes 1 October 2029, and the data protection end date is 2030. For the market roles a lot shifts: distribution grid operators lose responsibility for aggregation and settlement and mainly supply master data, while metering point operators connect directly to the hub. The new functional units are the metering data processor and the balancing and aggregation responsible party. Criticism comes from BDEW, VKU and edna: a single point of failure risk, a shifting of risk onto grid operators and a timeline rated as extremely demanding. Whoever secures data quality now, follows the procedures BK6-24-210-1 and -2 and builds the interface readiness avoids expensive parallel-operation stress.
What the MaBiS-Hub is
The MaBiS-Hub centralises balancing settlement for power. Instead of each distribution grid operator aggregating the settlement-relevant data itself, a nationwide platform will take over in future. The Bundesnetzagentur opened the procedure BK6-24-210 for it on 2 October 2024. Read correctly, the MaBiS-Hub is a platform and data topic with a multi-year migration programme, not a short-term format change.
In substance this is about the central aggregation of quarter-hourly market locations into total time series. One legal driver is Section 52 (3) MsbG, which requires pseudonymised market communication. The rebuild is closely tied to the smart meter rollout and the end of the standard load profile, with a balancing interval of 15 minutes. Operation is expected to sit with the four transmission grid operators. That shifts not just one task but the whole data architecture of balancing.
Central instead of decentral: the new architecture
The core is a shift from decentral, bilateral settlement to a central exchange. Today each grid operator communicates bilaterally via EDIFACT; in future aggregation and settlement run through the hub with a 1:1 connection for every market role. That cuts the number of connections sharply and makes the balancing data uniform across the country.
With the central platform, new functional units appear. The metering data processor (MWV) takes over the central processing of metering data, and the balancing and aggregation responsible party (BAV) takes over balancing. The connection is web service based with certificates instead of the former n:m communication. Instead of open market location IDs, pseudonymous codes run through the system, and the hub core is built modularly from aggregation, settlement and pseudonymisation.
For IT this means rebuilding the interfaces and the data logic at the same time. Whoever couples the web service based hub connection cleanly to the existing systems and provides for pseudonymisation in the data model can serve the central settlement without putting the running operation at risk. The wider format rebuild of market communication runs in parallel through the MaKo 2026 move from EDIFACT to API as its own programme.
Two blocks and the timeline to 2029
The Bundesnetzagentur has split the procedure into two blocks to stage the complexity. The timeline is tight, and the final go-live is not yet legally binding. Whoever knows the sequence can plan migration and connection cleanly, rather than putting everything on one date.
| Date | Event | Content |
|---|---|---|
| 2 October 2024 | start of procedure BK6-24-210 | BNetzA Ruling Chamber 6 opens the procedure |
| Block 1 | BK6-24-210-1 | central metering data processing and pseudonymisation |
| Block 2 | BK6-24-210-2 | balancing and balancing settlement |
| 1 April 2028 | migration scenario | start of the staged migration, not the go-live |
| 1 October 2029 | go-live (BDEW proposal) | proposed go-live, data protection end date 2030 |
The distinction between the dates matters and is often blurred in the public debate. 1 April 2028 marks the start of the introduction and migration scenario, that is the beginning of the staged change, not the go-live. The final go-live is still open in regulation. In its introduction scenario the BDEW proposes 1 October 2029, and the data protection end date under Section 52 (3) MsbG is 2030. Block 1 and Block 2 can thus be decoupled in time, which eases the consultation and the ruling for the two topics.
Who is affected: DSOs, MPOs, BGMs and suppliers
The change affects practically all market roles but shifts responsibility noticeably. Distribution grid operators lose their central aggregation role, and metering point operators deliver directly to the hub. Whoever knows their own role can prepare the right interfaces and data duties in a targeted way.
Distribution grid operators will mainly supply master data in future and lose responsibility for aggregation and settlement. Metering point operators connect directly to the hub, which raises the requirements for data quality and availability. Balancing group managers and suppliers receive faster, standardised settlement data on a quarter-hourly basis. Above all this stands one condition: the go-live presupposes nearly complete data quality, and in the BDEW introduction scenario the bar is set at nearly 100 percent.
