We are delighted that both Retail Code Consolidation and the Code Manager Service went live smoothly on 1st September 2021 as planned.
We received initial positive feedback that most users had a good initial experience of both the Portal and EMAR and, where required, were able to seek assistance from their operational account managers to resolve matters. We have been closely tracking issues arising and their resolution during twice daily Early Life Support meetings put in place to monitor and prioritise activities.
We have been able to respond quickly to most issues arising, such as the small group of users who experienced access issues due to incorrect security configurations. We hope that the temporary loss of search functionality has not unduly inconvenienced users and we thank you for continuing to raise any issue with us, no matter how small, so that we are able to improve and deliver the quality of service you expect. There will be a small number of minor releases carrying system enhancements planned between now and the end of the year which should not adversely impact operations.
The first Change Panel took place on 7th September and we are pleased that the first Change Proposals are already being progressed ahead of the next scheduled REC Release in November.
If you have any comments or observation on the service so far, please complete our short survey or alternatively contact us at info@retailenergcode.co.uk. info@retailenergycode.co.uk.
Sid Cox, CEO, RECCo
REC Development
As of 1st September, all REC v2.0 items have been completed. Text revisions in light of the consultation responses to REC v3.0 (Switching Programme) should be made by the end of December 2021.
RECCo has come to a decision on its Request for Proposal to develop a Theft Estimation Methodology and this will be communicated shortly with the appointment of the successful bidder.
REC Transition
Overall, RECCo has made good progress in transitioning all legacy arrangements, services and contracts under the REC. The main area which continues to exercise our attention is the small number of parties who do not have Access Agreements required for continued access to the EES and GDCC enquiry services. If you are one of these parties, please contact your designated operational account manager or enquiries@recmanager.co.uk.
REC Mobilisation
The REC Code Manager Service launched successfully on 1st September 2021 as planned. The service is fully operational supporting industry parties on all the REC processes.
Hypercare monitoring is in place to ensure swift issue management in the early weeks of operation.
The REC Portal is being accessed by an average of 100 users a day since 1st September. The Portal is the first point of contact for industry parties including the Help Desk function. Further improvements to the portal are planned as part of the Post Implementation Project.
The EMAR service is fully functional and can be accessed via the REC Portal. Further improvements to the EMAR are planned as part of the Post Implementation Project.
Parties Operational Account Managers are in place and ready to offer parties any additional support and information.
RECCo Corporate Organisation
RECCo is continuing to develop its organisational infrastructure, including the development of HR polices and an onboarding programme for new RECCo employees, recruitment of key personnel to support the newly formed executive team and further security hardening across RECCo’s IT system.
Stakeholder Engagement
The past month has been a busy time within RECCo with preparations and readiness for Retail Code Consolidation and the launch of the new REC Code Manager service ahead on 1st September. The REC Code Manager is continuing to host a number of stakeholder training events over coming months across topics such as the Codes REC Roadmap & Future EMAR and an update on the Performance Assurance Frameworks (PAF) Report Catalogue so if you would like any further information, please contact the REC Code Manager: enquiries@recmanager.co.uk.
At RECCo we are committed to listening to our stakeholders to ensure all of our services meet your evolving business needs. Following the go-live of our REC code Manager service, we are keen to understand your thoughts on initial experiences with interacting with the new service and will be publishing a survey to stakeholders shortly. RECCo will be working closely with the REC Code Manager to enhance and improve the service for stakeholders over coming months, and we look forward to sharing with you the outputs of all feedback received.
Finally, our recently refreshed newsletter ‘Inside RECCo’ has been received positively with a significant rise of new sign-ups following publication at the end of August. If you would like to hear the latest updates from RECCo, please sign up to our newsletter here. We would love to hear your feedback or any suggestions for future content, please contact the team at: info@retailenergycode.co.uk.
Consumer Programme
The Consumer Journey Forum and PCW and Supplier Forum will be concluding discussions at the end of October following the completion of their Terms of Reference. A closure report on the Forum’s activities and a set of recommendations for further consideration under the REC or by industry will be developed for publication in December.
RECCo would like to thank all Forum members for their continued engagement and their sharing of best practice since the Forum’s establishment.
Financial Management
RECCo continues to manage its financial and other resources prudently. Costs for the financial year to date (April – August) are tracking favourably against budget and cumulatively the costs are below expectations. However, several of the positive variances to date can be considered timing items related to the phasing of costs across the year such as the Change Allowance budget. Change during the code manager mobilisation period has been minimised but with REC v2 go live and the ongoing testing of the Energy Enquiry Service under the Switching Programme we anticipate that change costs will crystalise in the second half of the financial year. Other variances reflect true underspends in the period.
As part of the publication of REC v2, RECCo published its Charging Methodology and Charging Statement which sets the unit charges which will be applied by RECC in the period to March 2022. The former is Schedule 10 of the REC and the latter can be access on the REC Portal.
