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We are looking for members to join the Modification P459 ‘Credit Default Refusal and Rejection Period Modification’ Workgroup, which seeks to delay the Credit Default Refusal and Rejection Periods. This change would give parties a two-hour window from the Level 2 Credit Default notification until the time when any Energy Contract Volume Notifications (ECVN) related to a defaulting party are rejected.

Elexon can confirm that all Balancing Mechanism Reporting Service (BMRS) endpoints will be switched off on 31 May 2024 as they have been replaced by the Insights Solution.

Elexon, the Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) Manager, has implemented a change to the BSC so that smaller, distribution-connected generators that are not BSC Parties are treated the same as larger generators for payments under the BSC if system restoration services are needed.

This page lists changes to the status of Balancing and Settlement (BSC) Parties and Qualified Persons in April. It includes information on any new qualifications and registrations, new market participants, withdrawals and defaults.

Elexon and the Retail Energy Code (REC) are submitting three Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement (MHHS) Qualification Documents to their respective Performance Assurance Boards (PAB) for approval. The documents will go to the REC PAB on Tuesday 26 March, and the BSC PAB on Thursday 28 March.

Elexon has identified an error in Settlement volumes attributed to a windfarm located in GSP Group _G.

This page lists changes to the status of Balancing and Settlement (BSC) Parties and Qualified Persons in March. It includes information on any new qualifications and registrations, new market participants, withdrawals and defaults.

Elexon has completed the migration of all Balancing Mechanism Reporting Service (BMRS) datasets and functionalities that were in scope to be built onto the Insights Solution platform.

Elexon is working to smooth the path to Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement (MHHS) implementation by supporting Parties that need to migrate more than 30,000 Non-Half Hourly unmetered supplies metering systems to MHHS.

In accordance with Section Q7 of the Balancing & Settlement Code (BSC), the National Electricity Transmission System Operator (NETSO) has raised two Manifest Error claims. The claims relate to Settlement Period 41 of Settlement 4 February 2024.

On 20 February 2024 the Trading Disputes Committee (TDC) heard the claims and determined, in accordance with Q 7.1.1 of the BSC, that Manifest Errors had occurred.

The Spring BSC Season begins on 1 March 2024. The deadline for submitting your GC and DC values for the Season is 15 February 2024.

Even if the values are identical to the last BSC Season you need to submit values for the new Season.

The pre-qualification submission window for Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement (MHHS) participation has been opened today (5 February) and final submissions must be provided by 26 April 2024.  

Non-System Integration Testing (SIT) Suppliers, Supplier Agents and Meter Equipment Managers, New Entrant LDSO Programme Participants are required to provide a Pre-Qualification Submission for MHHS Qualification.

This page lists changes to the status of Balancing and Settlement (BSC) Parties and Qualified Persons in February. It includes information on any new qualifications and registrations, new market participants, withdrawals and defaults.

The Future System Operator (FSO) will be established in 2024 and will be called the National Energy System Operator (NESO). As a result, Elexon will move away from being under National Grid ESO ownership and in future will operate under a ‘federated model’ ownership arrangement. Ofgem are asking for your views on licence conditions and changes to the BSC to support the implementation of the new ownership agreements.

CP1589 ‘Change the number of characters used to specify Market Participant Role Codes in the Market Domain Data’ will now go for decision following the Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement (MHHS) decision for Change Request (CR) CR041 ‘Change the format of Market Participant Role Code from Char(1) to Char(2)’.

CR041 was issued for impact assessment on 10 January 2024 and will close on 24 January 2024.

Instant data on electricity flows across the new 1.4 GW Viking interconnector is now available from Elexon. The Viking Link is the world’s longest land and subsea electricity cable, connecting the East of England with Denmark.

Making the flow data for the Viking Link available is important so that Elexon can continue to provide more transparency to anyone that monitors the electricity market.

This page lists changes to the status of Balancing and Settlement (BSC) Parties and Qualified Persons in January. It includes information on any new qualifications and registrations, new market participants, withdrawals and defaults.

In our recent customer feedback survey, a number of customers expressed the need for a more efficient and streamlined process to submit and track enquiries and concerns related to the BSC and its services.

We’ve taken this feedback on board and have been working on an enquiry management tool called Elexon Support. Elexon Support will provide you with a centralised platform to easily manage your interactions with us.

Following the implementation of Modification P350 on 1 April 2018, Estimated Transmission Losses Adjustment (ETLMO) values have been calculated for each season across the 2024/25 BSC Year. The Imbalance Settlement Group approved the revised Estimated Transmission Losses Adjustment (ETLMO) values for use from 1 April 2024 at its December 2023 meeting.

The Market Wide Half-Hourly Settlement (MHHS) Programme has implemented a Programme Change Freeze. This means that any BSC Changes that require changes to the MHHS design or MHHS code drafting (via a MHHS Change Request) are likely to have their implementation postponed. 

A significant amount of work is being done by Elexon and the Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement Programme (MHHSP) to make changes to BSC documents (or to develop new documents) in preparation for MHHS.

The Credit Assessment Load Factor (CALF) values for the spring 2024 BSC Season, which runs from 1 March 2024 to 31 May 2024, are available from the Credit/Credit Alerting section under the Financial and Credit menu on the ELEXON Portal.

If you are the Lead Party of a non-Credit Qualifying BMU, you can appeal an assigned CALF value if you believe it does not accurately represent your expected activity.

This page lists changes to the status of Balancing and Settlement (BSC) Parties and Qualified Persons in December. It includes information on any new qualifications and registrations, new market participants, withdrawals and defaults.

The Unmetered Supplies (UMS) Material Error Monitoring (MEM) threshold will reduce from 10,000MWh to 7,000MWh, effective from the Quarter 1 2024 reporting window.

Code Bodies presented the MHHS Qualification Plan to Suppliers and Supplier Agent representatives in an extraordinary Qualification Working Group (QWG) meeting on Monday 27 November.

The Qualification Plan provided the current position for Supplier and Supplier Agent Qualification alongside the Qualification Approach & Plan (QAP) and the Qualification Assessment Document (QAD) timelines.

We have launched the new BSC Service Status Dashboard today (20 November) so that Parties can see an up to the minute view of whether there are any issues with the BSC services that we provide.

We have released three new dates for our Introduction to the Energy Market seminars in 2024. Find out more below and sign up to attend.

The Winter BSC Season begins on Friday 1 December 2023. The deadline for submitting your GC and DC values for the Summer BSC Season is Thursday 16 November 2023.

Even if the values are identical to the last BSC Season you need to submit values for the new Season.

The MHHS Programme is introducing changes for legacy Suppliers and agents to support the Migration of Metering System Identifiers (MSIDs) from legacy arrangements to MHHS. Reverse migration can take place during the migration period (from March 2025 onwards) where a customer has switched to a Supplier that is not yet MHHS Qualified.

This page lists changes to the status of Balancing and Settlement (BSC) Parties and Qualified Persons in November. It includes information on any new qualifications and registrations, new market participants, withdrawals and defaults.

Following the issues mentioned in Elexon Circular EL03922 we have recently deployed a fix that addresses the issue with processing of large volume of Maximum Export Limit (MEL) data on our Balancing Mechanism Reporting Service (BMRS).

This month (October 2023) Elexon has begun to administer a new support scheme to benefit electricity prepayment meter (PPM) customers this winter by discounting their daily standing charges. Xoserve (a gas industry code manager) will be administering the equivalent scheme for gas PPMs.

Ofgem has today (6 October 2023) approved Balancing and Settlement Code Modification P415 ‘Facilitating access to wholesale markets for flexibility dispatched by Virtual Lead Parties’.

The Market Index Definition Statement (MIDS) is annually reviewed by the BSCCo. on behalf of the BSC Panel, to ensure that the Market Index Price is providing a reasonable reflection of the price of wholesale electricity in the short term market.

Elexon is consulting on removing a requirement in the Balancing and Settlement Code to continue provision of a High Grade telecommunications line so that Parties can receive instant updates from the Balancing Mechanism Reporting Service (BMRS).

This page lists changes to the status of Balancing and Settlement (BSC) Parties and Qualified Persons in October. It includes information on any new qualifications and registrations, new market participants, withdrawals and defaults.

Elexon’s Metering Team recently hosted a webinar where Siemens Energy gave a presentation on a new type of technology that has the potential to be used within Settlement Metering Systems, Low Power Instrument Transformers (LPITs).

This page lists changes to the status of Balancing and Settlement (BSC) Parties and Qualified Persons in September. It includes information on any new qualifications and registrations, new market participants, withdrawals and defaults.

The Credit Assessment Load Factor (CALF) values for the Winter 2023 BSC Season, which runs from 1 December 2023 to 29 February 2024, are available from the BSC Portal. If you are the Lead Party of a non-Credit Qualifying BMU, you can appeal an assigned CALF value if you believe it does not accurately represent your expected activity.

