“Serving at the heart of the energy industry, building a path to Net Zero”
With its purpose of serving at the heart of the energy industry, building a path to Net Zero, Elexon is shaping the energy sector of the future. We manage the Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC), which sets out the rules so that Great Britain’s energy system operates effectively.
We are trusted, independent, reliable market experts. We are funded by our customers and provide our services without making profits.
We deliver an ‘end-to-end’ code manager service for the BSC. This includes helping new companies enter the market, ensuring Settlement accuracy, and managing changes to BSC rules to support initiatives to move to a smarter energy system. We also provide expert support to the Government, Ofgem and industry.
Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement (MHHS) reform will see the electricity industry working together in a significant move forward in how electricity is used and accounted for. Ofgem has placed responsibility on the industry to deliver the Programme and made Elexon the Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) of the Programme.
We also deliver Settlement services for the Government’s Contracts for Difference and Capacity Market arrangements; as well as the upcoming Nuclear Regulated Asset Based scheme.
Britain’s energy sector is going through unprecedented change and the needs and demands of our customers and consumers are evolving. We are working to ensure that our systems and processes support the changes needed so that the energy sector plays a major part in helping to meet the UK Government’s ‘Net Zero’ carbon emissions target.
Elexon settles around 37TWh each year in balancing actions and imbalancing volumes
That’s approximately £1.7bn of settlement transactions
Peter Stanley Chief Executive Officer
I joined Elexon in 2016, and was appointed as Chief Executive Officer in 2023. I’d like to thank you for joining our Introduction to Elexon and the Energy Market Seminar, and am confident that you will gain valuable insights into Elexon and Great Britain’s electricity industry.
Elexon sits at the heart of the industry, working with Ofgem, National Grid, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and BSC Parties to facilitate wholesale electricity markets, building a path to Net Zero.
This pre-seminar pack has been designed to help you understand a bit more about Elexon before you come to visit us in person. We’ve included information around Elexon’s role, who our stakeholders are and what the BSC is. We’ve also included profiles for presenters that you will meet on the day.
There is also an overview of our Board and Executive Team. At Elexon, we are commited to delivering customer value, through service excellence and successful delivery of our strategic programmes. In the seminar, we will provide an overview of our key strategic programmes, including the delivery of Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement and our technology platforms and data.
On the day of the seminar you’ll get a brief introduction from a member of our Executive Team before hearing directly from colleagues across the business on a broad range of topics. You will be able to ask questions, and meet our Operational Support Managers, who are your first point of contact at Elexon.
I hope you’re looking forward to attending our seminar and are able to take advantage of the wealth of knowledge and experience in the room. To get the most out the day, I encourage you to network with other attendees, ask questions during the presentations and interactive sessions.
We look forward to welcoming you at Elexon.
Yours sincerely,
Peter Stanley
Who are Elexon’s stakeholders?
Elexon works with a broad range of stakeholders, including electricity market participants, known as BSC Parties, as well as regulatory bodies, other code bodies, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ofgem, the Anergy Networks Association, and Low Carbon Contracts Company (LCCC).
We also work with service providers such as CGI, KPMG and C&C.
What Elexon does
Elexon manages the Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC), one of the major codes that sets out the rules governing electricity, so that Britain’s energy system operates effectively.
The Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC)
What is the BSC?
The BSC is a legal document that defines the rules and governance for the balancing mechanism and imbalance settlement processes of electricity in Great Britain. If you want to generate or supply electricity in Great Britain it’s mandatory to sign up to the BSC.
The BSC sets out what Elexon Ltd can and can’t do as the BSCCo, and is supported by a series of Code Subsidiary Documents (CSDs) such as Balancing and Settlement Code Procedures (BSCPs) and metering Codes of Practice (CoPs).
In the early days of the BSC we used to work with paper copies. Though this still exists today, it’s now been digitised to make it more accessible. The Digital Code includes the BSC and its CSDs as well as Simple Guides and Guidance Notes.
10,000 pages Equivalent to 25 packs of printing paper
364 documents
The Digital Code is made up of 364 documents totalling 10,000 pages – that’s equivalent to 25 packs of printing paper. Its size reflects the broad scope of the BSC, there’s everything from Change and Assurance arrangements to the detailed calculations of balancing and Settlement in there. Around half of the content is value added guidance to help you understand not just the ‘what’ and the ‘how’, but also the ‘why’.
How does BSC Change work?
The BSC Change process is used to progress changes to the BSC arrangements in response to any concerns, problems or defects that Parties may identify in the current processes. Under these processes, changes can be made to the Balancing and Settlement Code, its Code Subsidiary Documents and to BSC Systems. In this respect, the BSC is a living document that continually evolves to reflect the changing market.
The changes made to these documents can also impact market participant’s systems and processes, so Elexon has a robust Consultation and Release process to carefully control any changes made to the BSC.
There are two main type of change that can be made to the BSC, Modifications and Change Proposals (CPs).
Modifications Change Proposals
Changes that amend the BSC (i.e. obligations within the code itself)
Changes that amend the processes and systems that underpin the code (i.e. the CSDs and BSC Systems, which are the IT systems used in Settlement).
It’s important to note that while Modifications make changes to the BSC, any CSDs or BSC Systems impacted by the proposed Modification would also be updated as part of the Modification process.
Outside of Modifications and Change Proposals, there are also Issues. This is where potential Changes or issues without a known solution are explored in order to decide whether a Modification or a Change Proposal should be raised.
