Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement (MHHS) Working Groups

Here you can find details on Elexon working groups that relate to the Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement (MHHS) programme.

Current Working groups

• Impacts on the BSC – The move to market-wide half-hourly settlement (MHHS) significantly impacts the Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC). This working group supports the required changes to the Code itself.

• Settlement Assurance – The Settlement Assurance Working Group (AAWG) focus of the group is to deliver a framework for parties that is appropriate to the new MHHS services.

Past Working groups

Three working groups, chaired by Elexon, were created to provide technical leadership to support Ofgem’s Significant Code Review on Electricity Settlement Reform. They all reported to Ofgem who set the groups’ membership and Terms of Reference. These working groups have now ceased.  

• Performance Assurance (PAWG) – The PAWG was set up by Elexon to deliver the technical overview of the Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement (MHHS) scope. 
• Design (DWG) – The DWG ran from 2017 to 2019 and is now stood down. It designed the Target Operating Model (TOM) for MHHS, as well as the high-level approach for transitioning from the current Settlement arrangements to the TOM. We submitted the DWG’s final report to Ofgem in August 2019. Ofgem gave its preliminary approval to the DWG’s TOM and transition approach in October 2019.
• Code Change and Development (CCDG) – The CCDG has been meeting since December 2019. It is developing the DWG’s TOM design and transition approach in more detail. It will also identify, and oversee drafting of, the changes needed to Industry Codes and subsidiary documents to enable the TOM.
• Architecture (AWG) – The AWG has also been meeting since December 2019. It is developing the reference architecture to enable the TOM. This reference architecture will set the framework for suitable data integration that is appropriate to the new MHHS services.

Background information

The diagram below shows the timing of the CCDG’s and AWG’s different consultations and reports. 

How do these groups fit into Ofgem’s SCR process?

Development of the TOM forms one of several work streams in Ofgem’s wider SCR. Ofgem’s other parallel SCR work streams include:

• Related policy decisions (on access to Half Hourly data for Settlement purposes and on Supplier Agent functions)
• Consideration of consumer impacts
• Development of the business case for MHHS (including Ofgem’s recent Draft Impact Assessment Consultation)

Ofgem will bring the outputs of all the SCR work streams together in its Full Business Case decision on how and when to proceed with MHHS. Ofgem will make the final decision on the TOM and transition approach. The CCDG and AWG can only make recommendations to Ofgem.

Following the CCDG’s final report, Ofgem will also make the necessary changes to licences and Industry Codes, which will not follow the normal Code change processes.

Consultation

The public consultation responses and a summary of the CCDG’s conclusions on the detailed TOM design and Code Change Matrices can be found on the archived CCDG webpage.