P364: Clarifying requirements for registering and maintaining BM Units

P364 will clarify the requirements for configuring and registering Plant and Apparatus in Balancing Mechanism (BM) Units. Specifically where Parties seek to share responsibility for Imports and Export from the same Plant and Apparatus or via the same Boundary Point. It will also clarify the circumstances and requirements for maintaining BM Unit registration details and seeking to re-register BM Units when the configuration of Plant and Apparatus change.

Formal title: Clarifying requirements for registering and maintaining BM Units

Summary

P364 will clarify the requirements for configuring and registering Plant and Apparatus in Balancing Mechanism (BM) Units. Specifically where Parties seek to share responsibility for Imports and Export from the same Plant and Apparatus or via the same Boundary Point.

It will also clarify the circumstances and requirements for maintaining BM Unit registration details and seeking to re-register BM Units when the configuration of Plant and Apparatus change

The current definition of Standard BM Unit configurations is too restrictive and not reflective of current market practices. Parties have to follow the non-Standard BM Unit registration process even though their Plant and Apparatus would be considered as standard in all respects other than how the BM Units are registered in CVA. This leads to inefficient and delayed registration activities. Elexon’s ‘Review of Metering Dispensations and non-standard BMUs’ and changes in market participation over the last 24 months indicate that BSC Section K3.1 is not necessarily reflective of current market practice in terms of how Parties wish to register and configure their BM Units.

Furthermore, the BSC is not clear on what should be done when Plant and Apparatus are reconfigured in such a way that the new configuration is different enough that it does not meet the same criteria under which it was originally registered. Failure to notify these changes undermines the ability to accurately Balance and Settle the GB market.

P364 proposes to:

• Amend BSC Section K so that certain configurations of Plant and Apparatus do not have to apply to the ISG where the Plant and Apparatus is otherwise of a standard configuration;
• Amend the BSC and any associated CSDs to require Parties to consider if their BM Unit configuration has changed. If such changes result in a change of BM Unit configuration then the Party responsible should be required to seek approval based on their new configuration.
• Amend BSC Section K3.1 (Configuration of BM Units) so that it reflects current Industry practice as well as any expected future changes to industry.