New service standards for Insights Solution users
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).
Replacing the BMRS
We have built the Insights Solution as a direct replacement for all BMRS endpoints. It is part of Elexon Kinnect, our cloud platform.
Our new, free instant data update service
Since October 2021, the Insights Solution has been providing a more visual, detailed and customisable data service compared with BMRS. And since December 2022, our new Insights Real-Time Information Service (IRIS) service has been supplying instant updates on all the Insights Solution data sets.
The High Grade data line is a physical link between Elexon and subscribers to the BMRS instant data service. It is expensive to provide this service with TIBCO as the licensed software. The majority of the cost is passed on to all BSC Parties, despite the fact that it has been closed to new subscribers since 2014, and only approximately 20 companies still use it.
The IRIS however is a free to use, cloud-based service which does not have any physical network and hardware requirements as well as being easier to develop against. There are already around 250 subscribers to the service.
What does Modification P454 propose?
Modification P454 ‘Removal of BSC obligations to provide BMRS Data via TIBCO and the High Grade Service’ would remove a specific requirement in the BSC to provide BMRS data updates via the High Grade Service.
The removal is part of our transition to switch off the BMRS entirely in 2024, once the migration of all data from the legacy platform to the Insights Solution is complete.
Elexon believes the BSC should remain ‘technology and vendor agnostic’ and should not prescribe a specific infrastructure solution for data provision. Removing the obligations will set Elexon up to leverage future technology offerings without being unnecessarily constrained by obsolete technology.
New performance standards for the Insights Solution
To support the transition process to the Insights Solution becoming the system of record for our wholesale market data flows, we have also set out performance standards in the P454 consultation to ensure uninterrupted service and high levels of performance for the new Insights Solution.
The key service level agreements include:
- An uninterrupted 24/7 supported service (including fixes for unplanned outages) with a minimum availability of 99.9%
- Indicative Settlement prices for each Settlement Period being available on shortly after each Settlement Period
- An average response time for the Insights APIs of within 4 seconds (so that they update in line with any new data published on the Insights Solution)
- Insights Solution website, Application Programming Interface (APIs) and associated documentation being backed with enterprise information security standards
- No outstanding high severity incidents before the Insights Solution becomes the system of record next year.
Responding to the P454 consultation
The full detail on the proposal and the new standards is available in the P454 assessment procedure consultation.
- The consultation is available on the Modification consultations webpage
The deadline for responses to the proposals is 17:00 on 17 October.
Next steps for Modification P454 and switching off BMRS
We will review all responses to the consultation and then present them to the BSC Panel in November 2023. The Panel will make a recommendation to Ofgem on whether to approve the change.
We are working to deliver the final iteration of the Insights Solution (including the crucial indicative Settlement prices data flow). We expect this to be complete early next year.
We will work with the remaining High Grade line users to transition them to the new IRIS service. If you are a TIBCO user and you need any support with transitioning, please contact us on [email protected].