Challenges and risks
Centralisation creates efficiency, but also new risks. An honest view has to name the concentration risk and the open governance questions, rather than selling the MaBiS-Hub only as an efficiency gain.
The central risk is a single point of failure: if the hub goes down, grid operators lack the daily aggregate data. How real this is was shown by a warning shot from live operation, because one transmission grid operator could not complete the balancing settlement on time for weeks in June 2025 due to software problems. On top of this comes the question of risk shifting: BDEW and VKU reject the idea that operating errors of the hub should be passed financially onto the grid operators. The deadline pressure is also considerable, and the BDEW itself rates the timeline as extremely demanding. edna and other associations flag open governance questions.
Watch the concentration risk: Whoever plans centralisation only as a cost advantage overlooks the flip side. A single platform bundles the balancing settlement for around 900 balancing groups. If it fails, grid operators lack the daily aggregate data, and without clear liability rules the consequences risk landing exactly with those who did not cause the error.
The MaBiS-Hub is not a pure IT project but also a governance question. As long as the sharing of liability for operating errors and the final go-live date are not fixed, grid operators and municipal utilities should actively follow the procedures BK6-24-210-1 and -2 through their associations. Clean data and stable interfaces are one half, clear rules for outages the other.
What companies should do now
The MaBiS-Hub is a multi-year programme, not a deadline project. Whoever secures data quality now and builds the interface readiness avoids expensive parallel-operation stress in the years 2028 to 2029. A regulatory rebuild then becomes a stable foundation for the further digital work in balancing.
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Follow the procedures actively and submit comments
Follow the procedures BK6-24-210-1 and -2 closely and submit comments through the associations. As long as governance, liability and the go-live date are not fixed, it pays to bring your own requirements into the consultation early, rather than accepting finished rules at the end.
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Bring data quality to nearly 100 percent
Bring master, metering and location data to a nearly complete quality. Because the go-live presupposes very high data completeness, your own data base decides whether the connection to the hub runs smoothly or ends in clarification cases.
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Prepare IT for hub communication
Prepare IT for the 1:1 hub communication and the quarter-hour logic. Web service based, certificate-backed interfaces and pseudonymisation in the data model should be tested early, so that live operation does not become the first stress test.
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Budget for parallel operation and couple it
Budget for the long parallel operation in 2028 to 2029 and couple it with the smart meter rollout. The same clean data base carries several duties and makes the investment valuable beyond a single go-live.
At heart the MaBiS-Hub is a platform and data topic with a regulatory clock. Whoever secures data quality, connects the hub interfaces early and follows the procedures actively keeps operation stable even during the migration. The same data base also carries the smart meter rollout and makes the investment valuable across several duties.
Further reading
Frequently asked questions
The MaBiS-Hub is a nationwide, centrally operated platform for aggregating quarter-hourly metering data and for the balancing settlement of power. Tasks that today sit decentrally at each distribution grid operator are being centralised. One legal driver is the pseudonymised market communication under Section 52 (3) MsbG. The BNetzA procedure BK6-24-210 sets out the details.
The Bundesnetzagentur opened the procedure BK6-24-210 on 2 October 2024. 1 April 2028 is the start of the staged introduction and migration scenario, not the go-live. The final go-live is not yet fixed in regulation. The BDEW proposes 1 October 2029, and the data protection end date is 2030.
The hub is expected to be operated by the four transmission grid operators as a consortium. The exact governance, for example how liability for operating errors is shared, is still part of the procedure and of the comments from BDEW, VKU and edna.
Distribution grid operators lose responsibility for aggregation and settlement and will mainly supply master data to the hub. Metering point operators connect directly to the hub. The new functional units are the metering data processor and the balancing and aggregation responsible party. Balancing group managers and suppliers receive standardised settlement data on a quarter-hourly basis.
The Bundesnetzagentur has split the procedure into two blocks to stage the complexity. Block 1 (BK6-24-210-1) governs central metering data processing and pseudonymisation. Block 2 (BK6-24-210-2) governs balancing and balancing settlement. This decouples the consultation and the ruling for the two topics in time.