• BSC Portal > Financial and Credit > Credit / Credit Alerting

For any Settlement Date and Settlement Run Type carried out in accordance with the Settlement Calendar, the Settlement Administration Agent (SAA) publishes Settlement Reports (known as SAA-I014 reports) to relevant industry parties. Whilst all Settlement Reports are built using the same data, there are slightly differing sub-flows of the SAA-I014 depending on the primary recipient. 

We are aware that  Balancing Mechanism Reporting Service (BMRS) has not been operating to the expected service levels. We recognise that this can be both frustrating and disruptive for our customers. We have put in place a number of actions to address the issues that you have recently experienced.

• BMRS website

Please note that there was an error within the blue text in the original Circular sent on Thursday 10 August. This has since been amended in the version in the online archive.

Please refer to the below information to make manual adjustments.

Change Proposal Circulars (CPCs) are a consultations batch for Change Proposals (amendments to BSC subsidiary documents) and the request of Impact Assessment responses to Change Proposals from Industry Participants. 

The Autumn BSC Season begins on Friday 1 September 2023. The deadline for submitting your GC and DC values for the Summer BSC Season is Thursday 17 August 2023.

Even if the values are identical to the last BSC Season you need to submit values for the new Season.

We are looking for members to join the Modification P459 ‘Allowing different Supplier Agents to be appointed to Import and Export MSIDs’ Workgroup, which seeks to remove barriers in preventing the use of Export MSIDs for small-scale microgeneration.

This page lists changes to the status of Balancing and Settlement (BSC) Parties and Qualified Persons in August. It includes information on any new qualifications and registrations, new market participants, withdrawals and defaults.

Elexon will implement Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) Modification P395 ‘Aligning BSC Reporting with EMR Regulations – an enduring solution’ on 2 November as part of the November 2023 BSC Release.

We are hosting a webinar on 21 September 2023 to explain the changes.

We are looking for members to join the P456‘Enable Elexon to procure ancillary Technology Services for use by BSC Agents’ Workgroup, which seeks to remove barriers in BSC Section E ‘BSC Agents’.

The SAA-I014 files are released daily to customers and a sequence number is assigned to each file. Some customers have been in contact with us regarding missing file sequence numbers, since the go-live of the new Settlement Administration Agent (SAA) service on Elexon Kinnect, our cloud platform. 

Greater precision

Our new Settlement Administration Agent (SAA) went live on our Kinnect Platform in June 2023. Since then, a small number of customers have asked why rounded numbers are used for trading charges invoiced by the Funds Administration Agent, (FAA) compared with figures that are reported by the SAA  reports.

CP1578 ‘Enabling Embedded LDSOs to submit Site Specific LLFs’  was issued for a second Industry Consultation. We invite responses until 5pm on Friday 4 August 2023. 

On 29 June 2023 the Standard June 2023 Release was implemented. 

This page lists changes to the status of Balancing and Settlement (BSC) Parties and Qualified Persons in July. It includes information on any new qualifications and registrations, new market participants, withdrawals and defaults.

Elexon has built a new and improved portal for publishing Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency (REMIT) disclosures by the industry.

This article explains how Applicable Balancing Services Volume Data (ABSVD) is treated in Settlement for Secondary Balancing Mechanism (BM) Units. We are publishing this following a question from a VLP around why an Imbalance Charge was not calculated for them after National Grid ESO (NGESO) submitted ABSVD values for their Secondary BM Units.

Modification P434 ‘Half Hourly Settlement for UMS Metering Systems’ was implemented on 14 December 2022 as a special BSC Release. This Modification will require a period of mandatory Change of Measurement Class for NHH UMS Metering Systems.

This is the second in our series of articles that provide statistics and information on Radio Teleswitch System (RTS) meters. Since April 2020 the costs for the RTS service have been recovered through the Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) charging arrangements.

We’re looking for members to join our P434 Implementation Working Group, created to support Parties impacted by Modification P434 ‘Half Hourly Settlement for UMS Metering Systems’. 

On 6 June 2023 the Supplier Volume Allocation Group (SVG) approved CP1574 ‘Improving the use of the D0215 data flow in the relevant industry processes‘ and the Imbalance Settlement Group (ISG) approved CP1575 ‘Permitting the use of busbar voltage transformers within metering Codes of Practice 1 and 2’ for implementation on 2 November 2023 as part of the standard November 2023 BSC Release.

On 8 June 2023 the BSC Panel approved CP1576 ‘New Interconnector Fuel Type Category: Viking Link’ for implementation on 2 November 2023 as part of the standard November 2023 BSC Release.

We corrected 315 instances where masculine pronouns or terms are used, such as “Chairman”, “he”, “his” and “him” of the BSC and 198 cases of gendered pronouns across 39 Code Subsidiary Documents (CSDs).

This is the first in a series of articles on Radio Teleswitch System (RTS) meters.

Long before smart meters, an option for variable rate meters was the Radio Teleswitch System, which relied on a radio signal for timing information. Since April 2020 the costs for the RTS service have been recovered through the Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) charging arrangements. They were previously borne by the Energy Networks Association (ENA). The cost for the RTS service is a direct pass through to BSC Parties, and it has increased from £1.5m in 2022/23 to £4.9m in our 2023/24 business plan.

This page lists changes to the status of Balancing and Settlement (BSC) Parties and Qualified Persons in June. It includes information on any new qualifications and registrations, new market participants, withdrawals and defaults.

The Credit Assessment Load Factor (CALF) values for the Autumn 2023 BSC Season, which runs from 1 September 2023 to 30 November 2023, are available from the BSC Portal. If you are the Lead Party of a non-Credit Qualifying BMU, you can appeal an assigned CALF value if you believe it does not accurately represent your expected activity.

• BSC Portal > Financial and Credit > Credit / Credit Alerting

Calling all industry members – we want your input as members of our Performance Assurance Working Group (PAWG). The PAWG is one of several working groups set up by Elexon to deliver the technical overview of the Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement (MHHS) scope.

We want to give you the tools to help you understand how the change process works.

Change Proposal Circulars (CPCs) are a consultations batch for Change Proposals (amendments to BSC subsidiary documents) and the request of Impact Assessment responses to Change Proposals from Industry Participants.

The Summer BSC Season begins on 1 June 2023 and if you are using the Elexon Kinnect Customer Solution, the deadline for submitting your Generation and Demand Capacity (GC/DC) values for the Season is 16 May 2023.

We are looking for members to join a Work Group for Issue 107 ‘Review of BSC Section N – Clearing, Invoicing & Payment’ which will look at areas and associated processes that are currently pain points experienced by the Industry.

Elexon implemented Balancing and Settlement Code Modification P419 ‘Enhanced Reporting of Demand Data to the NETSO to facilitate BSUoS Reform’ in February 2023.

P419 introduced a process to allow Non-Final Demand Operators and Suppliers to declare Supplier Volume Allocation (SVA) Non-Final Demand Facilities through BSC processes so that they would be exempt from Balancing Services Use of System (BSUoS) Charges. 

• Find out more about P419

The following datasets will no longer be published on the following Elexon BSC Portal pages from Thursday 4 May 2023. This is due to the internal migration of our Settlement Administration Agent (SAA) system. However, replacement pages have been created to enable you to access the datasets.

This is of interest to all Suppliers with Non Half Hourly portfolios

At its meeting on 27 April 2023, the Performance Assurance Board (PAB) approved the deployment of EFR for Settlement Risk 008; the risk that Supplier Volume Allocation (SVA) metered data is not processed or transferred correctly, or is not processed at all.

This page sets out the latest information on trading dispute decisions and determinations.

The draft Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement Programme (MHHSP) Approach and Plan states that participants will be allocated to Qualification tranches in May 2024. The Code Bodies want your feedback on the allocation timeline and approach by Tuesday 2 May 2023.

Following our request for customer feedback at the most recent Upcoming BSC Change Proposals meeting on 23 March, the Potential BSC Changes awaiting initial consideration dashboard has been upgraded,

The Balancing and Settlement Code Panel has agreed to Elexon’s recommendation to raise a Modification to remove our obligation to provide Balancing Mechanism Reporting Service (BMRS) data through the High Grade communications line service. 

As part of our  Elexon Kinnect programme we have been building a new Settlement Solution which replaces services of the Settlement Administration Agent (SAA) on our new cloud platform.

The Credit Assessment Load Factor (CALF) values for the Summer 2023 BSC Season, which runs from 1 June 2023 to 31 August 2023, are available from the BSC Portal. If you are the Lead Party of a non-Credit Qualifying BMU, you can appeal an assigned CALF value if you believe it does not accurately represent your expected activity.

