We welcome the decision Ofgem made at Delivery Group in October to conclude the Switching Programme Post Implementation Phase at the end of the month. From this point, the new switching arrangements will be fully managed under enduring REC governance.
The successful delivery of the new switching arrangements has been a significant achievement for all those that have been involved in the programme. RECCo has supported the programme by developing the legal text changes required to the REC, striking new contracts for the provision of Enquiry Services, and working with the Code Manager to ensure that we are operationally ready.
The new switching arrangements are working well. However, as with all large-scale implementation programmes, there are areas that require further refinement. RECCo and DCC are working together and have agreed on a plan to address the key outstanding issues identified during early life. This independently assured plan will be monitored weekly by RECCo and tracked by REC PAB.
We are now 7 months into the Metering Codes of Practice consolidation review and are making great progress ahead of the 1st April 2023 implementation date. At the beginning of the project, we outlined the work, which was being undertaken, split into four workstreams. Please find an update on each of the workstreams below.
1. Regulatory
In the regulatory workstream, we are focused on reviewing and consolidating the four existing codes of practice into a new set of metering arrangements. This is demonstrated in the table below.
The CoMCoP is currently working its way through the REC Change Process under R0047. Industry has had the opportunity to impact assess the change and provide a response to the consultation questions. The Final Change Report is due to be published on 4th November 2022. Should the change be approved, CoMCoP will be implemented on 1st April 2023.
2. Procurement
In keeping with the consolidation of the metering arrangements, we are seeking to have a single service provider who delivers the audit regime against the CoMCoP.
The RFP has now been issued and we anticipate that the new contract will be in place by January 2023 which aligns with the project plan.
3. Mobilisation
The mobilisation period will be between January 2023 and March 2023, once the new Service Provider is in place.
During this time, we will be facilitating stakeholder events to introduce the new auditor and provide information on the new scheme methodology and cycles.
4. Stakeholder engagement
An update of the engagement activities held so far can be found below:
Operations Consultant
The programme is approaching the start of the Design, Build and Test phase. At this stage, the focus is developing and implementing changes to systems and processes. There has been a significant focus on updating the MHHS design artifacts following the industry review. The updated documents will be presented to the Design Advisory Group (DAG) on 31st October 2022, along with any associated work, to determine whether the MHHS design can be baselined.
Alongside this, we have been working with the MHHS Consequential Change Impact Assessment Group (CCIAG) and our own MHHS Stakeholder Advisory Group (MSAG) to review wider impacts to the REC that have not been included in the scope of the MHHS artifacts.
We issued a consultation detailing change to the Supply Number Format. This closes today. The change will impact all electricity suppliers, who will need to provide this on a consumer’s bill or statement. Look out for more information coming soon.
We have also recently raised a change request to clarify the scope of code drafting required for MHHS. Currently, there is an assumption that this will only include the scope of the baselined MHHS design artifacts. However, we have received feedback that this does not reflect all MHHS impacts that parties will need to deliver.
Our change request proposes that the scope of the MHHS Cross Code Advisory Group (CCAG) is expanded to include code drafting required for 'consequential change’ that has not been set out in the MHHS design artefacts. This would ensure that parties would only need to review a single set of code drafting and would avoid managing piecemeal change proposals. The change request will be issued for impact assessment shortly – we encourage all impacted stakeholders to provide your views.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss MHHS's impacts on the REC, please contact Jon Hawkins who would be happy to arrange a call.
Earlier this month we invited you to participate in our Energy Theft Detection Incentive Scheme Survey. If you haven’t completed it yet, please do so! The survey will help us understand where we can develop and improve our strategy in the future. We are keen to understand your views on changes to the Theft Detection Incentive Schemes (TDIS) and other incentives to reduce energy theft.
Please complete the survey by 10th November.
For more information regarding Energy Theft Reduction Strategy and TDIS visit our website https://www.retailenergycode.co.uk/our-programmes/energy-theft/
If you have any queries or would like to discuss the survey in more detail, please contact Rebecca Iowe.
