Change Consultations

P418 aims to ensure the Legal Text for approved BSC Modification P383 properly reflects the approved solution, business requirements, and is aligned with the BSC baseline introduced by P344, P354 and P388. In particular, it will clarify that the solution being delivered by P383 is applicable to both Supplier Base Balancing Mechanism (BM) Units and Additional BM Units.

We have issued P413 ‘Enable Elexon to be the Programme Manager for the implementation of Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement’ for Assessment Procedure Consultation, which you are invited to respond to by 15 January 2021 .

P413 will require Elexon to provide Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement (MHHS) Implementation Management services under the BSC, as the BSC Company (BSCCo), where Ofgem determines that Elexon shall provide some or all of these services. These services may include activities and responsibilities relating to MHHS programme management, system integration and programme party co-ordination (or any part of these). Elexon may also appoint a MHHS Implementation Assurance Provider, depending on Ofgem’s preference.

Under the Proposed Modification, Elexon’s costs in providing MHHS Implementation Management services will be recovered from BSC Trading Parties by market share (through the BSC’s existing Main Funding Share mechanism). The Workgroup also seeks views on a potential Alternative Modification that would recover these costs solely from Suppliers by market share (through a new Specified BSC Charge).

P413 will enable Elexon to participate in any competitive tender exercise used to appoint MHHS Implementation Management services. Any Elexon bid costs will be recovered from BSC Trading Parties through the Main Funding Share, but will be subject to a cap.

We have issued P402 ‘Enabling reform of residual network charging as directed by the Targeted Charging Review’ for Assessment Procedure Consultation, which you are invited to respond to by Tuesday 27 October 2020.

The purpose of this second P402 Assessment Procedure Consultation is to invite BSC Parties and other interested parties to provide their views on the merits of the P402 Proposed and Alternative Solutions. In particular, the Workgroup seeks your views on the Alternative Modification Proposal, which was raised by the Workgroup in response to the first Assessment Procedure Consultation. The P402 Workgroup will then discuss the consultation responses, before making a recommendation to the BSC Panel at its meeting on 16 January 2020 on whether or not to approve P402.

P402 will introduce new reporting requirements on LDSOs and BSCCo that will ensure the provision of data to enable the NETSO to set TNUoS demand residual tariffs and enable accurate billing of subsequent charges.

Please send your response to [email protected] using the form attached to the consultation by Tuesday 15 December 2020.

We have issued P379 ‘Multiple Suppliers through Meter Splitting’ for Cost Benefit Analysis Consultation, which you are invited to respond to by Friday 15 January 2021.

P379 will enable consumers to be supplied by multiple Suppliers through Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) Settlement Meters at the Boundary Point. P379 will allow multiple Suppliers to compete for the supply or export of electricity through a single Meter without needing to establish an agreement between all of the Suppliers involved for every instance.

We invite you to respond to this Assessment Procedure Consultation to provide your views on the expected costs and benefits of P379.

Please send your response to [email protected] using the form attached to the consultation by Friday 22 January 2021.

P414 ‘Allowing a Party to Withdraw from the BSC and transfer outstanding liabilities to another Party’ seeks to improve the BSC exit arrangements. It will allow a BSC Party to withdraw from the Code as soon as practicable after serving a notice of withdrawal provided that all liabilities under the Code are satisfied or transferred to another BSC Party through a transfer of its BSC party ID to that legal entity.

We have issued P402 ‘Enabling reform of residual network charging as directed by the Targeted Charging Review’ for Assessment Procedure Consultation, which you are invited to respond to by Tuesday 27 October 2020.

P402 will introduce new reporting requirements on LDSOs and BSCCo that will ensure the provision of data to enable the NETSO to set TNUoS demand residual tariffs and enable accurate billing of subsequent charges. To ensure that NETSO receives the data it requires, P402 introduces processes that require the provision, consolidation and validation of three types of data to NETSO (Monthly Billing data, Annual Tariff Setting data and Unmetered Supplies (UMS) data), the creation of two new reports to NETSO and an update to the P0210 ‘TNUoS Report’.

We invite you to respond to this Assessment Procedure Consultation to provide your views on the Workgroup’s initial recommendations for P402.

Please send your response to [email protected] using the form attached to the consultation by Tuesday 27 October 2020.

P375 proposes using Metering Equipment ‘behind’ the defined Boundary Point for Balancing Services (‘behind the Meter’), for Settlement purposes rather than the Boundary Point Meter.

