P374: Aligning the BSC with EBGL
Formal title: Aligning the BSC with the EBGL change process and derogation approach
Current Status
Summary
P374 seeks to ensure that the BSC is aligned with the European Electricity Balancing Guideline (EBGL – Regulation 2017/2195) derogation and change process by ensuring that:
- BSC Modifications are not implemented until the EBGL change process has completed; and
- BSC Derogations cannot be granted for provisions that constitute relevant legal requirements (Alternative Modification, which aligns to existing BSC wording) or that meet the EBGL balancing terms and conditions (Proposed Modification).
Specifically, P374 aims to reflect changes to the Code Governance arising from the application of the terms and conditions related to balancing from Articles 4, 5, 6, 10 and 18 of the EBGL.
Progression
The Authority approved P374 on 14 November 2019 for implementation 5WDs after approval. P374 was implemented on 21 November 2019.
At it’s meeting on 12 September 2019, the BSC Panel (BSC Panel 294) considered the P374 Draft Modification Report. The Panel recommends to the Authority that the P374 Alternative Modification should be approved and the P374 Proposed Modification should be rejected. The P374 Final Modification Report has been published on this webpage, and Ofgem will consider whether to approve P374.
Background:
Following Ofgem’s response to the BSC Panel Chair’s letter dated 12 November 2018, requesting further information on seven items required for the Panel to make an informed decision on the progression of P374, the Panel determined at it’s meeting on 13 December 2018 that P374 should be submitted to the Assessment Procedure. P374 was raised by SSE on 5 November 2018. The Initial Written Assessment was presented to the Panel on 8 November 2018. SSE shared with the Panel its comments on the Elexon legal interpretations of the EBGL change process on 7 November 2018, which we have published below. The Panel believed there was insufficient information to decide how to proceed (options included to proceed to the Definition, Assessment or Report phase). The Panel, therefore, deferred its decision and wrote to Ofgem to seek further information to enable it to make a decision at its next regular meeting on 13 December 2018, which Ofgem provided. The first workgroup meeting was held on 20 February 2019. The second meeting was held on 24 April 2019, where it was decided amendments were required to the legal text before any further progression took place, necessitating a third meeting to be held before Consultation. This took place on 07 June 2019 where the Workgroup agreed initial recommendations and to issue the Assessment Procedure Consultation, which was circulated on 27 June 2019 and concluded on 18 July 2019. The P374 Workgroup then convened on 25 July 2019 to finalise their views.