• BSC Portal > Financial and Credit > Credit / Credit Alerting

There was an issue with Elexon BSC Portal publishing email alerts. This has now been fixed but after fixing this, the BSC Portal sent email alerts for backfilled data.

These email alerts are not for current system events and can be ignored.

We apologise for the inconvenience caused by this issue.

Elexon is inviting industry participants to register their interest in joining the Network Gas Supply Emergency Settlement Validation Committee (NGSESVC). Please note that there is no immediate requirement for this committee.

The responses to the ‘Mini-consultation on the future of the SVA Data Catalogue, the User Requirements Specifications and BSC guidance documents’ have now been published.

Due to a global shortage of materials and disruption of global supply chains, there is a shortage of semi-conductors among other crucial components, which impacts the ability for Meter manufacturers to produce and supply electricity Meters, including those required for Settlement under the BSC.

This shortage of Settlement Meters impacts on new connections and fault resolution in both the Supplier Volume Allocation (SVA) and Central Volume Allocation (CVA) markets, and consequently impacts the integrity and accuracy of Settlement.

We implemented Change Proposal (CP) 1527 ‘Increase the minimum data storage capacity for Settlement Outstations and mandate specific selectable integration periods for Metering Codes of Practice’ on 30 June 2022, as part of the June 2022 BSC Release.

CP1527 incremented the Issue (and version) numbers of the below CoPs, by one.

We have upgraded the Digital Code with some additional features to help you find the information you need from the BSC.

We have written to users of the TIBCO software service and the High Grade communications line about our intention to decommission them in March 2024.

The TIBCO software and the High Grade line supply users with near real time updates on wholesale market data from our Balancing Mechanism Reporting Service (BMRS).

Last week Elexon issued a formal notice to Suppliers of additional data sets having been approved to be published under Peer Comparison. This data has been approved for publication under the provisions introduced by BSC Modification P427 ‘Publication of Performance Assurance Parties’ impact on Settlement Risk’.

The Credit Assessment Load Factor (CALF) values for the summer 2023 BSC Season, which runs from 1 June 2023 to 31 August 2023, are available from the Credit/Credit Alerting section under the Financial and Credit menu on the ELEXON Portal.

If you are the Lead Party of a non-Credit Qualifying BMU, you can appeal an assigned CALF value if you believe it does not accurately represent your expected activity.

From 23 February 2023, under Modification P427, Elexon will be able to publish the Settlement performance data of Performance Assurance Parties (PAPs)* under the Peer Comparison Performance Assurance Technique.

We are looking for new members for the Imbalance Settlement Group (ISG) Committee.

The Spring BSC Season begins on 1 March. If you are using the Elexon Kinnect Customer Solution, the deadline for submitting your GC and DC values for the season is 14 February.

As part of the 23 February 2023 Balancing and Settlement Code release, two Modifications (P376 and P419) will be implemented using our Customer Solution, one of the three pillars of Elexon Kinnect, our cloud platform.

We will publish guidance documents for companies that want to participate in the P376 and P419 reforms later this month.

Ahead of the first meeting of BSC Issue 106 ‘Review of BSC Credit Cover Arrangements’, we are seeking feedback from stakeholders via a short (5-10 min) survey. Survey responses will be used to inform the meeting materials and focus areas for the first meeting, and must be submitted by 17:00 on Wednesday 15 February.

Would you like to get visibility of upcoming Change Proposals to the BSC? Sign up for an opportunity to feedback on upcoming Changes.

We implemented the P402 Alternative Modification ‘Enabling reform of residual network charging as directed by the Targeted Charging Review’ in the February 2022 Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) Release.  

Following the implementation of   Modification P350 on 1 April 2018, ETLMO values have been calculated for each season across the 2023/24 BSC Year. The Imbalance Settlement Group approved the revised Estimated Transmission Losses Adjustment (ETLMO) values for use from 1 April 2023 at its January 2023 meeting.

Following a thorough procurement process, the Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement (MHHS) Programme and Elexon are pleased to announce the appointment of Avanade with their Microsoft Azure infrastructure solution as the Data Integration Platform Service Provider (DIPSP) for the Programme. 

If you’re participating in the Demand Flexibility Service you need to associate the NGC BM Units that you have been provided by the National Grid Electricity System Operator with your Base Supplier BM Units.

The Credit Committee (CC) is one of several Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) committees which play a role in managing and governing the code. The CC, which is responsible for all BSC matters relating to the Credit Assessment Price (CAP), is looking for new members. 

The February 2023 Release planned go-live is 23 February 2023; this release includes changes to the SAA-I014 Settlement Administration Agent (SAA) Settlement Report sub-flows 1, 2 & 4. From 23 February 2023, all BSC Parties will receive Version 12 of the SAA-I014, sub-flow 1 or 4, as default and Version 10 of the SAA-I014 will no longer be available.

The Credit Assessment Load Factor (CALF) values for the Spring 2023 BSC Season, which runs from 1 March 2023 to 31 May 2023, are available from the BSC Portal. If you are the Lead Party of a non-Credit Qualifying BMU, you can appeal an assigned CALF value if you believe it does not accurately represent your expected activity.

• BSC Portal > Financial and Credit > Credit / Credit Alerting

We issue two Circulars during each Market Domain Data (MDD) Release. These are: Impact Assessment Circulars that informs you of the proposed changes to be included in the next Version of MDD; and a Final Circular that confirms the changes being committed to the next Version of MDD.

The Elexon Insights Solution data platform Real-time Information Service (IRIS) is now available.   

We issue two Circulars during each Market Domain Data (MDD) Release. These are: Impact Assessment Circulars that informs you of the proposed changes to be included in the next Version of MDD; and a Final Circular that confirms the changes being committed to the next Version of MDD.

The Winter BSC Season 2022 begins on 1 December.  If you are using the Elexon Kinnect Customer Solution, the deadline for submitting your GC and DC values for the season is 16 November.

We issue two Circulars during each Market Domain Data (MDD) Release. These are: Impact Assessment Circulars that informs you of the proposed changes to be included in the next Version of MDD; and a Final Circular that confirms the changes being committed to the next Version of MDD.

We launched our digital code site in April 2022 to recreate 460 Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) documents in a far easier to browse format. The digital code is now the single source for BSC documents and around 400 people are using it each day. The PDFs of all of the code documents have been retired from main BSC website (www.elexon.co.uk) and will now redirect you to the digital code equivalent.

We issue two Circulars during each Market Domain Data (MDD) Release. These are: Impact Assessment Circulars that informs you of the proposed changes to be included in the next Version of MDD; and a Final Circular that confirms the changes being committed to the next Version of MDD.

Elexon has calculated the annual Grid Supply Point (GSP) Group liability caps and Supplier Charge values for the BSC Year 2022/23. 

• 2022/23 GSP Group Take, Supplier Charges and GSP Caps

Following the approval of Balancing and Settlement Code Modification (BSC) P446 ‘Energy Price Guarantee Scheme for domestic customers’ by Ofgem, Elexon is pleased to have been appointed as Scheme Administrator.

The Market Index Definition Statement (MIDS) is annually reviewed by the BSCCo. on behalf of the BSC Panel, to ensure that the Market Index Price is providing a reasonable reflection of the price of wholesale electricity in the short term market.

Due to the announcement of an additional Bank Holiday on 19 September 2022 for the Queen’s funeral, Elexon are currently working through re-aligning all impacted Settlement Calendars.

Michael Gibbons CBE, FEI, BSC Panel Chair, and Dr. Phil Hare, BSC Panel Deputy Chair, have sent a letter on behalf of the BSC Panel as part of the Consultation on the Future Ownership of Elexon that Ofgem issued on 14 July 2022.  BEIS and Ofgem have jointly published the consultation on the change in ownership of Elexon. This follows the publication of the Future System Operator (FSO) consultation response on 6th April 2022.

The Credit Committee has decided to withdraw the notified Credit Assessment Price (CAP) of £510/MWh before implementation on 7 September 2022. This means the current CAP value of £415/MWh remains valid at least until it is replaced by the next scheduled CAP of £475/MWh on 16 September.

The Credit Assessment Load Factor (CALF) values for the Winter 2022 BSC Season, which runs from 01 December 2022 to 28 February 2023, are available from the Credit/Credit Alerting section under the Financial and Credit menu on the Elexon Portal.

If you are the Lead Party of a non-Credit Qualifying BMU, you can appeal an assigned CALF value if you believe it does not accurately represent your expected activity.

Due to a global shortage of materials and the impact of COVID-19 on global supply chains, there is a shortage of semi-conductors among other crucial components, which impacts the ability of Meter manufacturers to produce and supply electricity Meters, including those required for Settlement under the BSC.

This shortage of Settlement Meters impacts on new connections and fault resolution in both the Supplier Volume Allocation (SVA) and Central Volume Allocation (CVA) markets, and consequently impacts the integrity and accuracy of Settlement.

