Meter Fault Notification

For a Provide Meter Fault Notification (MFN) bulk upload, the contents of every line in the CSV file must use the following format:

<nmi>, <date_identified>, <start_date>, <start_time>, <end_date>, <duration>, <supply_on>, <supply_off>, <reason_for_notice>, <notes>, <meter_number>, <initiator>, <recipient>

Note:  No header row is required for the MFN CSV file.

Field Format Mandatory Definition
nmi Text (10 characters) Yes NMI for the connection point (meter) where the meter exchange is planned to occur, excluding the checksum.
date_identified DD/MM/YYYY Yes The date the meter fault was identified.
start_date DD/MM/YYYY No Intended exchange date if the Initiator is intending to offer a meter exchange service.
start_time   No Intended exchange time window if the Initiator is intending to offer a meter exchange service.
end_date DD/MM/YYYY No End of the proposed exchange window if the Initiator is intending to offer a meter exchange service.
duration HH:MM No Duration of the Meter Exchange for that NMI. Maximum value: "23:59"
supply_on Y or N Yes Y or N indicating if supply in On or Off. This field is not case sensitive
supply_off Text Yes/No Mandatory when Supply On is "N". This field should not be populated if Supply On is "Y".
reason_for_notice Text Yes The reason why the MFN has been raised
notes Text (200 characters) Yes/No Mandatory if Reason for Notice is "Other".
meter_number Text No The meter number as recorded in IEE (including leading zeroes if any). This is an alpha-numeric field – not mandatory. This field can contain one or more meter number, space separated.
initiator Text Yes Specifies the Participant ID of the initiator of the MFN.
recipient Text No Specifies the Participant ID of the recipient of the MFN. If left blank, MTS will send the MFN to the current FRMP.

MTS will apply the following validation rules to the entire file. If any of these conditions are met, the entire file will be rejected. In the case of multiple errors, only the first one encountered is reported.

Order Validation Description Message
1 Too many columns A row has too many columns specified. Too many columns (i.e. extra commas)
2 Too few columns A row does not have enough columns specified. Too few columns
3 Too many rows The file has more than 1000 rows. Too many rows (> 1000)

MTS will apply the following validation rules to each record in the file. If any of these conditions are met, the row will be skipped and an error reported. If there are multiple errors identified with a row, only the first one encountered is reported.

Validation Description Message
Mandatory NMI field not supplied The mandatory "NMI" field is missing in any row NMI must be entered
Mandatory field not supplied A mandatory field (Date Identified, SupplyOn, Reason for Notice, Initiator) is missing in any row Mandatory field <field name> missing for NMI <NMI>
Supply Off not provided Supply Off is missing on a row where Supply On = "N" Supply Off is missing for NMI <NMI>
Supply On/Off unclear Supply Off is populated and Supply On = "Y" Supply Off Reason is populated but Supply On is "On" for NMI <NMI>
Notes not provided Notes is missing on a row where Reason for Notice = "Other" Notes is missing for NMI <NMI>
Invalid NMI Does not match a NMI in MTS NMI <NMI> does not exist in MTS
Abolished NMI NMI is marked as Abolished in MTS (use current NMI status) NMI <NMI> is abolished in MTS
NMI without FRMP NMI does not have a current - not end-dated - FRMP NMI <NMI> does not have a current FRMP in MTS
Invalid Date Identified Not a valid date, or date < current date Date Identified not a valid date for NMI <NMI>
Invalid Start Date Not empty and either not a valid date, or date < current date Start Date not a valid date for NMI <NMI>
Invalid Start Time Not empty and not "HH:MM:SS": format, assumed to be in Eastern Standard Time Start Time not a valid format for NMI <NMI>
Invalid End Date Not empty and either not a valid date, or date <= "Start Date" End Date not a valid date for NMI <NMI>
Invalid Duration Not empty and not "HH:MM": format Duration not a valid format for NMI <NMI>
Invalid Supply On Not one of "Y" or "N" Invalid ‘Supply On’ for NMI <NMI>
Invalid Supply Off Not one of the valid Supply Off reasons:
  • Remove Fuse
  • Remote
  • Local Meter Disconnection
  • Pillar-Box Pit Or Pole-Top
Invalid ‘Supply Off’ for NMI <NMI>
Invalid Reason for Notice Not one of the valid Reasons for Notice:
  • Meter Family Failure
  • Accuracy Failure
  • Timeswitch/Controlled Load Failure
  • Contactor Failure
  • No Display
  • Communication Failure
  • Meter Verification
  • Malfunction
  • Area Event
  • Metrology Threshold Breach
  • Meter Bypassed
  • Physical Damage
  • Theft/Tampering
  • Other
Invalid ‘Reason for Notice’ for NMI <NMI>
Notes too long > 200 characters Notes too long for NMI <NMI>
Invalid Meter Number One of the meters specified does not match the meters currently attached to the NMI Meter <Meter Number> invalid for NMI <NMI>
Duplicate NMIs Two rows contain the same NMI Duplicated data provided for NMI <NMI>
Duplicate meters Two rows contain the same Meter Number Duplicated data provided for Meter Number <Meter Number>
Invalid Initiator Participant ID does not match a Participant ID the business uses to fill one of the following roles: LNSP, MPB or MC Invalid Initiator – Participant ID does not match business’ LNSP, MPB or MC role
Invalid Recipient Participant ID does not match a valid FRMP or LR participant in the market Invalid Recipient – Participant ID does not match a FRMP or LR

Note:  MTS will remove any leading and trailing white space characters from each field when parsing the CSV file. Therefore, any mandatory field for which only white space characters are supplied is considered missing.