Decommissioning the TIBCO service could lead to significant savings

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. 

Limitations and high costs for the current service 

The TIBCO and High Grade line service provide near real time updates from the BMRS to users. However, the service is based on 20-year-old legacy systems, and installing the line at the premises of users is time consuming and costly. The service also experiences bandwidth restrictions.

IRIS is a free alternative for near real-time updates 

We are migrating all BMRS data flows to the Elexon Kinnect Insights Solution, which uses cloud technology to deliver a more detailed and customisable data service. As part of this, we have made the Insights  Real-time Information Service (IRIS) available since December 2020 as an alternative to the TIBCO service. The IRIS is a ‘push’ service delivering all of the Insights Solution datasets in a scalable cloud-native architecture. 

So far, more than 100 subscribers have signed up for the IRIS.

Since 2014, we have not onboarded any new TIBCO users and the total number of users has reduced by half to approximately 20 subscribers. 

• Subscribe to the IRIS service

Modification P454 

Modification P454 proposes the removal of BSC Obligations to provide BMRS Data via TIBCO and the High Grade Service. 

If approved, we will effectively stop on-boarding new subscribers to the TIBCO service.  We will continue to support all current users to transition to the IRIS service.  

Savings expected if TIBCO and the high grade service are removed 

Elexon passes on operational costs of TIBCO and the high grade line to all market participants and consumers. TIBCO users also have to pay costs for licensing proprietary software and network line rental. However, users of the IRIS service do not have to pay any licensing fees to use it.  

Workgroup to assess the proposal and expected savings 

We expect that removal of the legacy service will deliver significant savings on overall BSC costs, as well as reducing costs for individual TIBCO users. We will set up a Workgroup to assess the impact of P454. This will include examining the overall cost saving and wider benefits of removing the legacy service.  

Sign up to join the Workgroup 

We are looking for volunteers to join the Workgroup. If you are a TIBCO user, we believe that it is essential that you join the group, or share your views by responding to the consultation on the proposal. 

• Sign up to join the group

Timeline for developing the Modification 

The expected progression of P454 is as follows: 

When would TIBCO and the High Grade service be decommissioned?

If P454 is approved, we would decommission TIBCO and the High Grade service in March 2024. This is in line with our plan to decommission BMRS, after all the data flows have been migrated to the Insights Solution.