List of BSC Issues

These pages list all Issues published since 2011. Issues are raised where problems or potential improvements to the current arrangements have been identified, but it’s not known how best they should be resolved. Once raised Issues will be discussed by an Issue Group to consider possible solutions, requirements or to define the scope and issue further.

(Showing items 1-5 of 114)

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Issue 114 Settlement of ABSVD for ancillary services delivered through independent aggregators

Applicable Balancing Services Volume Data (ABSVD) is provided by NGESO to Settlement, in order to ensure that Lead Parties’ Energy Imbalance positions are adjusted to reflect ancillary services that the assets within their BM Units provide to NGESO. The original ABSVD process (introduced by Modification Proposal P71) was intended to work with BM Units for which the Lead Party was both Balance Responsible Party (BRP, liable for Energy Imbalance) and Balancing Service Provider (BSP, providing ancillary services to NGESO). But, more recently, Modifications P344 and P354 have provided mechanisms for NGESO to submit ABSVD where the customer’s BSP (an independent aggregator) is different to their BRP (the electricity supplier).

Experience of operating these processes has revealed a number of issues that were either not considered or not resolved during the P344 and P354 processes, as described below. Elexon believe it would be helpful for an Issue Workgroup to examine these Issues, including any potential impacts on demand flexibility services (both turn-up and turn-down) and participation of domestic customers.

The details on these seven Issues and their Proposed Solutions are listed in the Proposal Form. 

The first meeting of Issue Group was held on 10 September 2024. The second meeting is expected to take place in October 2024. 

 Workgroup sign-ups can be found here: Modification and Issue workgroup sign-up – Elexon BSC

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Issue 113 Introduction of a Radio Teleswitch System (RTS) user charge

The contract between Elexon and the Energy Networks Association (ENA) currently passes the operational costs for the Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) through the BSC as ‘BSC Costs.’ These costs amount to approximately £3.5 million, with around 1 million RTS devices (Radio Teleswitches and Radio Telemeters) in use. Under the existing arrangement, all BSC Trading Parties contribute to these costs based on their Funding Share.

However, Ofgem wishes to explore ways to incentivise Suppliers to promptly replace RTS meters. Ofgem has requested Elexon revisit a solution proposed in Issue 108. This solution aims to target RTS cost recovery specifically toward the relevant Suppliers. Additionally, considerations should be made regarding the reporting provided to impacted parties and publishing the relevant information in the interests of transparency.

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Issue 112 Clarifying Half Hourly Data Collector (HHDC) obligations within BSCP502 regarding the fault investigation process

At the May 2023 Performance Assurance Board (PAB) meeting, Elexon presented the findings report for an Assurance Information Request (AIR) on SVA Risk 005 (Fault Resolution). The PAB responded with questions around some of these findings, specifically around: The reporting of alarm flags through Hand Held Reads (HHR); Differing approaches to dealing with several types of alarm flags and which alarm flags the Half-Hourly Data Collectors (HHDCs) choose to report on; and General concerns around HHDC non-compliance with the BSC.

Elexon reviewed the findings report for an Assurance Information Request on SVA Risk 005. The Performance Assurance Board (PAB) responded with questions around HHDC obligations and general concerns around HHDC non-compliance. Elexon further reviewed party responses and concluded that three of the five concluded findings were compliant with the BSCP502 but are not adequate for purpose and required an additional review. 

Elexon considers that leaving this issue unresolved could lead to impacts on Settlement, this could lead to a further occurrence of this issue happening and a high materiality impact if left unresolved.

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Issue 111 SMRA Liquidated Damages in MHHS Arrangements

The Supplier Meter Registration Agent (SMRA) is a vital service under the Market Wide Half Hourly Settlement (MHHS) Target Operation Model (TOM) and the need to process messages and issue notifications within defined timescales is integral to enable downstream activities to take effect.

Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for SMRAs arrangements were added to the BSC as part of version 3.0 of the Retail Energy Code implementation, having originally been a part of the Master Registration Agreement. These SLAs are self-policed with the SMRAs distributing Service Credits to participants if not met and are not part of the BSC Performance Assurance Framework.

Whilst the concept of SLAs is still required, the current mechanism set out in Annex K-1 and
BSCP501 is no longer appropriate due to the implementation of the MHHS Target Operating
Model (TOM), with faster response times required. The MHHSP TOM does not address the concept of SLAs in relation to liquidated damages, therefore, BSCCo has raised Issue 111 to consider the best future approach.

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Issue 110 Modernising ECVN/MVRN submission and acknowledgement processes

The method of Energy Contract Volume Notification (ECVN) submission has remained the same since New Electricity Trading Arrangements (NETA) go-live in March 2001 with Section P of the BSC allowing for 20 minutes from submission to acknowledgement (after which an ECVAA System Failure is declared). The current practice of notification can put Trading Parties and their counterparties at financial risk, particularly when notifying close to the Submission Deadline. This is because the rejection feedback can be close to or after the Submission Deadline leaving insufficient time to make a correction.

The current solution is underpinned by ageing technology from submission, authentication, acknowledgment and reporting. Elexon operates to a 15 minutes service level rather than the 20 minutes ECVAA System Failure point for acknowledgement, this service level has been met in eight of the past 12 months. Customer feedback has indicated a preference for a reduced service level that is relevant to trading in real time and therefore requiring immediate acknowledgement of their trades. This may increase competition by increasing liquidity in trades closer to the Submission Deadline.

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Issue 109 Treatment of domestic solar self-consumption within Settlement

Many domestic customers are installing solar photovoltaics (PV) in their homes, allowing them to both consume the energy generated and export excess energy to the grid. However, the current Boundary Point Settlement metering system measures electricity Import and Export on an instantaneous basis. This means that even if a household generates and consumes equal amounts of energy over a period, they can still incur charges due to momentary imbalances between generation and consumption. As a result, customers may face higher bills and complexities in energy management. The current system also poses challenges in accurately reflecting the true energy surplus or deficit over a given settlement period.

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Issue 108 Further Extension of RTS Cost Recovery Arrangements Under the BSC

The contract between Elexon and the Energy Networks Association (ENA) to pass the operational costs for the Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) through the BSC as ‘BSC Costs’ is due to expire on 31 March 2024. The BSC pass-through operational costs are currently circa £5 million and there are circa 1 million RTS devices (Radio Teleswitches and Radio Telemeters) in use.

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Issue 107 Review of BSC Section N

This Issue sought to review BSC Section N to identify which areas and associated processes are currently pain points experienced by the Industry. It aimed to identify solutions to address these to improve efficiency and the user experience for these processes.

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Issue 106 Review of BSC Credit Cover Arrangements

The Credit Committee has requested that Elexon review the Credit Cover arrangements with industry experts through an Issue Group. This is in response to key concerns about credit being sufficient to protect the market from Supplier Failure while also not being an onerous burden on market participants. 

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Issue 105 Further considerations following implementation of BSC Modification P448

Issue 105 was raised to explore the consequential impacts of the P448 Alternative Modification and make a recommendation as to whether further industry change is required.

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