FAQs

Please visit our Becoming a SEC Party webpage and download the Accession Guidance Notes explaining the steps required to complete the Accession process.

You will need to complete the online SEC Accession Application Form and submit an Application Fee of £540 (plus a £1 payment for a Share in the Smart Energy Code Company (SECCo) which is mandatory for Ofgem Licensees and optional for those applying as an Other SEC Party). Purchasing a Share will allow you to take part in certain SEC Party votes such as the Annual General Meeting (AGM).

SECAS will verify your submitted details in the application form and will then send you an invoice for you to make the necessary payment.

If you have any questions, please contact the SECAS Helpdesk.

To change your SEC Party Details, please access and complete the online Change in Party Details form.

Please complete the form with any details that have changed and state if you consent for the DCC (and / or the Alternative Home Area Network Company (Alt HAN Co) for Supplier Parties) to be notified. SECAS will review the information provided and action the changes as soon as possible.

When completing the online form, please review the four spreadsheets below to see if they require any changes. Anyone can access the SEC Parties List. SEC Parties can access the other three spreadsheets once logged in. If you do not yet have a website account, please register here.

• The SEC Parties List to see if the name of your SEC Party / Voting Group name is correct or needs to be changed. This list also displays if you have completed the DCC’s User Entry Process (UEP).
• The SEC Party Details List to see if your VAT number, registered address, addresses for invoices / notices under the SEC, Energy Licences, affiliates or Unique Electricity & Gas Identifiers are correct or need to be changed.
• The Operations Contact List to see if your contacts that manage DCC Critical Alerts are correct or need to be amended. Guidance to Critical Alerts can be found here.
• The ID Allocation spreadsheet to see if your Party name or Unique Electricity / Gas Identifiers are correct or need to be changed.

SEC Parties can log in and visit the ID Allocation webpage to download the latest version of the ID Allocation Spreadsheet:

• ID Allocation Spreadsheet – Latest Version
• ID Allocation Spreadsheet – Latest Version Alternative Format

This spreadsheet contains the SEC Party name, Signifier, Organisation Number and ID Allocation range for all current and former Parties. It also contains the Market Participant Identifier (MPID) information associated with each Party. If your Party name or MPID information needs to be updated, please use the online Change in Party Details form.

For more information, please find the ID Allocation Procedure Guidance Notes.

Please enter your name, organisation name (if applicable) and email address into the Newsletter Signup form in the bottom right corner of any SEC webpage to subscribe to our SECAS Newsletter.

You can unsubscribe at any time by contacting the SECAS Helpdesk. SEC Newsletters are sent by email once a month.

All previous SEC Newsletters can be accessed here.

Please visit our Book an Assessment webpage to submit your Assessment Application Form. This must be submitted to SECAS at least 12 weeks in advance of the date that which you wish to be assessed. More information on the assessments can be found below:

• Security Assessment
• Privacy Assessment

You will need a Full User Security Assessment (and a Full User Privacy Assessment for Other SEC Parties) status of either Approved or Approved, subject to steps to complete the User Entry Process (UEP). If there are still steps that you need to complete with the DCC, you’ll need to complete them before completing the UEP and becoming eligible proceed into the Live DCC environment. Please find the UEP Guidance Notes for further information.

Please visit our Central Products List (CPL) webpage, where you can download the latest version of the CPL Spreadsheet. The New Entry Form tab is included as part of the CPL spreadsheet and must be completed by a Device Manufacturer and sent to the SECAS Helpdesk in order to add new SMETS2+ Device Models to the CPL. Please refer to the CPL Submission Guidance document for more information on the process.

For SMETS1 submissions, these must go through testing with the DCC. SMETS1 submissions will first need to be included in the Pending Products Combination List (PPCL) and then the Eligible Products Combination List (EPCL). The DCC will then provide the SMETS1 submissions to SECAS to add to the CPL. Once the SMETS1 devices have been successfully deployed, they will be added to the Deployed Products List (DPL).

