SEC Newsletter 15 January 2021

Hello and welcome to the first edition of the SEC Newsletter for 2021. On behalf of SECAS, the SEC Panel and all the Sub-Committees, we wish you a happy New Year.

In this edition you will find out how to respond to the SEC Panel Draft Budget consultation, how you can help shape our webinar programme, and about opportunities within the SECAS Team. Read on to find out how you can attend the modification process workshop, and learn about Draft Proposals, Modcasts, and more. We hope that you enjoy this newsletter.

 

Respond to the SEC Panel Draft Budget Consultation

SEC Parties are invited to respond to the SEC Panel Draft Budget 2021-2024 consultation by 2 February 2021, available via CodeWorks here. It is simple to provide your feedback. On the right-hand side of the document, locate the speech bubble icon, and click to add your comment(s) to the whole document, or to a particular section.

 

For further information and a demo of how to use CodeWorks, please watch our short webinar here (you must be logged in to view). If you don’t yet have access to CodeWorks, you can register here.

 

Would you like to join the SECAS Team?

We are currently recruiting for the following positions to join the SECAS team:

  • Smart Energy Consultant – Do you have a sound understanding of the Smart Metering infrastructure? Do you also have the skills, knowledge and technical confidence to work with industry stakeholders and SEC Sub-Committees? Click here for more information about this role.

 

  • Operational Process Lead – Do you have strong relationship management and written skills, the flexibility to manage changing and competing priorities, and a keen eye for detail? Click here for more information about this role.

 

  • Committee & Governance Co-ordinator – Are you looking for a role which allows you to further develop your Governance, stakeholder management and writing skills, whilst developing detailed knowledge in the Smart Energy sector? Click here for more information about this role.

 

Help shape our webinar programme for 2021/22

SEC Parties are invited to help shape the online engagement programme by sharing what topics you’d like to know more about, and what is impacting your Party. Our short topic-focused webinars provide the opportunity to build your knowledge of the SEC and hear updates from key stakeholders. Your feedback provides valuable insight into how we can better support the needs of SEC Parties, particularly during this challenging time as we all adapt to the impacts of COVID-19.

 

To view our previous webinars, please visit our webpage here. To let us know about a particular topic / stakeholder you’d like to hear from, please contact the SECAS Team. We will keep you updated about webinar events and dates over the coming weeks.

 

Join our industry workshop to support the review of the SEC Modification Process

You are invited to contribute to our review of the end-to-end modification process by attending an online industry workshop at 10:00 on 27 January 2021. Attendees will have the opportunity to give input to our proposals for changes to Section D ‘Modification Process’. For more information, please click here. To register your interest in attending this workshop, please email the SEC Change Team by 25 January 2021.

 

Change items for SEC Panel decision

One Draft Proposal and two Modification Proposals will be taken to the SEC Panel meeting on 15 January 2021. At this meeting, the following Draft Proposal will be considered for conversion to a Modification Proposal, and the Modification Proposals will be taken for decision to proceed to the Report Phase. If you have any questions or comments, please contact the Change Team.

 

 

SECMP0015 ‘GPF timestamp for reading instantaneous Gas values’

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instantaneous Gas Smart Metering Equipment (GSME) register values can be read from the Gas Proxy Function (GPF). These aren’t normally in-line with the readings on the GSME, since the GSME only provides intermittent updates to the GPF, typically once every 30 minutes. The Supplier will not know how up to date the information is without a timestamp for when the GSME last updated the GPF.

 

 

 

 

MP077 ‘DCC Service Flagging’

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a need for a simple and reliable mechanism to identify where Smart Devices are, or are not, present at a location. This information is necessary for Suppliers to establish whether there is a Smart Metering system they can communicate with at that location. Issues have been identified in the current process where the DCC Service Flagging is incorrect and hinders the switching process for some consumers with Smart Meters.

 

 

 

DP146 ‘SM WAN Coverage Date’

 

 

The DCC is required to provide information to Parties via the Self Service Interface (SSI) regarding the Smart Metering Wide Area Network (SM WAN) availability for Smart Metering Equipment Technical Specification (SMETS)1 and SMETS2 Devices.

Some Parties’ systems use a hardcoded date of 1 January 2021 within their business process, which may cause an issue now that the date is no longer relevant.

BEIS Designation of the SEC

SEC Parties can view an updated version of the SEC which came into effect on 13 January 2021. It implemented a modification to SEC Appendix E ‘DCC User Interface Services Schedule’ (UISS). It was implemented by BEIS to align the Target Response Times within the UISS across SMETS2 and enrolled SMETS1 Device Models.

Please visit our latest news page for more information, including the Designation letter and accompanying redlining.

 

Modcasts

You are invited to listen to our Modcasts to hear about the latest updates on SEC Change. You can listen to our latest Modcast here, where we talked through the November 2020 SEC Release. New Modcasts are released monthly on the Change Reporting webpage.

 

Open Industry Consultations Webpage

Please visit our Open Industry Consultations webpage for details of consultations that may be of interest to SEC Parties. If you are aware of a consultation that should be added, please contact the SECAS Helpdesk.

 

For other publications that may be of interest to you, please view the Operations Report in the January 2021 White SEC Panel Meeting Documentation. SEC Parties can also view the Transitional Governance Update (TGU) Paper in the January 2021 Green SEC Panel Meeting Documentation.

 

SECAS Helpdesk

Please contact the SECAS Helpdesk with any questions and a member of the team will be happy to help. Helpdesk hours are Monday-Friday 9-5pm (excluding bank holidays).

 

Date            Meeting, Event or Deadline  
15 January  SEC Panel Meeting 88 
19 January  Smart Metering Key Infrastructure Policy Management Authority Meeting 77 
20 January  Change Board Meeting 50 
25 January  Operations Group Meeting 41 
27 January  Testing Advisory Group Meeting 75 
27 January  Security Sub-Committee Meeting 116 
4 February  Technical Architecture and Business Architecture Sub-Committee Meeting 62 
10 February  Security Sub-Committee Meeting 117 
12 February  SEC Panel Meeting 89 
16 February  Smart Metering Key Infrastructure Policy Management Authority Meeting 78