As you may be aware, the Credit Assessment Price (CAP) is due to increase in the next few days. Your BM Unit CALF Values and your declared Generation Capacity (GC) and Demand Capacity (DC) values are used in the Credit Assessment Energy Indebtedness (CEI) calculation of your Credit Indebtedness.

With the recent increases in the CAP, it is important to check whether your DC and GC values are correct and that you have reviewed the Credit Assessment Load Factor (CALF) values that Elexon has calculated to ensure that they accurately represent the expected Balancing Mechanism (BM) Unit activity.

If you are a Supplier that has Additional BM Units with the Final Physical Notification (FPN) Flag set to Yes, then you will need to register any existing or future MSID Pairs.

Suppliers that need to register their MSID Pairs must send the MSID Pair allocation (P0278) to the SVAA by the deadline of 6 October 2022.

From today anybody regardless of whether they work in the electricity sector or not can get access to the same level of data that is used for most of Elexon’s reporting on electricity Settlement.

We have published updated versions of the 2022/23 Risk Evaluation Register (RER) and the Risk Operating Plan (ROP) following a review completed in July 2022.

From today voting is open for the 2022 BSC Panel elections. You can vote until close of play on 26 August. Below are the six candidates that could be elected (or re-elected) to serve on the Panel.

A new ‘Code of Practice (CoP11) for the Metering of Balancing Services Assets for Settlement Purposes’ has been introduced, defining the minimum BSC requirements for Asset Metering Systems.

Elexon has recently obtained feedback from Suppliers that the current Settlement monitoring approach may act as a disincentive for Suppliers to move sites to elective Half Hourly (HH) Settlement in preparation for Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement (MHHS). This is because moving ‘good’ performing sites to HH Settlement may reduce the performance of their remaining Non Half Hourly portfolio.

We issue two Circulars during each Market Domain Data (MDD) Release. These are: Impact Assessment Circulars that informs you of the proposed changes to be included in the next Version of MDD; and a Final Circular that confirms the changes being committed to the next Version of MDD.

We are looking to engage with interested parties through our Settlement and Invoicing Solution User Group. Participating in the User Group will enable you to help shape the future design of the solution on our new digital platform, Elexon Kinnect.

We have been working on changes to the Elexon Kinnect Customer Solution which delivers functional enhancements to the contacts, authorised signatories, addresses and bank details elements of the Elexon Kinnect Customer Solution. These changes are usable from 20 June 2022 and provide benefits for existing customers and new market entrants.

Following the Grid Supply Point (GSP) Group Metering Issues identified in GSP Groups _C and _J, Elexon has looked at further impacts the corrected data could have on Settlement processes.

After completing some additional analysis, we identified that there were some impacts on Transmission Loss Factors (TLFs).  These impacts were small, mostly affecting the Summer 2022 period.

We have been developing an exciting new data and insights platform, the Elexon Kinnect Insights Solution, which builds on our existing Balancing Mechanism Reporting Service (BMRS) to offer a richer and more detailed data service for GB electricity.

The Credit Assessment Load Factor (CALF) values for the Autumn 2022 BSC Season, which runs from 1 September 2022 to 30 November 2022, are available from the Credit/Credit Alerting section under the Financial and Credit menu on the Elexon Portal.

If you are the Lead Party of a non-Credit Qualifying Balancing Mechanism Unit (BMU), you can appeal an assigned CALF value if you believe it does not accurately represent your expected activity by Monday 1 August 2022.

At its May 2022 meeting, the Performance Assurance Board (PAB) undertook a review of its approach to managing the Settlement Performance standard. The PAB has approved two changes to the Settlement Performance Standard.

The Technical Assurance Scope contains the checks we will perform during the period. A ‘within period revision’ to the scope can also be made with approval from the PAB. The check will then take place anytime during that BSC year.

Elexon is helping the industry to get set for the go-live of the Central Switching Service (CSS) this summer as part of Ofgem’s Switching Programme.

The CSS, which will be governed by version 3.0 of the Retail Energy Code (REC), will provide a single, dual fuel switching process for gas and electricity. The aim is to make switching faster and more reliable.

On 12 May, we issued BSC Circular EL03581, which gave notice to BSC Parties that the ‘Coronavirus Disapplication Period’ for Supplier Charges will be ending. This means that, from September 2022, Supplier Charges for SP08 will be reapplied from the September Performance Assurance Reporting and Monitoring System (PARMS) Reporting Period.

In the past eight years, we have identified five Grid Supply Point (GSP) Metering errors, equal to around 1.4% of the total number of GSP Meters. These errors have caused energy to be recorded incorrectly. As any unaccounted energy is allocated to BSC Parties through GSP Group Correction and Transmission Losses, such metering errors can present a large impact on the allocation of energy and therefore the accuracy of Trading Charges to BSC Parties.

We are publishing a beta version of our GSP change-point detection model to gather feedback from participants and help us identify other areas where central analytics and reporting could support industry in mitigating risks to Settlement.

Elexon has been investigating errors in Settlement related to two Grid Supply Point (GSP) Groups: South Eastern GSP Group (Group _J); and London GSP Group (Group _C). This follows our continued monitoring of the Annual Demand Ratio (ADR).

We are delighted that today, 9 May, Ofgem confirmed its decision to appoint Elexon as the independent Capacity Market Advisory Group (CMAG) secretariat, subject to a BSC Modification being raised and approved to enable us to do the work.

Elexon will be joining forces with industry not-for-profit Icebreaker One as part of their government-supported Open Energy programme, which seeks to revolutionise the way data is shared across the energy sector to make sure the UK achieves its Net Zero goals. 

On 30 June 2022, Elexon will implement Modification P375 ‘Settlement of Secondary BM Units using metering behind the site Boundary Point‘.  This is a major change to the Wholesale Electricity Trading Arrangements, which supports Net Zero by creating more opportunities for smaller asset owners to provide balancing services.  

We issue two Circulars during each Market Domain Data (MDD) Release. These are: Impact Assessment Circulars that informs you of the proposed changes to be included in the next Version of MDD; and a Final Circular that confirms the changes being committed to the next Version of MDD.

After every Technical Assurance audit we produce a non-confidential findings report that is presented to the Performance Assurance Board (PAB).

This page lists changes to the status of Balancing and Settlement (BSC) Parties and Qualified Persons in May. It includes information on any new qualifications and registrations, new market participants, withdrawals and defaults.

Centrica is due to begin a trial this September where controllable storage heaters will provide demand-side response (DSR) when needed, by dialling down their demand. 

It is the second trial which has been approved by Ofgem to use Elexon’s Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) Sandbox. The Sandbox allows innovators to trial concepts in a live market environment without having to meet all the usual BSC rules.

Yesterday (21 April) Ofgem confirmed that the Balancing and Settlement Code will be used to govern and fund the new Data Integration Platform (DIP) to support Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement (MHHS). This means that Elexon will manage the DIP service provider, which is currently being procured through the MHHS Programme.

Today the Department for Energy Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Ofgem jointly responded to the consultations they published in July 2021 on a Future System Operator (FSO), and reforming the energy codes.  National Grid ESO will move away from National Grid plc and become an independent, publicly owned FSO.

As part of that process there will also be a consultation on the ownership of Elexon, which is currently owned by National Grid ESO. 

We issue two Circulars during each Market Domain Data (MDD) Release. These are: Impact Assessment Circulars that informs you of the proposed changes to be included in the next Version of MDD; and a Final Circular that confirms the changes being committed to the next Version of MDD.

This article, written by Lawrence Jones, Head of Rules Management at Elexon, talks about a new site we have built so that the BSC and related documents are available digitally. This helps companies and other people to browse the documents using  improved navigation, web pages instead of PDFs, and a site search. 

Elexon has been working on an exciting project to develop a brand new site that will enable you to have much easier access to the Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) and its subsidiary documents, ‘the Digital Code’.

The clock change this weekend will result in a ‘short’ day which will impact Settlement periods and contract notifications. On a ‘short’ clock change day, there are only 46 Settlement Periods instead of the normal 48.

Elexon is investigating potential errors in Settlement related to the South Eastern GSP (Grid Supply Point) Group (Group _J) and the London GSP Group (Group _C). This follows our continued monitoring of the Annual Demand Ratio (ADR).

National Grid ESO has resubmitted Balancing Services Adjustment Actions (BSAA) and Balancing Services Adjustment Data (BSAD) files for multiple settlement dates throughout 2021. The period covers January through to November 2021 and is across 69 distinctly impacted Settlement Periods.

We issue two Circulars during each Market Domain Data (MDD) Release. These are: Impact Assessment Circulars that informs you of the proposed changes to be included in the next Version of MDD; and a Final Circular that confirms the changes being committed to the next Version of MDD.

