Board Highlights April 2023
- Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement Project
The Board were presented with the detailed RECCo work programme and the team responsible for delivering the Market-wide Half Hour Settlement initiative.
RECCo has a key role in the delivery of the Market-wide Half Hour Settlement (MHHS) Programme which will require updates to the REC and REC Systems reflecting the new obligations. The organisation has established a dedicated project team comprising experienced industry experts within RECCo, working alongside Code Manager and REC Service Provider colleagues.
There are three main activities: a Project Board, and Project Management and Project Delivery functions. Elizabeth Lawlor, Director of Operations is the SRO, and Jonathan Hawkins, Operations Consultant, is Project Lead; five RECCo experts working closely with colleagues in the RPA, RTS, DCC and C&C form the Project Delivery team. This cross-organisation team will work together on several workstreams to meet key deliverables and milestones in accordance with the MHHS Programme timetable.
- Theft Programme
An update on progress with the theft initiative was presented to the Board.
Further to actions taken at the Theft Workshop in November last year, several projects have now been initiated as part of a holistic Theft Reduction Programme. The latter focuses on data gathering, improving incentives for theft reduction, and raising awareness of the issue more widely.
The Board heard that the Programme will be informed by a new Theft Expert Group (TEG) that brings valuable industry knowledge and experience on the issue. The TEG met for the first time in March this year, and progress against all projects and actions will be reported at an open Stakeholder Forum to be held 28 June.
- Open Data and Consumer Consent Project
The Board were encouraged by the progress reported on the Open Data and Consumer Consent project.
RECCo has recently completed the discovery phase of the Open Data and Consumer Consent project. The discovery phase focused on creating a full metadata catalogue and supporting documents, such as a domain model and quality log, for all data sources which fall within RECCo’s control. Data items were given a classification such as ‘Always Open’ or ‘Consumer Opt In’ which will facilitate the opening of data in the next stage of the project.
The discovery phase also looked at how a retail energy data consumer consent mechanism could work. A high-level consumer consent architecture was created to show how content could be obtained and this was tested against a varied mix of consumer personas to ensure all consumer needs were considered.
This project will increase positive consumer outcomes through provision of data which enables consumers to make informed choices, giving consumers control on what data is shared and with whom, and by promoting innovation across the industry. The findings and recommendations from phase 1 will be documented and published in an industry paper.
- RECCo Risk Register
The Board carried out a full review of the RECCo Risk Register review in April with particular emphasis on the top risks.
While RECCo is a not-for-profit organisation the company is managed in a commercial manner. Central to this is the management of risk, be that at a project level or at a company level. This risk management sits alongside other commercial principles such as ensuring value for money is achieved, service providers are held to account for their service delivery obligations, and a commitment to continual improvement. The Board has established a Risk Committee who regularly review the corporate risk register.
The risk register is constructed using recognisable and established risk register methodologies, for example, risk description, mitigations, pre- and post-mitigation likelihood and impact scores, timescales, risk owner, and so on; the register reflects the key risks of each company function as well as the top risks drawn from project RAID registers.
- Negotiating contract savings
The Board is committed to delivering value for money to REC stakeholders both in the procurement and ongoing lifecycle of REC Services.
As part of the transition to Retail Code Consolidation (REC) and at Central Switching Service (CSS) go-live, RECCo assumed responsibility for several existing industry services. While these had served industry well historically, this transition afforded the RECCo Executive team the opportunity to engage with the service providers and explore for technology, service and economies efficiencies.
Each of the service providers – C&C Group and Xoserve – responded positively to the challenge and we were able to secure c.£600k of cost reduction on the Green Deal Central Charging services over the remaining 2½ years of the contract life and c.£1.25m per annum reduction in Gas Enquiry Service costs; in both cases the delivery capability will be strengthened.
- Reappointment of RECCo Consumer and Digital Non-Executive Directors
The Nominations Committee reported the reappointment of the Non-Executive Directors Helen Charlton and Roshan Awatar for a further two-year term.
Helen Charlton, with a deep understanding of consumer matters, and Roshan Awatar, a senior executive and thought leader in Digitalisation have both provided their knowledge and experience in support of RECCo‘s programme over the last two years; encouraged by them, RECCo has started to make good progress in these two areas.
It was important, then, that they agreed to continue in their roles on the Board for a further term. In the final stage of the appointments process outlined in the Retail Energy Code, the Parties had an opportunity to support, or otherwise, the Nomination Committee’s recommendation that Helen and Roshan be reappointed for a further two-year term, beginning on the 1st May 2023. The Board was delighted that the Parties supported the Nomination Committee’s recommendation.
