Monitoring of the meter stock shortage, driven by global materials availability and supply chain challenges

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.

The Issue 97 Workgroup findings

The Issue 97 Workgroup was established to consider the risk presented by the wide scale shortage of semi-conductors and electronic components required to manufacture Meters and the disruption to the associated supply chains.

The Workgroup recommended that Elexon collects feedback from industry using a Request for Information (RFI) to understand if participants are currently experiencing a shortage of Meters, as well as requesting them to forecast their Meter availability for future months. It was also agreed that this feedback would be shared with the wider industry via the Elexon Website.

Industry feedback

Elexon has been provided with feedback on the availability of various Meter types and activities from:

• Meter manufacturers
• SVA Meter Operator Agents (MOAs) / Metering Equipment Managers (MEMs)
• CVA MOAs

The following graphs show the latest view of these participants on the impact of the Meter stock shortage (high, medium, low, no impact) on the current and forecasted availability of Meters.

Meter manufacturers (three responses, good market coverage)

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Manufacturer actual impact responses (in comparison to the last RFI) indicate:

• Increases in high impact ratings for CT Metering, AMR and Smart
• Reduction in low impact ratings for all Meter types
• Increases in ‘no impact’ impact ratings for AMR and Smart

Manufacturer twelve month forecast responses (in comparison to the current impact) indicate:

• Decreases in high impact ratings for AMR and CT Metering
• Increases in medium impact ratings for most Meter types
• No change to the high impact rating for Smart Metering

SVA MOAs / MEMs (five responses, fair market coverage)

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SVA MOAs / MEMs actual impact responses (in comparison to the last RFI) indicate:

• A reduction in high impact across all Meter types and activities
• An increase in Medium impact reported in respect of AMR Meters

SVA MOAs / MEMs twelve month forecast responses (in comparison to the current impact) indicate:

• An increase in high impact responses for Meter fault site visits and new connections
• An increase in high impact responses for the availability of AMR Meters
• No change in the high impact responses for the availability of CT Meters
• A decrease in high impact responses for the availability of Smart meters and communication hubs

CVA MOAs (four responses, good market coverage)

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CVA MOA actual impact responses (in comparison to the last RFI) indicate:

• A reduction in high impact responses across all Meter types/activities
• An increase in low and no impact responses in respect of the majority of Meter types/activities

CVA MOA twelve month forecast responses (in comparison to the current impact) indicate:

• An increase in high impact responses for Meter fault site visits and new connections
• An increase in high impact responses for the availability of AMR Meters
• No change in the high impact responses for the availability of CT Meters