Elexon has been monitoring the on-going impacts of component shortages and supply chain challenges which are impacting on the availability of electricity Meters and related equipment. To help us understand the extent of these challenges, we have created a short survey to assess the impact on the industry.

The Credit Assessment Load Factor (CALF) values for the Summer 2022 BSC Season, which runs from 1 June 2022 to 31 August 2022, are available from the Credit/Credit Alerting section under the Financial and Credit menu on the Elexon Portal.

If you are the Lead Party of a non-Credit Qualifying BMU, you can appeal an assigned CALF value if you believe it does not accurately represent your expected activity.

We have been making changes to the layout and content on Newscast, which is our weekly newsletter that features key information about the industry and BSC activities.

To deliver on our commitment to providing enhanced, customisable data we are migrating the aging Balancing Mechanism Reporting Service platform (BMRS) to the Elexon Kinnect Insights Solution. Through easier access to data and data insights, the new Insights Solution will play a key role in supporting existing  companies, new entrants and innovators who want to develop new products and services.

This page aims to answer common questions about participation in the testing of system changes related to Modification P375, part of the June 2022 Release.

We have a number of vacancies available for Industry Members on the Trading Disputes Committee (TDC). Join the TDC and help us examine Trading Disputes, participate in the Modification process and decide on Manifest Error claims.

We are in the process of contacting Outstation manufacturers to confirm whether or not their Outstations currently comply with the new requirements. This is because the Issue numbers and versions of Codes of Practice 1, 2, 3, 5 and 10 are changing and will be implemented on 30 June 2022 via the June 2022 BSC Release.

Elexon is working on a project to develop a brand new website that will enable customers to have much easier access to the Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) and its subsidiary documents, ‘the Digital Code’. We are working on ways to make the BSC and its subsidiary documents more accessible and navigable for our customers.

The Unmetered Supplies User Group (UMSUG) are requesting information from Suppliers to declare whether they will take on new Non Half Hourly (NHH) Unmetered Supplies (UMS).

UMSUG are interested in knowing if you are willing or unwilling to take on new Non Half Hourly Unmetered Supplies.

We issue two Circulars during each Market Domain Data (MDD) Release. These are: Impact Assessment Circulars that informs you of the proposed changes to be included in the next Version of MDD; and a Final Circular that confirms the changes being committed to the next Version of MDD.

We are collecting views for the BSC Panel on whether the BSC change process should be reviewed, and what improvements could be made, including speeding up the process.

We are interested in gathering feedback on our Performance Assurance product from parties within the industry to help analyse and identify areas where we could improve. 

The Code of Practice Compliance and Protocol Approvals spreadsheet on the Elexon website has been updated to reflect two changes that relate to Outstations.

We have recently received a request to add five new Current Transformer (CT) Ratios to the CT and Voltage Transformer (VT) Valid Set.

The Credit Assessment Load Factor (CALF) values for the Spring 2022 BSC Season, which runs from 1 March 2022 to 31 May 2022, are available from the Credit/Credit Alerting section under the Financial and Credit menu on the Elexon Portal.

If you are the Lead Party of a non-Credit Qualifying BMU, you can appeal an assigned CALF value if you believe it does not accurately represent your expected activity.

A new interactive publication is available called Elexon Kinnect: Our cloud native digital platform explained. It explains how the three elements of Kinnect – the Customer, Settlement and Insights Solutions – work, and the benefits that each will realise.

From January 2022 a new Error and Failure Resolution approach for Risk 9 will be initiated.

The Credit Committee met on 29 December 2021 to review the Credit Assessment Price (CAP) due to be implemented on 18 January 2022. The Credit Committee decided not to propose a new CAP value. This means that the last notified CAP of £380/MWh due to go live on 7 January 2022 will remain in place.

Update impacting this decision

(Published: 5 January 2022)

Please note the last notified CAP value of £380/MWh will not go live on 7 January following a Credit Committee decision on 5 January 2022 to retain the current CAP of £305/MWh.

• Maintaining Credit Cover news

There is now a consultation (dated 5 January 2022) on increasing the Credit Assessment Price (CAP) to £340/MWh.

• Consultation on Credit Assessment Price increase to £340/MWh from 25 January 2022

The version of the SAA-I014 Settlement Report subflow 2 (S0142) published on the Elexon Portal has updated to version 11 since 8 December 2021. Previously version 9 of the S0142 was published on the Elexon Portal.

Changes to version used

The latest version of the S0142 includes new data items introduced in the November 2021 release. This includes more Balancing Services Adjustment Data, providing greater transparency on the actions taken by National Grid ESO to balance the electricity system.

For the full list of data items included in version 11 of the S0142 please refer to the P114 data items

Why has the version changed

When version 11 of the S0142 was introduced by the November 2021 Release on 4 November 2021, National Grid ESO elected to remain on version 9 of the S0142. National Grid ESO has now elected to start receiving version 11 of the S0142 from 8 December 2021.

The version of the S0142, which is one of the P114 files, published on the Elexon Portal depends upon the version of the S0142 that National Grid ESO (NGESO), elects to receive.

Consequently, the S0142 for the II Settlement Run published on the Elexon Portal on 8 December was the first in the new version 11 format.

About this data

P114 files are available for download via File Transfer Protocol (FTP) to all Elexon Portal accounts that have a participant ID associated with their account, or have licensed P114 data from Elexon.

If you would like to start receiving this data please make a request through the BSC Service Desk

Elexon’s 2021 customer survey results show that 91% of respondents believe our service has improved over the last year, or stayed the same. Overall satisfaction with our service remains consistently high, with 69% of respondents giving us a score of 8 to 10 out of 10.

Elexon has worked with Energy Systems Catapult (ESC) on a paper which examines options to improve the tracking of carbon content in electricity markets.

The Trading Disputes Committee (TDC) has recently encountered a number of Trading Disputes where the root cause was determined to be issues with implementing or maintaining a Shared Supplier Volume Allocation (SVA) Metering System. We want to ensure that Parties understand their obligations and the processes they must follow to prevent future impacts to Settlement.

On 19 November 2021, Ofgem approved Elexon’s Business Separation Plan for the Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement (MHHS) Programme.

The MHHS Implementation Management Charge was set by the BSC Panel at its June meeting at £0.03847/Supplier Volume Allocation MSID, per month. This charge was initially calculated on the basis of the annual MHHS budget, however we committed at the June 2021 Panel meeting to review the charge later in the financial year once there was a better view of the costs likely to be incurred.

The Winter BSC Season starts on Wednesday 1 December and the deadline is approaching for Parties to submit their Generation Capacity (GC) and a Demand Capacity (DC). There are two different ways you can submit these values. If you use Elexon Kinnect, the final deadline for submitting GC/DC values via the Customer Solution is 17:00 on Friday 12 November. If you are submitting the values by the BSCP15/4.3 form, the deadline for submission is 17:00 on Wednesday 17 November.

On 4 November Elexon implemented five changes to the Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) as part of the November 2021 release. This comprises one Modification, P399 ‘Making the identity of Balancing Service providers visible in the Balancing Services Adjustment Data’, and four Change Proposals. Modifications amend BSC rules and Change Proposals amend BSC subsidiary documents.  

Following a consultation, the Credit Assessment Price (CAP) value will decrease from £259/MWh to £240/MWh on Thursday 18 November 2021.

The energy industry is currently experiencing unprecedented and challenging market conditions. For that reason Elexon has been scrutinising the receipt and payment of Trading Charges (otherwise known as Imbalance Charges) by BSC Parties.

We ran a webinar on 7 December to help explain Modification P375: Settlement of Secondary BM Units using metering behind the site Boundary Point.

This page provides supporting information for the consultation on the Alternative Credit Assessment Price (CAP) Review process.

Following consultation and a subsequent meeting of The Credit Committee,  the CAP will increase on Thursday 4 November 2021 to £259/MWh, from the last notified value of £184/MWh. Please note the last notified CAP of £184/MWh will still be implemented on 21 October 2021.

Elexon has published its responses to the consultations by the Government and Ofgem on reforming the energy code arrangements and the Future System Operator (FSO) role. We believe that the proposed framework is a sound footing on which to build an energy system to deliver net zero and note that consolidation and simplification should follow. We look forward to working with the Government and Ofgem to deliver the outcomes of the consultations.

Following consultation, the Credit Assessment Price (CAP) will increase on Thursday 21 October 2021 from £137/MWh to £184/MWh. Please note the last notified CAP of £137/MWh will still be implemented on 5 October 2021. 

Elexon has today published and delivered to Ofgem the recommendations made by the Code Change and Development Group (CCDG), following the CCDG’s consultation on the transition and migration approach to support Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement (MHHS) implementation.

The CCDG is one of two industry workgroups for which Elexon has been providing technical leadership, to support further development of the MHHS Target Operating Model.