Introduction to Elexon and the Energy Market
How does Elexon identify what type of Change is needed?
If you identify a concern, problem or defect you can address it by raising a Modification, Change Proposal or Issue (which leads to a Modification or Change Proposal).
The below matrix is a useful way of deciding what type of Change is needed:
Will my solution amend the BSC?
Change Matrix
Do I have a clear solution?
Yes No
So the Change process looks like this: Changes made
Participant identifies concern, problem or defect
Proposal
What kind of Changes did Elexon make in 2023?
In 2023 we successfully raised and had approved 5 Modifications and 2 Change Proposals. Here are some examples of what we’ve been working on in the last year:
‘Utilising a Baselining Methodology to set Physical Notifications’
This Modification implemented a baseline methodology which allowed Virtual Lead Parties (VLPs) of the Secondary BM Unit, or Suppliers for an Additional BM Unit, to determine the expected energy flows for a Metering System Identifier (MSID) Pair when calculating Non Delivery Charges and Delivered volumes.
This benefitted Parties as it allowed Balancing Service Providers to be fully recompensed for their actual change from normal usage and the impact this change had on the system.
Modification P427
‘Publication of Performance Assurance Parties’ impact on Settlement Risk’
This Modification made an amendment to BSC Section Z, allowing the Performance Assurance Board (PAB) to recommend that the Panel publish league tables of Performance Assurance Parties’ (PAPs’) contribution to Settlement Risk along with relevant risk data.
It benefits the market by increasing the effectiveness of all detective and investigative Performance Assurance Techniques (PATs) through greater incentives.
Where to find out more
BSC website
This site contains a wealth of resources to guide and advise customers on the processes within the BSC, Alongside the Digital code itself and the supporting BSCP documents.
The Elexon Corporate website holds key information about Elexon Ltd, including our Purpose, Vision and Strategy. This is where we post organisational News and Insights, current vacancies and customer surveys.
Access our data
BSC Portal
Elexon website
The Elexon portal contains your organisation’s Operational, Financial and Credit data alongside market data that Elexon publish.
The Elexon Insights Solution is a key pillar of Elexon Kinnect, a digital customer-centric platform delivering a smart and flexible central data platform for the industry. Through a number of releases over the next few years, the platform will publish Balancing Mechanism Reporting Service (BMRS) data as well as Open Settlement Data.
Insights Solution
Issue 101
‘Ongoing Governance, Funding and Operation of the Marketwide Half Hourly Settlement (MHHS) Data Integration Platform (DIP) by BSSCo’
This Issue was raised to look into the ongoing governance of the Data Integration Platform (DIP) that will support the flow of messages between participants under the Market Wide Half-Hourly Settlement.
This Issue is currently at Assessment stage, with a Consultation around the proposed arrangements having been raised in January 2024. The Consultation will close on 21 February 2024, with the Issue Report due for publication in March 2024.
Helped
3
like power stations, wind and solar farms generate the electricity Great Britain needs.
Once they’ve generated that electricity, they sell it on to... Generators
who buy based on their predictions around how much energy their customers will need to use. They then sell that electricity on to... Suppliers
, or customers. This is anyone that uses electriticity in GB. Whether that’s just boiling the kettle for a cuppa at home or powering a central London spin studio or a large factory, we’re all consumers within the GB energy market. Consumers
National Grid ESO is Great Britain’s electricity system operator. They are responsible for moving energy around GB’s system to meet demand as it rises and falls, balancing supply and demand.
Ofgem is GB’s independent energy regulator. They make sure that the market operates fairly and the rules are followed.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is the government department that implements the energy policies decided on by the UK government.
Our people
Elexon’s Board
The members of the Board have a strong mix of multi-disciplinary experience and a composition that follows corporate governance best practice. The Elexon Board is ultimately accountable to BSC Parties.
As well as the below members, the Board also includes Elexon’s CEO, Peter Stanley.
Elexon’s Executive Team
Elexon’s Executive Team is responsible for the company’s day-to-day management. They work with the Board, the BSC Panel and our colleagues to ensure the successful delivery and development of the Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC).
Ian Graves Industry Non-Executive Director
Anne Heal Non-Executive Director
Sara Vaughan Chair
Tim Fitzpatrick Independent Non-Executive Director
Devrim Celal Industry Non-Executive Director
Agenda
Presenter profiles
Ban Mac Senior Product Analyst
Ban re-joined Elexon in 2022, having worked in various Analyst positions from 2012-2019. In between roles at Elexon, Ban worked as a Business Intelligence Analyst for the Low Carbon Contracts Company.
Kim Balmer Portfolio Business Analyst
Kim has been part of the Business Analysis Practice team at Elexon since February 2022 and is part of the delivery team for the Insights Solution.
Cameron Guest Settlement Analyst
Cameron is a Settlement Analyst in the EMRS team. He joined Elexon in 2023.
Joe Henry Senior Commercial Code Change Lead
Joe joined ESO in 2018, having worked as an industry regulatory analyst at EOn. At ESO, Joe has worked in Code Governance and on European Frameworks, and regularly takes part in industry code workgroups across the CUSC and the BSC.
Matthew McKeon Senior Design and Industry Code Advisor
Matt joined Elexon’s Market Design team in 2014 and has been working on MHHS since 2018, joining the MHHS Programme in 2021. Previously, he worked at EDF Energy for 14 years.
Raeece Ibrahim Operational Support Manager
Raeece joined the Customer Engagement team as an Operational Support Manager in 2023.
