Xoserve
What is Xoserve?
Most UK business gas customers have never heard of Xoserve. Look behind any gas bill though and Xoserve is the system that made the bill possible. Xoserve is the Central Data Services Provider (CDSP) for the UK gas industry. It runs the central register of every gas meter point in Great Britain, manages the data flows between shippers, transporters, and suppliers, calculates the Annual Quantity (AQ) for each meter every year, and handles the central plumbing that lets a customer switch supplier or move premises without anyone losing track of which gas is going where. It is owned by the four UK Gas Distribution Networks and operates under licence as a regulated industry service.
Xoserve is part of the back-office plumbing behind every business gas supply in Great Britain. Most businesses never deal with them directly, but every gas meter sits in their database.
On this page
Xoserve sits at the centre of the UK gas industry data web. It is invisible to most customers, indispensable to the industry. Understanding what Xoserve does matters when you are reading the small print of a gas bill, querying an AQ correction, or planning a change of tenancy that needs to propagate cleanly through the supply chain.
What Xoserve does
Xoserve runs the central administrative plumbing of the UK gas industry.
- Maintains the central register of every gas meter point (MPRN) in Great Britain.
- Calculates and publishes the Annual Quantity (AQ) for each meter each year.
- Processes change-of-supplier requests across the industry.
- Handles meter-point creation, abolition, and change of category.
- Runs the data flows that feed daily settlement between shippers and the gas transporter.
- Provides industry-standard data services that all licensed parties can call on.
None of this is customer-facing. All of it is essential to the gas supply chain functioning.
The role of the Central Data Services Provider
The CDSP role was created when Great Britain’s gas industry was restructured to separate transportation from supply.
- Many shippers and suppliers needed to interact with shared meter and consumption data.
- Multiple gas transporters needed a single counterparty for settlement and balancing.
- A common register of every meter point was needed to support customer switching.
Rather than each party building its own systems, the industry pools the work in a single regulated provider. Xoserve was created to fill that role and continues to do it under licence today.
Core services Xoserve provides
| Service | What it does |
|---|---|
| Supply Point Administration (SPA) | Maintains the central register of every MPRN, including ownership, status, AQ, and shipper/supplier relationship |
| Demand Estimation and Aggregation (DEA) | Estimates daily gas demand by LDZ for non-daily metered sites |
| Settlement and Allocation | Processes daily allocation and reconciliation between shippers and the transporter |
| Reconciliation By Difference (RBD) | Handles the corrections needed when actual reads differ from previous estimates |
| UK Link | The data-exchange platform used by all industry parties to send and receive standard message flows |
| AQ recalculation | Annual recalculation of AQ for every MPRN using actual reads and weather correction |
Who interacts with Xoserve
Xoserve serves the licensed parties of the gas industry.
- Shippers. Use Xoserve for settlement, daily nominations, and meter data.
- Suppliers. Use Xoserve for AQ data, change of supplier, change of tenancy, and meter point details.
- Gas Transporters (the four GDNs and National Gas). Receive and submit settlement data through Xoserve.
- Meter Asset Managers (MAMs). Submit meter data and exchange updates on installations and removals.
- Ofgem. Uses Xoserve data for regulatory oversight and reporting.
End customers do not interact with Xoserve directly. Customer access to Xoserve-held data goes through their supplier or via a broker holding a Letter of Authority.
Key Xoserve systems
Xoserve operates several key systems behind the scenes.
- SAP-based central data platform. The Single Service of Record (SSoR) that holds the master register of every MPRN.
- UK Link. The message-exchange platform used to send and receive standardised industry data flows.
- Gemini. The shipper-facing system for daily nominations, balancing, and capacity bookings.
- iGT (Independent Gas Transporter) interfaces. Specialist data flows for gas transported through smaller independent networks.
The systems exchange data with shippers and suppliers using defined industry message formats (the Uniform Network Code data file specifications).
AQ management at Xoserve
One of Xoserve’s most consequential responsibilities is AQ. Every UK gas meter has an AQ value attached to it, and that value drives.
- Settlement class (small, medium, large, very large).
- Transportation charges.
- Standing charge.
- Contract eligibility.
Xoserve recalculates AQ for every MPRN once per gas year (1 October) using the previous 12 months of meter data, weather correction, and a smoothing algorithm. The updated AQ propagates automatically to shippers and suppliers. Customers can request out-of-cycle AQ corrections through their supplier, which submits the request to Xoserve for recalculation. See the AQ glossary entry for the full mechanics.
Governance and ownership
Xoserve is a regulated industry utility.