The BSC Panel has published a formal response to the Ofgem and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) joint consultation which seeks views on a range of proposed reforms of energy codes.

On Tuesday 7 September, System Prices peaked at £3,403.70/MWh and remained above £2,900/MWh for an hour and a half. Wholesale gas and electricity balancing volumes prices have been increasing this summer due to colder summer weather, low wind generation and reported shortages of gas.

The Market Index Definition Statement (MIDS) is annually reviewed by the BSCCo. on behalf of the BSC Panel, to ensure that the Market Index Price is providing a reasonable reflection of the price of wholesale electricity in the short term market.

We issue two Circulars during each Market Domain Data (MDD) Release. These are: Impact Assessment Circulars that informs you of the proposed changes to be included in the next Version of MDD; and a Final Circular that confirms the changes being committed to the next Version of MDD.

As of 19th July 2021, the government no longer instructs people to work from home. Therefore, with authorisation from our customers we plan to restart on site audits. The Technical Assurance Agent (TAA), currently C&C Group Holdings Ltd, have updated our procedure and practices and these must be followed by all staff when working off site in order to minimise risk to themselves and others.

If you are the Lead Party of a non-Credit Qualifying Balancing Mechanism Unit (BMU), you can appeal an assigned CALF value if you believe it does not accurately represent your expected activity.

Here you can watch a video about the Kinnect Settlement Solution that will handle our core balancing and settlement operations. Elexon Kinnect Settlement Solution forms the “engine” of our digital platform and will run our day-to-day settlement and invoicing operations. The video is introduced by Mark Bygraves, the Elexon CEO, and details of the Settlement Solution are presented by Peter Stanley the Director of Digital Operations.

Following consultation, the Credit Assessment Price (CAP) will increase from £96/MWh to  £113/MWh, effective from Wednesday 8 September 2021.

We issue two Circulars during each Market Domain Data (MDD) Release. These are: Impact Assessment Circulars that informs you of the proposed changes to be included in the next Version of MDD; and a Final Circular that confirms the changes being committed to the next Version of MDD.

Today Elexon, on behalf of the MHHS Programme (Implementation Manager), is publishing a consultation on the details of the proposed MHHS Programme governance framework on the BSC website (in lieu of the MHHS Programme’s website going live).

Elexon is managing the implementation of the industry-led MHHS Programme and as such is the Senior Responsible Owner and Programme Manager. Elexon’s Board has approved a budget of £14.5m for the first year (2021/22) of the implementation programme for Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement (MHHS).

On Tuesday 3 August 2021, the CAP value will increase from £77/MWh to £96/MWh.

The CAP review trigger level value will also increase to +/- £10/MWh.

On 5 July 2021 we published a consultation on the transition and migration approach that the Code Change and Development Group (CCDG) has developed to support implementation of Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement (MHHS). We hosted a webinar about the consultation on 7 July.

The three-month notice period required to end the COVID-19 Supplier derogations begins on 1 July. The Performance Assurance Board (PAB) made this decision at its meeting on 24 June 2021, taking into account feedback from industry and the loosening of COVID-19 restrictions.

The PAB believe that there is now a reasonable level of confidence that Government restrictions which significantly impact Settlement operations have concluded. In particular, whilst some restrictions do remain in place, very few business premises are now required to remain closed.

The Performance Assurance Board (PAB) has recently announced changes to the mandatory status of Desktop Audits, Central Volume Allocation and Supplier Volume Allocation onsite Inspection Visits.

Please note that this issue has now been resolved

• More information is available in Elexon Circular EL03332

From 24 June 2021 individuals can request that BSC data is made openly available, regardless of whether or not they are a BSC Party.

Our annual BSC seminar takes place from 14:00 to 16:00 on 8 July 2021, where you will hear from the Energy Minister and other senior industry figures. Elexon’s senior leadership team will be providing an overview of our performance over 2020/21 and explaining how we have supported progress to net zero. You will also be able to vote to appoint the Board Directors.

On 14 June 2021 we published the Architecture Working Group’s (AWG) recommendation to Ofgem that ‘event-driven’ reference architecture is developed to support Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement (MHHS) implementation. 

In response to recent enquiries from Suppliers and other parties, we have been reviewing whether the criteria that Suppliers must follow when deciding whether to allocate Non-Domestic SVA Metering Systems to Profile Classes 3 or 4 are clear. These criteria are laid out in BSCP516: ‘Allocation of Profile Classes and SSC’s for Non Half Hourly SVA Metering Systems Registered in SMRS’, and are particularly relevant to:

• Suppliers deciding whether a new connection should be settled as Non Half Hourly (NHH) in Profile Class 3 or 4, or as Half Hourly (HH); and
• Suppliers deciding whether an existing connection that is currently being settled HH can be changed to NHH in Profile Classes 3 or 4.

We are recruiting interested parties to join our Data and Reporting User Group. The User Group is being formed to allow our customers and stakeholders the opportunity to help shape the design of the Elexon Kinnect Insights Solution, which is one of the three elements that make up our new digital platform, Elexon Kinnect. 

We have published the latest Quarterly Performance Assurance Report for Q4 2020-2021. This report outlines the Key Points of Progress, the Risk Landscape, Key Industry Metrics, Focussed Risk and Event Overview as well as Technique Updates.

Energy regulator Ofgem has approved the first proposal to use Elexon’s Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) Sandbox. The BSC Sandbox allows innovators to trial concepts in a live market environment without having to meet all the usual BSC rules.

Ofgem’s decision follows Elexon’s consultation on a proposal by Emergent Energy to use the service. The BSC Panel then recommended the proposal for approval by Ofgem.

On Wednesday 16 June 2021, the CAP value will increase to £77/MWh. This follows a consultation which closed Tuesday 25 May 2021 with no responses disagreeing to the proposal.

On 18 May, Ofgem approved Modification P399. This modification will level the playing field between publicly available data on BM and non-BM trades, so that market participants can identify the organisations and assets which are providing these additional non-BM balancing services. P399 will be implemented on 4 November 2021 as part of the November 2021 BSC release.

Following an increase in forward market prices, a Credit Assessment Price (CAP) review was triggered. There is now a consultation paper on the value of the CAP which asks whether you agree with the proposal to increase the value of CAP.

The proposal is to increase the value of CAP to £77/MWh from last notified value of £70/MWh

On Thursday 3 June 2021, the CAP value will increase from £60/MWh to £70/MWh. This follows a consultation paper issued on Tuesday 4 May 2021 following a breach of the CAP trigger level.

Following an increase in forward market prices, a Credit Assessment Price (CAP) review was triggered. There is now a consultation paper on the value of the CAP which asks whether you agree with the proposal to increase the value of CAP.

The proposal is to increase the value of CAP to £68/MWh from last notified value of £60/MWh.

Today (26 April) we have published the Architecture Working Group (AWG) consultation on the reference architecture to support Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement (MHHS) implementation.

The additional meter readings available from smart meters will result in a big increase in the volume and frequency of meter data that needs to be settled. This requires a different approach to the way energy companies interact with each other and Settlement data. The reference architecture sets out the framework for this new data integration.

A Consultation paper on the value of Credit Assessment Price (CAP) was issued on Monday 12 April 2021 following a breach of the CAP trigger level. No responses disagreed with the proposed value and its was agreed that CAP value will increase to £60/MWh.

Following an increase in forward market prices, a Credit Assessment Price (CAP) review was triggered. There is now a consultation paper on the value of the CAP which asks whether you agree with the proposal to increase the value of CAP.

The proposal is to increase the CAP to £60/MWh from the last notified CAP value of £54/MWh.

On 19 March 2021, the EMA1 (integral Outstation) Meter passed compliance and protocol testing against our Code of Practice. We have updated the Code of Practice (CoP) Compliance and Protocol Approvals spreadsheet on the Elexon website to reflect this.

This Saturday marked the 20^th anniversary of the Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC), which was launched as part of NETA (the New Electricity Trading arrangements) on 27 March 2001.

This page lists changes to the status of Balancing and Settlement (BSC) Parties and Qualified Persons in March. It includes information on any new qualifications and registrations, new market participants, withdrawals and defaults.

The Transmission Loss Factors (TLF) for each BM Unit that is registered to be active during the 1 April 2021 to 31 May 2021 has been published.

Elexon has published the final version of its business plan for 2021/22, following feedback from the BSC Panel and BSC Parties. We thank everyone that provided feedback on the plan. Elexon’s board discussed this in detail at its February 2021 meeting. The feedback was also presented to the BSC Panel at its February meeting.

Modification P379 ‘Multiple Suppliers through Meter Splitting’ has been withdrawn by the proposer after independent analysis of the proposal showed that the costs for implementing it would significantly outweigh the benefits.

