SECAS Newsletter December 2017

SEC Governance

SEC Panel

The SEC Panel held its latest meeting on 8^th December 2017. The key topics and decisions discussed can be found in the Meeting Headlines here.

Key items discussed include:

• The Panel agreed to write to the Secretary of State recommending the approval of the entry and exit criteria within the Release 2.0 Systems Integration Testing (SIT) and Device Integration Testing (DIT) Approach Documents.
• The Panel approved the DCC’s request to extend the current temporary maintenance arrangements to June 2018 and discussed a phased approach to bring the temporary maintenance arrangements into full alignment with the provisions of the SEC.
• The Panel approved the Draft Budget for the next three Regulatory Years (April 2018 to March 2021) to be issued to SEC Parties for consultation. The consultation will be issued to Parties on 2^nd January 2018.

The next Panel meeting will be held on 12^th January 2018.

Security Sub-Committee (SSC)

In December the SSC raised Modification Proposal SECMP0044, which would allow a Shared Resource to undertake a Security Assessment in their own right.

The SSC also undertook a SMETS1 Workshop to discuss the DCC SMETS1 Security Architecture Document. In addition to SSC members, representatives from meter manufacturers, Smart Meter System Operators and the National Cyber Security Centre.

The SSC meet on the second and fourth Wednesday of every month. Further information about the SSC can be found here.

Modifications Update

SEC Modification Proposal Update

Two new modifications were raised in December:

• SECMP0043 ‘Modification to Services Force Majeure Provisions’; and
• SECMP0044 ‘User Security Assessment of a Shared Resource’.

SECAS presented the Initial Modification Report (IMR) for SECMP0043 to the Panel at their December 2017 meeting. The Panel agreed for SECMP0043 to proceed into the Refinement Process.

The Panel will review the IMR for SECMP0044 at its meeting on 12^th January 2018.

If you would like to be involved in the refinement of SECMP0043 and SECMP0044, please contact SECAS on 020 7090 7755 or email SEC.Change@gemserv.com.

Modification Timetable Extensions

The SEC Panel approved revised Modification Proposal timetables for a number of open Modification Proposals. Timetables for all active Modification Proposals can be found in the SEC Modification Register at the top of the Modifications page of the SEC Website.

Working Group Consultation

In November 2017, SECAS issued SECMP0029 ‘Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Testing Amendments’ and SECMP0034 Changes to the SEC Section D for DCC analysis provision‘  for Working Group Consultation. The SECMP0029 consultation closed on 11^th December 2017 and SECMP0034 consultation closed on 8^th December 2017. Responses to the consultations have been published on the SEC Website.  The Panel will review the Draft Modification Reports (DMR) for these modifications at its February meeting, and decide whether to progress SECMP0029 and SECMP0034 to Modification Report Consultation.

The next Modifications’ Question Hour will be held at 11 am on 8^th January 2018. Further information, including the relevant teleconference details, can be found here.

Technical Architecture and Business Architecture Sub-Committee (TABASC)

The TABASC met on 14^th December 2017. The main topics of discussion included:

• The draft Project Initiation Documents (PIDs) for undertaking the review of the necessary updates to the Business Architecture Document (BAD) and the Technical Architecture Document (TAD) to capture the changes being implemented as part of Release 2.0; and
• The SEC Section H8.6 requirement for the TABASC to receive information from the DCC on events of Unplanned Maintenance and how it should be provided to the TABASC for future discussion.

The next TABASC meeting will take place on the 18^th January 2018.

Testing Advisory Group (TAG)

The TAG met in December 2017 to discuss the SMETS1 User Testing Services Approach Document and the Release 2.0 User Integration Testing (UIT) Approach Document, providing specific feedback to the DCC on its approach.

The TAG and DCC agreed to schedule a joint workshop in January 2018 to focus on specific matters that came up in the meeting, including development of a list of overarching test principles (for the SMETS1 Services release) as well as further discussions on whether exit criteria should be included in the UIT Approach Document.

The next TAG meeting will be on 23^rd January 2018.

Smart Metering Key Infrastructure (SMKI) Policy Management Authority (PMA) Update

The SMKI PMA met on 19th December 2017. At this meeting, the committee approved the updated SMKI Organisation Certification Practice Statement (CPS), SMKI Device CPS and Infrastructure Key Infrastructure (IKI) CPS – which will now be published by the DCC into the SMKI Repository.

• The SMKI PMA also agreed to raise new SEC Modification Proposals in Q1 2018. These proposals will look to amend the DCC Key Infrastructure (DCCKI) Certificate Policy and DCCKI Registration Authority Policies and Procedures

Operations Group (Ops Group)

The Ops Group met on 20^th December 2017. The main topics of discussion included:

• The DCC’s operational performance and how it is best reported to the group;
• The addition of several new risks to the Operations Group Risk Register which was inherited from TABASC;
• The two DCC major incident reports from 13^th December 2017; and
• The DCC’s customer satisfaction proposal.

The next Ops Group meeting is scheduled for 23^rd January 2018.

Recent Publications

Smart Metering Implementation Programme (SMIP) Consultations issued

Two SMIP consultations relating to the introduction of dual band Communications Hubs (DBCH) were issued by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in December 2017.

The first was issued on 14^th December 2017, and proposes changes to the SMETS naming conventions, introducing a number of new documents into the SEC to support the introduction of DBCH, and arrangements to support future SEC releases and SEC Party Modification Proposals. Responses are due by 15^th January 2018. The consultation documents can be found here.

The second consultation was issued on 20th December 2017. This consultation requests views on adjustments to SEC charging arrangements in relation to recovering the incremental and development costs associated with the introduction of DBCHs. This consultation closes on 12th February 2018. More information  on the documentation issued can be found here.

SEC Panel response to the SEC Variation Testing Approach Document for SMETS1 Services DCC Consultation

The SEC Panel submitted a response to the DCC ‘SEC Variation Testing Approach Document (SVTAD) for SMETS1 Services’ Consultation on 13^th December 2017. The response can be found here.

BEIS Response to Consultation on operational Transition of Smart Meters

In October 2017, the Government issued a public consultation considering options for how to enable a smooth transition from SMETS1 to SMETS2 meters. On 4^th December, BEIS issued its conclusions.

The Government has decided to implement changes to the SEC designed to provide Suppliers with increased operational flexibility.

Suppliers that meet relevant eligibility criteria will be permitted to deploy limited numbers of SMETS1 meters for a six-month period after the SMETS1 end date. Suppliers must apply to BEIS before 5^th January 2018 to receive this derogation.

The Senior Responsible Officer plans to confirm the SMETS1 end date as 13th July 2018, assuming no industry-wide impediments occur.

The original consultation, legal text changes and Statement of Requirements for the derogation and application forms can be found here.

SECAS Activities

SEC Parties and Accessions