For further information on the SMETS1 submission process, please contact DCCDevices@smartdcc.co.uk.

SECAS supports the UK Metering Forum (UKMF) to maintain the mapping spreadsheet (latest version found here) which helps SEC Parties understand the CPL ESME / GSME Meter Model entries.

The spreadsheet maps ESME and GSME Meter Model hardware entries contained in the CPL in the SEC required format (hexadecimal), to an industry wide understood ‘Plain English’ description.

The CPL Meter Model mapping to Plain English descriptions spreadsheet contains four tabs:

• Version Control – details a history of changes made between versions.
• SMETS2 Meter Model Mapping – maps SMETS2 CPL Meter Model hardware entries to a Plain English description.
• SMETS1 Meter Model Mapping – maps SMETS1 CPL Meter Model hardware entries to a Plain English description.
• Zigbee Manufacturer Codes – a listing of Device Manufacturers and their associated ZigBee Manufacturer Codes.

Please visit our Business Architecture Document and Technical Architecture Document webpage, where you can download the latest versions.

The TAD describes the End-to-End Technical Architecture which encompasses the DCC systems, and the Smart Metering Systems together.

The BAD describes the Business Architecture which enables Parties and Energy Consumers (or their representatives) to use the Services and access the functionality and processes described in the Technical Specifications set out in the SEC.

The latest versions of the BAD and TAD can be downloaded directly below:

• Technical Architecture Document v3.0 – 20 June 2019
• Business Architecture Document v3.1 – 9 November 2021

The Business Architecture Model (BAM) supports the BAD. Please also find the latest version the BAM User Guide here.

Please visit our Releases webpage where you will find dedicated webpages for each upcoming SEC Release, closed releases and BEIS-led releases. Here, you can find all the latest information and documentation for that release.

SEC Parties can use the online form to be added to the SEC Modification Information mailing list to be kept updated of ongoing Modifications and when they are issued for consultation. All open SEC and industry consultations can be found on our Open SEC Consultations webpage.

All ongoing and implemented Modifications can be found here.

The Change Reporting webpage displays the SEC Modifications Register which is updated on a monthly basis to provide an overview of the latest updates on all SEC Draft and Modification Proposals.

The Code Administration Code of Practice (CACoP) is a cross-Code document that aims to provide consistency in the approach and level of service provided by Code Administrators. It contains 14 principles to facilitate consistency and transparency in the Code Modification processes and protect the interests of smaller market participants and consumers. For more details, please see our CACoP webpage.

All secure meeting documentation is stored on an Egress Secure workspace. When becoming a member of the SEC Panel or a Sub-Committee, SECAS will grant you relevant access upon creating an Egress account.

Logged in SEC Parties will be able to access Meeting Documentation categorised by the Panel Information Policy as GREEN.

The SEC Panel and each of its Sub-Committees have annual elections staggered across the year. An interim election is also arranged for the SEC Panel should any members leave the Panel within a term.

Logged in SEC Parties can access the Elections online form.

The term of office for members is set at 24 months to assist with maintaining knowledge within the Sub-Committee. This means an annual election will be held for half of the membership of each Sub-Committee each year.

If a new member joins a Sub-Committee after the date of the annual election, their term of office will be aligned with the nearest upcoming annual review.

SEC Parties can use the online form to register to the SEC Parties mailing list to be informed of all future elections.

The Smart Energy Code Company (SECCo) is able to reimburse reasonable travel, accommodation and subsistence expenses. To make an expense claim, please complete the Sub-Committee Members Expense Form found here and send this to SECASFinance@gemserv.com and Louise Evans (louise.evans@gemserv.com). Please include scanned copies of your receipts.

Full details can be found in the SEC Panel Expenses Policy here.

All SEC Parties can use the online form to subscribe to the SEC Parties mailing list to be kept updated on all future SECAS webinars and events.

Links to upcoming SECAS webinars can be found here. If there are any topics which you believe should be presented at future webinars, please contact secas@gemserv.com.

Logged in SEC Parties can view the presentation slides and recordings of all past webinars here.