MP210 'RSA forecasts, orders and pay stock charges for Alt HAN Equipment'

The SEC currently restricts Alt HAN equipment forecasting and ordering to ‘Relevant Supplier Parties’ (Small and Large Suppliers) only. RSAs such as Metering Equipment Managers (MEMs) can install Smart Metering Equipment on Suppliers’ behalf, and so not including them within SEC Section Z4.36 will inhibit the rollout of Alt HAN equipment.

The Proposed Solution will allow RSAs to forecast, order and obtain Alt HAN Equipment on behalf of their Suppliers. For this to take place, SEC Section Z ‘Alt HAN Arrangements’ will be amended to allow Parties’ to forecast, order and obtain Alt HAN Equipment. This will allow Relevant Suppliers and RSAs to do so, subject to meeting the requirements under the Alt HAN arrangements.
SEC Lawyers advised that ‘Party’ is the most suitable term, acknowledging that Alt HAN Co would be able to control who they agree to deliver Alt HAN Equipment to through its contracts.
Relevant Suppliers will need to have acceded to the Alt HAN Supplier Contract to allow their RSA to undertake some of their activities and the RSA would need to sign a contract with Alt HAN to access services. It is intended that access to the Alt HAN services would only be offered to Relevant Suppliers and RSAs but not other types of SEC Party. The necessary contract changes are currently being discussed by the Alt HAN Forum’s Supplier Contract sub group and will be subject to a consultation.
In order to correctly assign Explicit Charges to the Party that holds Alt HAN Devices ‘in stock’, the DCC will need to be able to process Explicit Charge reports received from Alt HAN Co that will contain Party as well as Supplier in stock charge data. The DCC has confirmed that it can carry out this action.
Additionally, the DCC has confirmed that in the event of an RSA entering administration, Alt HAN is to continue invoicing the DCC for that RSA’s ‘in stock’ Devices until the RSA’s credit cover has been drawn down to zero, or until Alt HAN has recovered the ‘in stock’ Devices. If the credit cover has been fully drawn down upon, and the Devices are yet to be recovered, the charges will be socialised to SEC Parties. The DCC has advised that this is the same arrangement with Communications Hubs. Alt HAN has advised that it will continue to look into whether there are any alternative arrangements to reduce any potential liabilities to Suppliers in the event of a MOP failure.