We're celebrating two years of live REC operations!
We recently passed the second anniversary of the Retail Energy Code’s live operations. The code was launched in September 2021 after 12 months of hard work leading to consolidation of a number of industry codes.
Two years ago, our ambition was significant. We wanted to introduce a best-in-class industry code focusing on positive consumer outcomes and providing those within the industry with an accessible and comprehensive set of rules that are easy to understand and comply with.
To celebrate, we want to highlight some of our stand-out achievements from the past two years, alongside commentary from our executive team.
We launched REC version 3.0
In July 2022, we implemented REC version 3.0 alongside the Central Switching Service (CSS) go-live. The CSS is now under the governance of RECCo, alongside the Gas and Electricity Enquiry Services. From the 1st of April 2023, the funding of the CSS transferred from the Smart Energy Code (SEC) to the REC, representing the single most significant change to our operating budget.
We consolidated the metering codes of practice
On April 1st, 2023, we consolidated all metering codes of practice into a single set of arrangements under the REC. This combined four existing codes into one. We procured a single metering auditor, Wilcock Consultants, to manage the new arrangements. This change removed duplication, simplified the code, and drove efficiency. Our Interim Director of Operations, Mark Loveday, says, “This gave parties playing more than one role the opportunity to carry out a streamlined process, with cost and time efficiency potential.”
We’re evolving the Enquiry services
We questioned why the enquiry services were separate in a world where dual fuel is more common. Therefore, in our Forward Work Plan, we set the goal of combining the enquiry services to create a single data source accessed through one mechanism.
Mark Loveday, Interim Director of Operations, commented on the work completed so far: "We instigated an operational processes review of the EES and GES, completed in February 2023. We identified areas to improve and streamline the processes, which were grouped into two core categories: Access to enquiry services and Maintenance of enquiry services. These improvements have been steadily implemented, and clear efficiencies have been delivered.”
We’ve improved the user experience
The Code Manager has completed a lot of work to make your interactions with the REC easier. Mark says, “The Change Proposal pages on the REC portal have been enhanced to provide ‘at a glance’ information. We’ve also introduced the Digital Navigator, which has brought noticeable improvements to navigating the REC schedules. Reporting dashboards went live at the end of 2022, so market participants had more visibility around party performance and industry risk trends. We have also introduced the REC issues group, allowing for constructive discussion about industry issues.”
To prioritise future improvements, we held three workshops in June and July 2023, where we gathered industry feedback on the Code Manager and Enquiry Services. We wanted to ensure that both meet the needs of our users and provide the best service. At the events, we asked what is working well, what doesn’t work currently and what users would like to see in the future. We’re now using the key feedback to inform our future procurement projects.
We’re taking the necessary steps to reduce energy theft in the UK
We published our Theft Estimation Methodology in early 2023 after working with Capgemini to produce the methodology by drawing from available data sources. Before this work, an assessment of the scale of the issue hadn’t been completed for over ten years. The methodology found that energy theft costs UK consumers up to £1.4 billion annually. This figure will inform our work to reduce energy theft in the future and be used to influence industry action.
Mar k highlights the introduction of the Energy Theft Expert Group (ETREG) and Forum as a key achievement under the REC. These groups are being used to shape our theft reduction strategy.
We also continue to work closely with our valued service provider, Crimestoppers, to deliver the Energy Theft Tip Off Service (ETTOS) and collaborate with Becky Holland & Partners to run the Stay Energy Safe campaigns. The 'Tick Tock' and 'Unknown Danger' campaigns have proven successful over the past two years, consistently increasing public reports of energy theft.
Delivering cost-effective code governance and service management
We have continued to deliver a best-in-class governance model. We manage multiple service providers that provide the code and our core services on behalf of the industry. This includes the REC Code Manager, which delivers the day-to-day operational elements of the REC. We procure best-of-breed service providers who work together to provide this function. Brian O’Shea, our Director of Finance and Commercial, highlights that last year,
We have continued to deliver a best-in-class governance model. We manage multiple service providers that provide the code and our core services on behalf of the industry. This includes the REC Code Manager, which delivers the day-to-day operational elements of the REC. We procure best-of-breed service providers who work together to provide this function. Brian O’Shea, our Director of Finance and Commercial, highlights that last year, “through proactive contract management, we recovered more than £900k in service credits and delayed payments from our service providers. This was deducted from the service cost, reducing the monetary impact on REC Parties.”
These service cost reductions were achieved through a collaborative and pragmatic approach by our service providers, C&C Group and Xoserve, respectively. Furthermore, Brian highlights that we saved stakeholders over £640,000 by migrating the Green Deal Charging Database “with c£1.2m per annum saved through a rationalisation of the Gas Enquiry Service delivery platform”. These service cost reductions were achieved through a collaborative and pragmatic approach by our service providers, C&C Group and Xoserve, respectively.
Improving consumer outcomes
We have set ourselves an ambition of seeking to help build consumer trust in the retail energy market. Whilst this is no small task, initiatives like our data and digitalisation programme are underway and working to introduce trust-building mechanisms, such as open data and consumer consent. Pete Davies, our Director of Data, Technology and Transformation, highlights our upcoming data and digitalisation strategy release as an achievement to look out for in the future.
In the past year, we re-appointed Helen Charlton to the RECCo board as our Non-Executive Director for Consumers. Helen has over 20 years of working in the industry promoting consumer advocacy. As a board member, Helen advises, assesses and challenges RECCo policy and REC changes to ensure they deliver benefits for the consumer.
Furthermore, we continue to support government initiatives to help consumers with their energy costs. At the end of 2022, we provided data reports to support BEIS in delivering the energy support scheme. We're also hosting events to help support vulnerable consumers this year (read more here).
Continuing our journey
We’re proud to have made such fantastic progress over the past two years of live REC operations, and we have many plans to come. To learn about our plans for the future, you can read our Forward Work Plan for 2023-26 here. We are also working on developing our Forward Work Plan for 2024-27 and we are in the process of engaging with our stakeholder community for feedback. If you or your organisation would like to hear about our plans from our strategy team over coming weeks please contact our strategy team by emailing Suchitra at: recco_strategy@retailenergycode.co.uk