This will allow balancing-related services on-site to be separated from imbalance-related activities, more accurately reflecting the balancing-energy volumes provided by the Balancing Service Provider (BSP).

P375 arose from Issue 70 ‘Settlement of Secondary BM Units using metering at the asset’.

In June 2019 the Energy Data Task Force (EDTF) published its report ‘A Strategy for a Modern Digitalised Energy System’. One of its recommendations was that the energy sector should ‘adopt the principle that Energy System Data should be Presumed Open’. The EDTF report recommends that BEIS and/or Ofgem should use legislative and regulatory powers to achieve this recommendation.

The BSC does not fully adhere to open data principles however, by taking action now, we can remain at the forefront of industry development and will be able to create the precedence for industry to follow/emulate.

P398 proposes amending the BSC so that all data is assumed open unless there is a reason otherwise. The Panel (or delegated Sub-Committee) will determine if there is any reason not to make data available. This will be done based on a transparent process of triage and categorisation. In the longer term, we will look at an IT solution to make accessing BSC data even easier than having to make a formal request for release/publication.

P399 seeks to include additional information in the Balancing Services Adjustment Data (BSAD) to identify the assets involved in bilateral trades.

Currently, each Balancing Adjustment Action taken outside the Balancing Mechanism is reported with a unique sequential number. The Proposer contends that this does not identify the counterparty to the bilateral trade and creates an information advantage to those counterparties, reducing transparency in the operation of the system creating a barrier to effective competition.

P397 seeks to introduce a mechanism through which the Balancing and Settlement Code Company (BSCCo) determines whether Licensed Distribution System Operators (LDSOs), the National Electricicty Transmission System Operator (NETSO), certain Party Agents and BSC Agents, and BSCCo should carry out the Settlement Adjustment Processes following a DCE. BSCCo would determine the nature of the DCE and, where necessary, determine and compare the costs and value of the DCE in order to determine whether the value of carrying out the Settlement Adjustment Processes outweigh the costs.

Responses to the P411 Report Phase Consultation are invited by 29 July 2020.

P408 will align with Grid Code Modification GC0130 to publish new and amended Output usable data on BMRS.

In order to support Suppliers through the COVID-19 pandemic, P406 seeks to set SP08a, SP08b, SP08c and SP04 Serials to £0 for all Suppliers from the March 2020 PARMS reporting period, until further notice.

Supplier Charges are to be reinstated by the BSC Panel after a period of suspension following any changes to Government guidelines and restrictions, and a three month notice period will be provided.

At its meeting on Thursday 9 April 2020, the BSC Panel requested that Ofgem treat P406 as Urgent in order that the solution (subject to subsequent approval) can capture the March 2020 Supplier Charges period, the first period impacted by COVID-19.

P405 will allow notices that the BSC currently requires to be sent by post or fax to be sent by email. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is not currently practical to use post or fax. More generally, it is now accepted and more efficient to send notices via email.

The BSC restricts the activities of Elexon and in the absence of a specific Modification any additional activities cannot be pursued by Elexon (even when those activities would be of benefit to BSC Parties, industry generally and/or the consumer). 

In the past specific Modifications have been necessary which have enabled Elexon to provide the Warm Homes Discount Reconciliation service, EMR settlement, and to participate in gas performance assurance framework and REC manager appointment processes.

Such individual Modifications to extend Elexon’s vires are time consuming and can be an unnecessary distraction for industry. They can also result in Elexon being unable to pursue an opportunity within a required timeframe.

P390 seeks to introduce a framework into the BSC that allows the Elexon Board to determine whether Elexon can undertake additional activities provided certain conditions are met and with consent of the Authority

All of the conditions introduced in previous Modifications to Elexon’s vires, P330 ‘Allowing Elexon to tender for the Uniform Network Code Gas Performance Assurance Framework Administrator (PAFA) role’ and P365 ‘Enabling Elexon to tender for the Retail Energy Code (REC)’ are included, plus some additional conditions to safeguard the interests of BSC Parties.

Following closure of the Report Phase Consultation on 29 April, the Draft Modification Report will be presented to the BSC Panel on 14 May 2020.

P404 aims to move Balancing and Settlement Code Procedure BSCP537 Appendices 1 ‘Self Assessment Document’, 2 ‘Testing Requirements’ and 3 ‘Guidance Notes on completing the SAD’ to a new Category 3 BSC Configurable Item.

This will facilitate quicker change to the Self Assessment Document (SAD) and its supporting documentation, with the new Category 3 BSC Configurable Item being owned and managed by the Performance Assurance Board (PAB).