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

The Issue 108 Final Report can be found below.

The first meeting was held on 1 August 2023.

Issue 108 was raised by Elexon on 20 July 2023.

In January 2023 Elexon closed Issue 104 ‘Extending RTS Cost Recovery Arrangements Under the BSC’ with the recommendation of no change to the charging mechanism (which currently attributes, on average 50% to Suppliers and 50% to Generators). The no-change recommendation was based on the Issue Group agreeing that efforts were best focussed on moving customers away from RTS and that there were sufficient incentives on Suppliers for the transition away from RTS by 31 March 2024. However, this has not happened, for a variety of reasons. Therefore, the previous understanding that Elexon did not intend to sign a further contract for the pass-through of RTS costs after 31 March 2024 may no longer be plausible.

Issue 104 considered an extension of the RTS cost recovery arrangements out to 31 March 2024 along with a targeted charging approach. The considerations of the Issue Group members were focused on the prompt replacement of RTS devices, a replacement schedule that is unlikely to be met. Therefore, Elexon wishes to re-establish an Issue Group to reconsider industry support for passing RTS costs through the BSC from April 2024 onwards, and confirm how the costs should be apportioned. Given the existing incentives will not have had the desired effect by 31 March 2024, it seems prudent to consider whether targeted charging would be relevant from April 2024 onwards to increase the incentive to replace devices reliant on RTS. The challenges for Suppliers to facilitate the replacement of an RTS supported device with the customer are noted, and wider policy approaches beyond the BSC will likely factor into any recommendations.