News

Dear Readers,

Sadie here.  Balance in life is super important, y’all.  I believe that it’s key to my being healthy and keepin’ Decatherm’s fur lookin’ sleek and lovely.  So, Decky and I try to get a balance of the major food groups at every meal. French fries, chocolate, red wine, kibble and catnip…a balanced life is lovely!

Speakin’ of, it sounds like y’all need some help keepin’ your pools balanced. I may not be an expert at a balanced diet but, Honey, I know my way around balancing a pool.  Read on…

Buffaloed, Perplexed & Disoriented on Balancing Pools

Dear Sadie,
When should I use the Pool Balance Screen?
Signed,
Buffaloed in Bellaire

Dear Sadie,
Why does the pool balance screen show my pools as being unbalanced, but when I query on the Nominations by Entity screen everything looks right?
Signed,
Perplexed in Pearland

Dear Sadie,
What’s the difference between the Query Pool Balance screen and the Query Nomination by Entity screen?
Signed,
Disoriented in Dallas

Dear Readers,

Like a good shepherd, a seasoned scheduler should be constantly checking on her noms, from the moment she’s entered them into INSIDEtracc until the gas day is done.   She should be asking herself things like ‘Is there any ongoing maintenance affecting the pipe today?’, ‘Are my pools in balance?’, ‘Did my counterparty match me?’ and, of course, ‘Did I receive any cuts?’

To help you determine whether your pools are in balance, INSIDEtracc has the Query Pool Balance screen, which is intended to be used as a quick check for after you first enter your noms for the day.   This screen shows all the pools used in your nomination(s) for that gas day and the colored beakers tell you, at a glance, the state of your pools.  For any pool found NOT to be in balance, you can click on the magnifying glass in the Action column and be taken to the Query Nomination by Entity screen to see why.

By contrast, the Query Nomination by Entity screen will show, for a particular pool of your choosing, each nomination feeding into that pool and every nomination going out of it.  That way, if a pool’s out of balance you can easily spot where the problem lies.  The sum of the delivered volumes INTO the pool must equal the sum of the receipt volumes OUT OF the pool.  If those two volumes are different, then your pool is out of balance and INSIDEtracc will cut the noms based on your ranking to make it balance.

Now, once the gas day has begun and the original noms have been processed, if you want to make any changes – say, add a nom or two, increase a nom, and/or decrease a nom, you might be tempted to use the Query Pool Balance screen again, just as you did when first entering your noms.

However, once the gas day has begun, this screen may not accurately reflect the balance of your pools.  Instead, your best bet for checking whether your pools are balanced is to navigate directly to the Query Nomination by Entity screen.  Remember, the sum of the delivered volumes INTO the pool must equal the sum of the receipt volumes OUT OF the pool.

The Final Countdown

Two weeks from now will be your moment for glory.  You’ll be takin’ a quiz so intense; you’ll wish you were in the Hunger Games instead.  Haha, that ain’t true.  This quiz will be like if you were thrown into a coliseum to battle Decatherm.  You’d just need a ball of yarn to slay that cute little beast.  Read up on all of my charming Dear Sadie articles, and slay that quiz for a chance at amazin' prizes!

Catch ya on the next nom cycle, and be safe!
  Sadie