Have your say regarding issues you may have with the draft D0095 calendar for the settlement year 2021/22.

The CAP (Credit Assessment Price) will decrease to £54/MWh from the last notified value of £64/MWh on Tuesday 23 March 2021.

A metering issue that caused the submission of incorrect metering data in GSP Group A has been fixed, we can confirm. 

The Performance Assurance Board committee agree the approach to monitoring the Supplier Half Hourly (HH) and Non-Half Hourly (NHH) Settlement performance standards and applying Error and Failure Resolution (EFR) on a quarterly basis.

Here are details agreed by PAB regarding the current approach related to this period of time.

Please note that if you would like to follow further updates to this subject further information is available on the Monitoring the Settlement performance standards web page.

Find out the latest updates for 1 March 2021 regarding the submission of Market Domain Data (MDD) Plan for Ofgem’s Targeted Charging Review (TCR).

The consultation sets out the Settlement Risks identified for 2021/22, but we’d like BSC parties to let us know what they think of these risks and if they should be amended.

Lead Parties of a non-Credit Qualifying BMU can appeal against an assigned CALF (Credit Assessment Load Factor) value if it is believed it does not accurately represent your expected activity.

Energy regulator Ofgem has approved BSC Modification P375 a ground-breaking change to the Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) which will allow individual Asset Meters located ‘behind the boundary point’ to be used for Settlement purposes.

This page lists changes to the status of Balancing and Settlement (BSC) Parties and Qualified Persons in February. It includes information on any new qualifications and registrations, new market participants, withdrawals and defaults.

The BSC Change team have published a new video outlining the changes to their ways of working they have made in the last year. This is based on feedback they received from BSC Parties.

Elexon has set out options for a single energy code body to work alongside a reformed System Operator (SO) in their new policy, ‘Reforming the System Operator Roles and Code Arrangements’. This approach will allow better management of the energy system on the road to net zero.

You have the chance to take part in Elexon’s consultation on the first proposal to use the new Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) Sandbox. 

We are looking to form a user group for the Customer Solution in order to obtain input and feedback regarding  improvements that we could make to the platform. All Elexon Kinnect users are encouraged to sign up.

Ofgem has approved Modification P398 ‘Increasing access to BSC Data’ for implementation on 24 June 2021. P398 will amend the BSC so that all data is assumed open unless there is a reason otherwise and will not directly impact any market participants. BSC Parties and non-BSC Parties will be able to apply for data under a new process introduced by this Modification. This Modification will better align the BSC with moves towards a smarter energy system.

The deadline for submitting your Generation and Demand Capacity (GC/DC) values for the Spring BSC Season is Friday 12 February 2021, if submitting via Elexon Kinnect. Alternatively, the deadline is Monday 15 February 2021, if submitting to the Central Registration Agent (CRA).

We are looking to carry out a comprehensive assessment of the current Trading Disputes processes. The review will recommend any changes and improvements that can be made to the Trading Disputes technique, both in regards to short-term and long-term changes.

The Credit Assessment Price (CAP) will increase to £64/MWh, effective from Tuesday 23 February 2021. 

This page lists changes to the status of Balancing and Settlement (BSC) Parties and Qualified Persons in January. It includes information on any new qualifications and registrations, new market participants, withdrawals and defaults.

The new 149-mile interconnector, Interconnexion France-Angleterre 2 (IFA2), that runs between the UK and France has been operational for one week. Linking the Hampshire and Normandy coastlines, the interconnector has been importing and exporting clean electricity between GB and Europe since 20:30 on 22 January 2021.

The new self-service gateway element of our new digital platform – the Elexon Kinnect Customer Solution – is now live.

Ofgem has today, 22 January 2021, published its consultation on implementation principles for Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement (MHHS) in which it explains its ‘plan to clearly place responsibility for management and delivery of the programme with industry.’ 

A new consultation on the detailed design of, and Industry Code changes from, the Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement (MHH Settlement) Target Operating Model (TOM) has now been published and we would like your feedback.

The deadline for consultation responses has now been extended until 08:00 on Friday 29 January 2021.

Find out the latest updates for 18 January 2021 regarding the submission of Market Domain Data (MDD) Plan for Ofgem’s Targeted Charging Review (TCR).

The revised Estimated Transmission Losses Adjustment (ETLMO) values for use from 1 April 2021 have been approved. The approval was made by the Imbalance Settlement Group at its January meeting.

A Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) consultation for P379 ‘Multiple Suppliers through Meter Splitting’ has been issued by the BSC Panel. We are asking you to get involved by completing our consultation for P379.

System Prices reached or exceeded £1,000/MWh on seven occasions from 6 to 8 January due to cold weather brought on from the ‘Beast from the East 2’.

The CAP will increase to £62/MWh – not the proposed £60/MWh – on Wednesday 27 January 2021.

Ofgem has designated the Balancing Mechanism Reporting Service (BMRS) as the Reporting Service for Great Britain in an open letter on the 4 January 2021.

This page lists changes to the status of Balancing and Settlement (BSC) Parties and Qualified Persons in December. It includes information on any new qualifications and registrations, new market participants, withdrawals and defaults.

Read the correspondence between the BSC Panel and Ofgem regarding large scale changes to Market Domain Data (MDD).

Elexon has identified an issue at a Grid Supply Point (GSP) within GSP Group_A (Eastern region), which is causing the Annual Demand Ratio (ADR) for the GSP Group to deviate beyond accepted tolerances within Settlement.

In this end of year review, Rebecca Fowler from the Communications and Engagement team looks at an eventful 2020 in which the electricity industry faced unprecedented challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Find out the latest updates for 14 December 2020 regarding the submission of Market Domain Data (MDD) Plan for Ofgem’s Targeted Charging Review (TCR).

The results of Elexon’s 2020 annual customer survey sees improvements in a number of our core services and highlights that the support we have provided our customers during COVID-19 was appreciated.

Settlement performance activity around Non Half Hourly (NHH), Half Hourly (HH) and Sub 100kW markets has been published.

Find out the latest updates for 7 December 2020 regarding the submission of Market Domain Data (MDD) Plan for Ofgem’s Targeted Charging Review (TCR).

The latest version of the Prevailing Network Mapping Statement is now available for BSC Year 2021/22 via the Elexon Portal.

Find out the latest updates for 30 November 2020 regarding the submission of Market Domain Data (MDD) Plan for Ofgem’s Targeted Charging Review (TCR).

The Transmission Loss Factors (TLF) for each BM Unit that is registered to be active during the 1 December 2020 to 28 February 2021 has been published.

This page lists changes to the status of Balancing and Settlement (BSC) Parties and Qualified Persons in November. It includes information on any new qualifications and registrations, new market participants, withdrawals and defaults.

Find out the latest updates for 16 November 2020 regarding the submission of Market Domain Data (MDD) Plan for Ofgem’s Targeted Charging Review (TCR).

Given the approval of BSC Modification P396 by Ofgem in March 2020, from 1 December all BSC Trading Parties that are not Interconnectors will have to pay the BSC Funding Share costs that were previously attributed to Interconnectors.

BSC Trading Parties will be given £1.5m through a reduction in Elexon’s billing over the coming months. This has been driven by a number of cost efficiencies and savings made by the company.

Suppliers who experience reduced demand during Christmas and New Year Easter can request a reduced Credit Assessment Load Factor (CALF) value for the period. 

Find out the latest updates for 9 November 2020 regarding the submission of Market Domain Data (MDD) Plan for Ofgem’s Targeted Charging Review (TCR).

Suppliers can continue to provide updated estimates of consumption that reflect changes in usage during periods of lockdown in Settlement for the foreseeable future. 

October’s Risk Report regarding insight into Settlement performance and monitoring during COVID-19 has been published.

See updates regarding estimation derogations during COVID-19.

Unmetered Supplies (UMS) Metering Point Administration Numbers (MPANs) with a maximum demand over 100kW must be migrated to Half-Hourly (HH) settlement; the proposed deadline for this migration is 1 April 2021.

A BSC rule change was implemented on 12 October 2020, requiring Elexon to determine whether Settlement Adjustment Processes (SAPs) should be used if a Demand Control Event (DCE) occurs in future.

Find out the latest updates for 20 October 2020 regarding the submission of Market Domain Data (MDD) Plan for Ofgem’s Targeted Charging Review (TCR).

Elexon is calling for volunteers to join a new Workgroup to assess a Balancing and Settlement Code Modification proposal allowing Virtual Lead Parties to trade electricity from demand-side response (DSR) providers directly in the wholesale electricity market.

We have published a webinar explaining the Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement (MHHS) Target Operating Model (TOM). The webinar also provides background information to help responses to two major consultations relating to MHHS in the coming months.