- Ownership. Owned by the four UK Gas Distribution Networks (Cadent, Northern Gas Networks, SGN, Wales & West Utilities).
- Licence. Operates under licence as the Central Data Services Provider for gas.
- Governance. Industry decisions on data services and changes are made through the Uniform Network Code (UNC) modification process.
- Funding. Costs are recovered from industry parties through service charges, ultimately reflected in transportation charges to customers.
A short history
Xoserve was created in 2005 as part of the restructuring of British Gas Transmission and Trading into separate regulated entities. The CDSP role consolidated central data services previously fragmented across several Transco systems. Over the following two decades Xoserve has migrated the underlying technology platform (most recently to SAP-based systems under the Project Nexus programme) and absorbed additional responsibilities as the gas industry has evolved. The constant thread is its role as the single point of central data services for the gas industry.
Practical relevance to business customers
For UK business gas customers, Xoserve is invisible day to day but materially affects three situations.
- Change of supplier. The switch goes through Xoserve. Errors at this stage are rare but disruptive. Good supplier-side data handling matters.
- Change of Tenancy. COT records propagate through Xoserve to update the MPRN register. Late or missing COT submissions are a common cause of bill problems.
- AQ correction. AQ changes that affect your bill are processed by Xoserve. Knowing that the data flow goes through a defined industry process (not a supplier discretion) helps when chasing a correction.
Finding your meter data through Xoserve
Customers cannot interact with Xoserve directly. Routes to access the data.
- Through your supplier. The supplier holds your meter data via Xoserve and can share it on request.
- Through a broker. An energy broker with a Letter of Authority can pull meter data from Xoserve via industry data systems.
- Via the Find My MPRN helpline. A free service that gives you the MPRN and current supplier from your postcode.
Related entries. Annual Quantity (AQ), MPRN, Local Distribution Zone (LDZ), gas shipper, daily metered gas, find my MPRN, Meter Asset Manager (MAM), Change of Tenancy.
Frequently asked questions
What is Xoserve?
The Central Data Services Provider (CDSP) for the UK gas industry. Xoserve runs the central register of every gas meter point, manages industry data flows, calculates Annual Quantity, processes change of supplier, and operates the central settlement systems.
Who owns Xoserve?
The four UK Gas Distribution Networks (Cadent, Northern Gas Networks, SGN, Wales & West Utilities). Xoserve operates under licence as a regulated industry utility.
Do I as a customer interact with Xoserve directly?
No. Customers interact with Xoserve only through their supplier or via a broker holding a Letter of Authority. Xoserve serves licensed industry parties, not end customers.
What is the CDSP role?
Central Data Services Provider. The single regulated provider of shared data services that the UK gas industry needs to operate. Created during the restructuring of British Gas Transmission and Trading.
What systems does Xoserve operate?
A central SAP-based register of every MPRN, UK Link for industry message exchange, Gemini for daily nominations and balancing, and various interfaces for independent gas transporters.
How does Xoserve handle AQ?
Xoserve recalculates AQ for every MPRN once per gas year (1 October) using the previous 12 months of meter data, weather correction, and a smoothing algorithm. Out-of-cycle corrections are processed on customer request via the supplier.
What is UK Link?
Xoserve’s message-exchange platform used by all industry parties to send and receive standardised gas data flows under the Uniform Network Code.
How does a change of supplier affect Xoserve data?
The switch is processed through Xoserve. The MPRN register is updated to reflect the new supplier-shipper relationship, and downstream data flows route to the new party from the change date.
What is the Uniform Network Code (UNC)?
The contractual framework that governs the relationships between shippers, transporters, and suppliers in the UK gas industry. Data flow specifications and process rules are defined under the UNC.
How is Xoserve funded?
Through service charges to industry parties (shippers, suppliers, transporters). The costs are ultimately recovered through transportation charges that flow into customer bills.
Is Xoserve regulated by Ofgem?
Xoserve operates under licence and is subject to Ofgem oversight. Changes to its services and charges go through the UNC modification process.
What happens at Xoserve during a Change of Tenancy?
The supplier submits the COT data to Xoserve, which updates the MPRN register with the new occupier’s details from the agreed change date. Downstream data flows then route correctly under the new account.
How does Xoserve compare to ECOES or DCC on the electricity side?
Xoserve’s role on gas is broadly analogous to ECOES (Electricity Central Online Enquiry Service) plus the Data Communications Company (DCC) on electricity, though the specific systems and governance differ between fuels.
Where can I read more about Xoserve’s services?
Xoserve publishes detailed service documentation, the Joint Office of Gas Transporters publishes the data flow specifications, and the Uniform Network Code itself is publicly available.