SEC Newsletter 21 November 2019

Hello and welcome to this edition of the newsletter.

This edition is jam packed with Election updates and how you can get involved in one of our Sub-Committees, Modification updates and news about our next CodeWorks release.

CodeWorks is your digital version of the SEC. It allows SEC Parties to download details of the obligations that are relevant to that Party type, without the details that apply to other Parties. This not only saves you time, it also helps you be clearer about what your Party needs to do to fulfil your obligations under the SEC. Visit our Digital SEC page to find out more. If you haven’t already, we encourage you to register and get involved!

TABASC Election Update

Following the TABASC Member Elections undertaken in September 2019, congratulations to the following candidates that have been selected by their Party Categories to undertake the role of a TABASC Member:

We would like to thank all outgoing TABASC Members for your commitment and contributions to the TABASC during your term. Thank you also to those that were nominated, ensuring that the election process was robust.

Change Board Elections

Would you like the opportunity to represent your Party type on the Change Board? January 2020 marks the end of term for several Members. We are calling for Change Board nominations for the following vacancies:

We will be issuing a call for nominations on 25 November. If you wish to nominate an individual, including yourself, please complete the Change Board Nomination Form. 

SSC Small Supplier Member Election

Are you a Small Supplier with an interest in the Security Sub-Committee (SSC)? We are looking for nominations for a Small Supplier representative to sit as a Member on the SSC. If you would like to nominate an individual, including yourself, please complete and return the Nominations Form. For further information on the nomination process please read the SSC Terms of Reference.

Intimate Communications Hub Interface Specification (ICHIS) noise information hosted on the SEC website

BEIS and DCC have requested that meter test result information is hosted on the SEC website to allow:

• Suppliers (especially on Change of Supplier gain) to check the Noise Limit status of a Device Model; and
• Suppliers and Meter Asset Providers (MAP) to share the Noise Limit status of Device Model for which they are responsible.

To find out how this has come about please click here.

Manufacturers can now submit details of their tested devices and Parties can access the submitted information here. You will need to be a registered user of the SEC website to access the details.

Coming soon: CodeWorks Phase 2

Next week we will launch the second phase of CodeWorks, your digital version of the SEC. Following this update, you will be able to view the specific redlining for individual modifications, allowing you to see how each modification will affect the current live version of the SEC.

If you haven’t used CodeWorks yet, you could be missing out! It’s simple to register and to use. Please visit the Digital SEC page to find out more.

November 2019 SEC Release

The November 2019 SEC Release has been approved by the Panel to go live on Friday 29 November 2019. For full details of this and the modifications being implemented, please visit the November 2019 SEC Release page.

New Draft Proposals

Four new Draft Proposals have been raised since our last newsletter:

• DP094 ‘Supporting prepayment customers in no SM WAN scenarios’ is investigating SMETS2 prepayment customers in no Wide Area Network (WAN), intermittent WAN or DCC outage scenarios.
• DP095 ‘Alignment of SEC Credit Cover’ is investigating the current credit cover requirements and ways to reduce the risk of cost socialisation across the industry.
• DP096 ‘DNO Power Outage Alerts’ is investigating the timeframes for sending a Power Outage Alert.
• DP097 ‘Improving SMETS2 meter installs for New Connections’ is looking at improving how Users can use the SM WAN database where partial postcodes for properties have been provided.

Please contact the SECAS Change team with any questions or comments on any of the Draft Proposals.

Improved Change webpages

Have you seen our new and improved webpages? You provided feedback and we listened. To make it easier for you to find what you’re looking for, we have made some improvements to the Change and Releases section of our website. These include:

• a dedicated page for each SEC Release;
• all our Change Reporting is now available in one place; and
• a new online Draft Proposal form for anyone to submit a new issue to us.

SEC Modcast

You can listen to our most recent Modcast here. In this session we cover our new Draft Proposals, consultations, and more. Keep an eye on our latest news page for the next instalment, coming Friday 22 November.

DCC publications

The DCC has published its response to the consultation on changes to the SMETS1 Supporting Requirements (S1SR) document.

Ofgem Publications

Ofgem has published the following consultations:

• Statutory Consultation on the Post-2020 Smart Meter Rollout Reporting Requirements which includes proposals for the post-2020 reporting requirements licensees would be subject to under the proposed new smart meter rollout obligation. The closing date is 26 November 2019.
• Supplier Licensing Review: Ongoing requirements and exit arrangements. This includes proposals about managing supplier growth and planning for potential market exit. The closing date is 3 December 2019.
• Statutory Consultation on proposed modifications to the Special Conditions and Standard Special Conditions of the Gas Transporter Licence held by National Grid Gas Plc and the Gas Distribution Network Operators which includes proposals about modifying the Special Conditions and Standard Special Conditions to the Gas Transporter Licence. The closing date is 5 December 2019.
• DCC Price Control Consultation: Regulatory Year 2018/19. Ofgem is proposing that the DCC’s Baseline Margin should be reduced by up to £1.305m due to its performance under the Operational Performance Regime (OPR). It is concerned that the OPR may not be providing the best incentives to DCC and is initiating a review of the OPR. The consultation closes on 20 December 2019.
• The Consumer Vulnerability Strategy 2025 has been published following consultation over the summer.

Would you like to work at SECAS?

We are currently recruiting for a Senior Governance Administrator and a Governance Consultant to join our SECAS Committee Support Team. Please visit the website for information.

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).