We are looking for volunteers, primarily Unmetered Supplies Operators (UMSOs) or Meter Administrators (MAs), to take part in a workgroup to discuss two new proposed Data Transfer Network (DTN) flows between UMSOs and MAs for exchanging Unmetered Supplies inventory and control file data.

This page lists changes to the status of BSC Parties and Qualified Persons in September. It includes information on any new market participants, registrations, withdrawals and defaults.

See updates regarding estimation derogations during COVID-19.

Find out the latest updates for 28 September 2020 regarding the submission of Market Domain Data (MDD) Plan for Ofgem’s Targeted Charging Review (TCR).

On Thursday 10 September 2020, Elexon hosted the first ever virtual annual BSC Meeting and Seminar.

As part of the commitment to improving access to electricity market data, we have now made more electricity Settlement data available.

There is an opportunity to deliver CP1535 ‘Interconnector Fuel Type Category update to BMRS’ earlier. This chance has come about following the further Trans European Replacement Reserve Exchange (TERRE) delay announcement.  

BSC Parties voted whether to approve the appointment or re-appointment of Board Directors in their last year, and whether to re-elect all other Board directors at the virtual Annual BSC Meeting on 10 September.

National Grid ESO (NGESO) have announced that it is now not possible to facilitate GB participation in the Replacement Reserve (RR) market for the Trans-European RR Exchange (TERRE) before the end of 2020.

Our yearly analysis suggests that there are no further changes to the MIDS required at this time, with the current Individual Liquidity Threshold (ILT), timeband weightings and product weightings remaining suitable.

The five successful candidates have been announced and will be a part of the BSC Panel for a two-year period from 1 October 2020. 

See updates regarding estimation derogations during COVID-19.

This page lists changes to the status of BSC Parties and Qualified Persons in August. It includes information on any new markets, registrations, withdrawals and defaults.

Consulting has begun on proposals to change the Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) so that individual asset meters located ‘behind the boundary point’ can be used for Settlement purposes.

Ofgem CEO, Jonathan Brearley, will be speaking at our virtual Annual BSC Meeting and Seminar on Thursday 10 September from 14:00 to 16:00.

Elexon have published its views to Ofgem’s consultation about having a Programme Manager (PM) for the introduction of Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement (MHHS).

An open letter from Elexon CEO Mark Bygraves about opening the Elexon offices:

The latest circular from the Board to BSC Parties highlights that delivery of system changes to support GB participation in Project TERRE (Trans European Replacement Reserve Exchange, amongst other highlights. 

Today sees the launch of a new support service where innovators from new and existing companies can trial products and services which could transform the electricity sector

The Performance Assurance Board (PAB) has agreed an approach and timescales for ending the derogations from BSC rules and resuming Performance Assurance Techniques, which have supported BSC Parties in managing the impact of COVID 19. 

The latest Annual Performance Assurance Report (APAR) for 2019/20 has been published. The report looks back at notable achievements and delivery within Performance Assurance in the past year.

Today (30 June) we have published our Annual Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) Report for 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020. The report gives many examples of how Elexon and the BSC Panel have worked together to proactively manage the BSC and support moves to a smarter, more flexible electricity system.

Elexon has calculated the Grid Supply Point (GSP) Group liability caps and Supplier Charge values for the BSC Year 2020/21. The Performance Assurance Board (PAB) has approved the revised GSP Group liability caps and Supplier Charges to be applied to the reporting periods April 2020 – March 2021.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has published its decision to not require the smart meter Data Communications Company (DCC) to provide an enrolment service for the ‘first generation’ SMETS1 EDMI meter set.

Next week Elexon and National Grid ESO will begin the first Workgroups to develop changes to the Balancing and Settlement Code and the Grid Code to support Project MARI – a new European platform for providing balancing services.

See updates regarding estimation derogations during COVID-19.

A major milestone was reached on 29 May as the technical changes necessary to enable GB industry parties to join the central Trans-European Replacement Reserve Exchange (TERRE) platform and trade in the European electricity market was successfully deployed. 

The Credit Committee deemed it appropriate to keep the Credit Assessment Price (CAP) at the current price of £30/MWh. Discussions were held by the Committee regarding whether to revise the current price of £30/MWh following recent changes in forward market prices.

Modification P403 ‘BSC Arrangements in the event that the TERRE Market is suspended by National Grid ESO’ will be implemented on 28 May 2020.

On 3 April 2020, the BSC Performance Assurance Board (PAB) approved temporary derogations from the BSC rules, in accordance with BSCP537, which allowed Suppliers to submit new estimates for non-domestic properties which better reflect their consumption during this period of lockdown.

On Friday, National Grid ESO announced a delay to implementing the necessary changes that will enable industry parties in Great Britain to participate in the Project Trans-European Replacement Reserve Exchange (TERRE).

At its monthly meeting on 9 April, the Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) Panel agreed a set of principles for Elexon to work to, when progressing changes to the code while the industry manages the impact of COVID-19.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is consulting on whether the smart meter Data Communications Company (DCC) should be required to provide an enrolment service for EDMI SMETS1 (Smart Metering Equipment Technical Specification) meters. EDMI is a meter manufacturer.

As part of Elexon’s commitment to improving access to electricity market data, we have now made some electricity Settlement data available via a new Open Settlement Data page.

On Friday 3 April the BSC Performance Assurance Board (PAB) gave urgent approval to two temporary derogations allowing Suppliers to input more accurate estimates into our Settlement system during COVID-19

An updated message from Mark Bygraves, CEO.

A letter from CEO Mark Bygraves about support during these difficult times.

On Thursday 16 April 2020, the CAP value will decrease from £36/MWh to £30/MWh.

From the 1 April 2020, Elexon will stop production and cease support of SAA-I014 (V008). BSC Parties who currently receive SAA-I014 (V008) must ensure their systems are updated to receive either SAA-I014 (V009) or (V010).

Today Elexon has published the final version of its 2020/21 Business Plan. The industry and the BSC Panel previously commented on the plan and these comments are reflected in the final version.

To help manage the impact of the coronavirus, Elexon’s senior management team has decided to close our office from today (Monday 16 March) until further notice.

Today (12 March) is the 300^th meeting of the Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) Panel, almost 20 years on from its first meeting on 18 August 2000. 

We are proposing a revised Risk Evaluation Register (RER) in line with Performance Assurance Framework Review. It also explains the annual process of review whereby existing risks are amended and/or new risks included. 

On 27 February, Elexon implemented seven changes to the Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) as part of the February 2020 BSC release.

The Performance Assurance Board (PAB) has agreed an approach to manage performance standard issues and the application of Error and Failure Resolution (EFR). 

Elexon is providing support to technology company Electron which has been awarded funding to trial an exchange where offers of electricity flexibility can be traded.

Elexon has agreed contractual arrangements with Energy Networks Association (ENA) to allow operational cost recovery for the radio teleswitch service (RTS) within the Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) charging arrangements from 1 April 2020.

Elexon is supporting National Grid Electricity System Operator (National Grid ESO) to fulfil its responsibilities for Project TERRE (Trans European Replacement Reserves Exchange).

From 27 February we are introducing changes to the password policy for using the Elexon Portal, which provides operational Balancing and Settlement Code data.

Supplier estimation derogations will continue until further notice. The derogations will be reviewed at April’s Performance Assurance Board (PAB) meeting, taking into consideration feedback from the industry.

If you are a Lead Party of a non-Credit Qualifying Balancing Mechanism (BM) Unit you can appeal against an assigned Credit Assessment Load Factor (CALF) values and Holiday CALF values.

Performance Standards for Half Hourly (HH) Metering Systems in Measurement Classes (MC) F and G will increase from 90% of energy settling on actual data at the First Reconciliation Run (R1) to 99% on 1 January 2020.

There is more evidence of the move to a lower carbon electricity system in our latest  BSC Operations Headline Report for December 2019 which showed that wind generation produced a monthly total of 5,613 gigawatt hours (GWh) for the GB Market. This was the largest monthly total for wind in 2019.

We are looking for volunteers to join the Supplier Charges Review Workshop on January 28 2020.  Attendees will discuss whether the Supplier Charges technique needs to be amended. 

There is no doubt that data, combined with use of new technology, will play a huge part in helping to transform the energy markets. It opens up so many new possibilities for both consumers and energy companies.

As part of our preparations for the 2020/21 Risk Operating Plan, we are asking for input into the perceived importance of the Risks listed in our Risk Evaluation Register. 

We have commenced our main review of Supplier Charges. The Issue 69 Working Group met on 19 September 2019 to review our initial ideas for change. If you were unable to attend the first group, please get in touch and we will be happy to let you know the main themes of discussion.

Elexon hosted an education webinar on 12 February 2019 to help you respond to this Risk Operating Plan consultation. The webinar was presented by George Player, PAF Risk Analyst.

• Risk Operating Plan consultation 2019/2020

• Performance Assurance process documents (includes the ROP)