SEC Newsletter 20 September 2019

Hello and welcome to this edition of the SEC newsletter.

SECAS has been working hard to make the SEC more accessible for you. CodeWorks will go live shortly so keep an eye out for an exciting latest news item on our website to let you know how you can get started! CodeWorks will allow you to search for content relevant to your Party type, save Sections of the Code as your favourites and easily search keywords. Not only that, but there is a longer term plan in place that you may be interested in. Subsequent releases will take place in November and early 2020 for CodeWorks to act as a collaboration tool for Modification Proposals and to move security self-assessments onto CodeWorks to increase efficiency.

If you know of any areas or processes that you feel would benefit from being included in the scope of this project please get in touch and email SECAS@gemserv.com.

Read on for another jam packed SEC Newsletter edition, enjoy.

Shining a Spotlight on the SEC 

Thank you to those who attended our Spotlight on the SEC event last Thursday and helped to make it a great success! Attendees learned how SECAS is digitising the SEC, that Smart Metering GB are encouraging the uptake of smart meters, and how the Retail Energy Code will impact the SEC.  

Missed the event? You can access the presentation slides here. We will also share the video presentations with SEC Parties soon. 

Have you responded to the Effectiveness Review questionnaire yet? Your views matter!

We invite feedback from SEC Parties and DCC Users, about specific aspects of live operations and End-to-End processes. This includes processes managed and provided by the DCC which affect the User experience and Parties’ business operations.  

Please click here for more information, including how to respond. The deadline for responses is 9 October 2019. 

Operations Group Election Update 

Thank you to those who participated in the Operations Group elections held in August 2019. Please click here to read about the successful candidates.  

Seats are still available for seven Large Supplier Party representatives and one Gas Network Party representative. If you would like to nominate yourself, or someone else, please contact at SECAS@gemserv.com. 

Contacts for User Security Assessments  

To help ensure that security notices reach the intended recipient efficiently, we are updating the list of SEC Party contacts to include SEC Party colleagues that contact SECAS regarding User Security Assessments. Lead contacts will still be included within the communications. 

Please provide the name, email address and contact number of your colleague(s) who are responsible for your User Security Assessments, by sending them to SSC@gemserv.com. Please note that the contact may be different to the Primary or Secondary contact that you provided on the SEC Party Contact Details form. 

Spotlight on Security  

There have been several recent changes to Security Assessment processes. We know you are busy, so we have created a summary of key points to be aware of.  

Please click here to see what you need to know, we hope you find this useful. Still have questions? Email SSC@gemserv.com and a member of our Security team will be happy to help. 

New Draft Proposals 

Three new Draft Proposals will be taken to the Change Sub-Committee on 24 September 2019. 

• DP084 ‘Other User Panel Seating Amendment’ seeks to proportionately represent Other Users at the SEC Panel by administering them a seat. 
• DP085 ‘Synchronisation of smart meter voltage measurement periods’ looks at Root Mean Square (RMS) voltage readings, which currently aren’t read across consistent time periods e.g. starting on the hour and finishing on a half hour. 
• DP086 ‘Alt HAN Rollout Financing’ seeks to ensure Alt HAN ‘in year’ costs to Suppliers are spread out over time. 

We welcome your feedback and input on any of our open Draft Proposals. Please email your comments to SEC.Change@gemserv.com. 

Proposed Scope of the 2020 SEC System Releases 

SECAS has published the draft Release Implementation Documents for the June 2020 and November 2020 SEC Releases. These cover the DCC System impacting modifications proposed for inclusion. Please send any comments to SEC.Change@gemserv.com by 2 October 2019. 

Modcasts 

Need a simple, effective way to understand draft proposals and what was discussed at this month’s Panel meeting? You can download our latest Modcast to listen to here. 

BEIS Consultation on a Post 2020 Regulatory Framework 

BEIS expect that all Suppliers will meet the 2020 deadline of offering all consumers a smart meter but recognises that not all consumers may have full smart functionality due to technical constraints. The Consultation also seeks views on consumer engagement after the deadline.   

• The ‘Delivering a Smart System: A Smart Meter Policy Framework post 2020’; and     
• Links to other BEIS publications related to this consultation can be found here.  

The deadline for responses to this consultation is 10am on 11 November 2019. 

BEIS Consultation on Changes to the SEC and DCC Licence Conditions 

The BEIS Consultation on changes to the SEC and DCC Licence Conditions largely looks at the intended changes to facilitate the continued enrolment of SMETS1 smart meters into the DCC network as well as some other smart metering-related changes. The deadline for responses to this consultation is 10am on 14 October 2019. 

DCC Consultations  

The following DCC Consultations are open:  

• Amendment of SEC Appendix AM – SMETS1 Supporting Requirements which originated as a Change Request from the Technical Business Design Group. The deadline for responses is 27 September 2019.   
• SMETS1 Final Operating Capability Device Model Combinations – the DCC sets out the Device Model Combinations that it intends to support in the Final Operating Capability. The deadline for responses is 4 October 2019.
• Communication Hubs Supporting Information seeking views on reset timings and processes. The deadline for responses is 4 October 2019.

Ofgem Publications  

Ofgem has published the following documents:   

• A Technical Report on the events of 9 August 2019 (the disruption to power suppliers on that day).
• An Access and Forward-Looking Charges Significant Code Review – Summer 2019 working paper on how it intends to take forward the work of the Significant Code Review.

Alt HAN Co Consultation on the Exempt Premises List  

The Alternative Home Area Network Company has issued the draft AltHANCo Exempt Premises List Submission Consultation. The deadline for responses is 1 October 2019.