What’s the background to the Improvements Plan?
In December 2024, Ofgem published its decision that the Data Communications Company (DCC) will retain both Licence and Code responsibilities for the Centralised Registration Service (CRS).
As part of this decision, Ofgem requested that DCC and RECCo collaborate to develop a joint Improvements Plan to deliver meaningful enhancements to the CRS throughout 2025-26.
What’s the focus of the plan?
The Improvements Plan is built around three core outcomes:
- Strengthen existing governance arrangements
- Improve the performance and reliability of Switching Services
- Realise the benefits identified through responses to Ofgem’s CRS consultation—both from RECCo and from across the broader retail energy industry
Stakeholders can expect clear delivery milestones, close monitoring, and regular updates as DCC and RECCo move forward with implementation.
What’s changing and why?
Building on the direction set by Ofgem and informed by stakeholder feedback, the Improvements Plan sets out a series of actions to deliver measurable enhancements to Switching Services—including delivery, performance, and quality—as well as improvements to CRS governance and operational efficiency.
The plan focuses on five core workstreams:
- Address Data Quality: Tackle specific issues stemming from poor address data quality by developing a shared understanding of the impact and implementing an improvement process with clearly defined outcomes and mutually agreed roles and responsibilities between DCC and RECCo.
- Change Management: Refine the change management process to deliver changes more quickly and cost-effectively, while increasing engagement, communication, and certainty for users.
- Engagement & Communications: Rationalise and improve interactions between DCC, RECCo, the Code Manager, and users to better meet user needs—building stronger relationships, clearer understanding, and improved service delivery.
- Incident Management: Improve the speed and transparency of incident resolution through more efficient user communications on progress and potential solutions, enrich the knowledge base, and enhance self-service tools.
- Reporting: Deliver a more efficient and cost-effective reporting framework that supports user needs and enhances transparency and understanding of Switching Service performance.
What are the expected benefits?
The improvements outlined in the plan are expected to deliver a more reliable and effective service for the energy industry, with benefits passed on to end consumers. These include anticipated cost savings, in addition to intangible and qualitative benefits for industry participants, consumers, and DCC operations.
Each workstream includes identified metrics to measure benefit realisation, alongside supporting activities to:
- Capture baseline performance
- Quantify anticipated benefits
- Report on benefit delivery over time
These elements have been consolidated into one Benefits Realisation workstream to ensure consistency and visibility. As discovery activities progress, we will refine the metrics and further quantify the anticipated benefits.
What are the expected costs?
Although much of the plan will be delivered under existing continuous service improvement arrangements, some additional costs are anticipated, particularly for:
- Updates to the current reporting catalogue
- Changes to the service management system (ServiceNow)
- Additional external support to DCC and from the Code Manager
These costs will be confirmed once requirements are defined, the Service Providers have prepared impact assessments, and detailed resource planning is complete.
How will the plan be delivered?
The CRS Improvements Plan was submitted to Ofgem on 24 April 2025 and the REC Performance Assurance Board (PAB) on 29 April 2025. Following approval from both, delivery is now underway.
Each workstream has defined milestones, and progress on delivery and benefit realisation will be reported quarterly to Ofgem and the REC PAB.
In parallel, work is already progressing across several workstreams. Early activities include:
- Analysing and categorising the unmatched address pot
- Scoping potential changes to ServiceNow
- Introducing automatic closure of incidents where the raiser has made no further contact
- Analysing reporting data to understand the types, frequency, recipients, and volume of existing reports
How can I get involved?
Join our stakeholder event online for a joint RECCo–DCC overview of the CRS Improvements Plan.
Monday 19 May | 15.00-16.00 | Register Now
This session will outline how the plan will strengthen governance, improve Switching Services, and benefit industry and consumers. We look forward to welcoming you to the presentation and hearing your views.
Where can I find more information about the decision?
- Read our previous news article on Switching Performance Improvement Review underway
- Read our response to Ofgem’s decision on the CRS
