Regulators everywhere are raising the bar on settlements data. Estimated consumption profiles no longer suffice, and utilities are now required to report energy usage in increasingly granular intervals. This trend is unfolding across the globe: the United States established a five-minute reporting mandate for its wholesale electricity market in 2016, Australia followed suit in 2021 and the United Kingdom is the latest to join the movement with a 30-minute reporting mandate for retail settlements as of October 2025.  

For UK utilities, this is more than just a regulatory mandate. It signals a broader shift toward modern infrastructure and advanced data management capabilities that many legacy systems weren’t designed to support. As the volume and complexity of today’s electricity data continues to grow, the need for a modern, data-driven settlement solution is growing, too. 

Understanding the Settlement Process 

In the utility industry, the settlement process is the reconciliation of electricity supply to demand—how much was generated and how much was consumed. Utilities must validate generation and consumption data against billing records and report it to the Settlement Authority, which then allocates funds to generators. This often must be done by a very strict deadline.  

While this process is straightforward in a centralized system, deregulated markets and the rise of distributed energy resources (DERs) have introduced new layers of complexity. Utilities now face the challenge of managing enormous volumes of data—both behind and in front of the meter—delivered in varying formats from diverse sources such as solar, wind virtual power plants and other DERs. 

To ensure continued regulatory compliance, utilities need technology capable of sorting, validating and reconciling data. That’s where Itron’s IEE Meter Data Management (IEE MDM) solution comes into play.  

System Consolidation Drives Settlement Efficiency 

A robust meter data management system like IEE MDM empowers utilities with reliable data collection, validation and scalability. As a globally deployed solution, it supports millions of data points and adapts to diverse market requirements. 

By taking it a step further with the IEE Settlements module, utilities can seamlessly integrate settlement operations and gain a unified view of both MDM and settlements data. This integration allows utilities to move from labor-intensive, error-prone workflows to automated, real-time data management. 

What are the benefits of an MDM for settlements?  

A scalable MDM streamlines settlements by:  

• Reducing risk with a proven, high-scale platform tailored to market needs.  
• Eliminating redundant costs from legacy systems, vendor contracts and manual workflows.  
• Automating processes such as data transfers and settlement-point modeling.  
• Simplifying compliance through standardized reporting and smoother market operator interactions.  
• Boosting efficiency by reallocating staff from manual tasks to strategic initiatives.  
• Future-proofing operations for seamless adoption of interval-based settlements across wholesale and retail markets.  
• Enabling multi-vendor support to reduce migration costs and simplify meter adoption. 

Itron’s IEE MDM has a proven track record of supporting data exchange with multiple market participants across regions including North America, the U.K., the Netherlands and Australia. It also offers market messaging capabilities for integration with country-specific national hubs, such as Dutch Nederlandse Energie Data Uitwisseling, the U.K.’s Data Integration Platform and Data Transfer Network, and Australia’s Energy Market Operator. These capabilities support the orchestration of message exchanges and their dependencies, ensuring compliance with each market’s specific requirements.  

Itron’s IEE MDM: A Modern Approach to Settlements  

The time for UK utilities to achieve data precision and operational agility is now. By adopting IEE MDM, utilities can confidently transition from outdated systems to a future-ready platform that supports regulatory compliance, operational excellence and data-driven decision-making. 

To explore how Itron can help you meet your regulatory requirements while transforming your business, read this brochure or reach out to your sales representative.