30 Jun 2022
June 2022 Industry Newsletter
Welcome to the June 2022 Corona Energy Industry Newsletter.
Welcome to the Corona Energy Industry Newsletter.
At Corona Energy we believe in putting the Customer first. We use our position as one of the largest non-domestic energy suppliers in the UK to voice your needs, views and concerns at key regulatory meetings. This can involve lobbying Ofgem, The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and other regulatory bodies and industry parties to ensure you are represented and treated fairly.
As part of our service to you, this monthly newsletter will keep you informed of the latest developments in the world of energy regulation in a way that is informative, easy to read and useful to our Customers.
Monthly Roundup
What has been going on in the last few weeks?
Gas and Electricity
- Ofgem’s Microbusiness Strategic Review and the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Service: The energy Ombudsman are continuing their engagement with both Brokers and Suppliers in the run up to the December 2022 implementation of their ADR Scheme. We continue to engage bilaterally to ensure that our Customer and Broker partner’s views are represented. As the new Supply License Conditions apply to a wide range of Third Parties, we would suggest that both our Broker and Framework partners assess whether the new conditions apply to them. Further details on the scheme can be found here.
- Ongoing Ofgem Requests for Information (RFI): Covid-19 and the large number of Domestic Supplier failures seen throughout 2020-2021 means that Ofgem have increased the amount of data they request from Suppliers. This data relates primarily to Supplier business practices, risk appetites and approaches to the management of consumer debt to ensure financial viability of suppliers. We have previously seen a disparate approach to these RFIs, but the approach of these requests is now centralised through Ofgem. Although these requests do not directly impact our customers and are not reflective of any imminent risk to market failure, we wanted to ensure that our customers are aware that Ofgem are keeping a keen eye on the market to ensure it remains fit for the future.
Gas
- Corona Energy Sponsored UIG Modifications: Following eight months of in depth and detailed work, Corona Energy’s Modifications 0781R – Review of the Unidentified Gas process has now closed, with the Work Group Report being approved at the June UNC Panel meeting. There was general Work Group consensus that a ‘vanilla smear’ approach to UIG would be preferable, with a set UIG value being applied evenly to all meters uniformly.– This approach removes volatility and commercial challenges to the Allocation of Unidentified Gas Expert (AUGE) allocation table annually. It will also save money as an AUGE would not be required, and will create more transparent and easy to understand methodology. We are expecting a UNC Modification to be raised within the coming weeks to introduce this UIG approach, and we will be supporting the proposer of this Modification.
Pride in Energy
At Corona Energy, we celebrate diversity, equity and inclusion. With June being Pride Month, we wanted to celebrate this in our industry by drawing attention to Pride in Energy.
What does this mean?
Pride in Energy is a network run by Energy UK, the Domestic Supplier Trade Body, and celebrates members of the LGBT+ community and their allies in the energy industry.
Pride in Energy was set up in response to the need to address LGBT+ issues in the energy industry, and despite representing over half a million jobs – there was little to no representation for LGBT+ individuals and the energy industry.
Pride in Energy march every year at London Pride, have a mailing list and are involved in supporting Ofgem with their ongoing work with Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
You can find further details about Pride in Energy here.
Energy Regulation Horizon for 2022/2023
As you may be aware, 2022/2023 is set to be another year of major reform in the world of energy. We have compiled the Top 4 items to watch out for this year.
- Market-Wide Half Hourly Settlement
This industry project run by Elexon and Ofgem seeks to utilise the output of smart metering (half-hourly consumption data) to input more accurate data into Settlements in order to reduce reliance on forecasting. The estimated benefit of this project is c.£1.5-£4.5bn. The implementation of Market-Wide Half Hourly Settlement is expected in late 2024. - Code Governance Reform
The framework of the UK’s Energy rulebooks, called Industry Codes, is currently going through huge reform with the development of the Retail Energy Code (REC). The REC seeks to take complex industry processes from various industry codes and bring them together into a single, dual fuel code. This will make a more transparent repository of these key processes. In this reform, it is likely that Supplier obligations will change which might have an impact on our Customers. We will keep you informed if this is the case. - Ofgem’s Targeted Charging Review (TCR)
Ofgem are currently undertaking a Targeted Charging Review. This looks at how Networks apply their charging methodologies. The review relates to the complex world of Network charging arrangements that are passed through to consumers via their Supplier. Tariffs and groupings have now been finalised by the networks and we will keep you updated of the changes when these are implemented. - Demand and Microgeneration Management
Demand Side Response (DSR) and peer-to-peer trading means that we are heading towards a world where you can purchase your energy from your peers. These are people in your local area of the grid who are generating energy with small turbines or solar panels. Currently, the existing networks and associated regulations in the UK need to be updated to align with new technology and innovation but it is interesting to see what opportunities could be used in the future. If you are interested in DSR, we have articles on Battery Storage and the future of the network on our website.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this newsletter is intended to be a general guide and should not be taken to be legal and/or regulatory advice. At no time will Corona Energy actually or be deemed to be providing advice and no actions taken by Corona Energy shall constitute advice to take any particular action or non-action. Whilst every effort is made to provide accurate and complete information in this newsletter, Corona Energy cannot guarantee that there will not be any errors. Corona Energy makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents of the newsletters and expressly disclaims liability for errors and omissions in the contents of this newsletter. Neither Corona Energy, nor its employees and contractors make any warranty, expressed or implied or statutory, including but not limited to the warranties of non-infringement of third party rights, title, and the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose with respect to content available from the newsletters. Neither does Corona Energy assume any legal liability for any direct, indirect or any other loss or damage of any kind for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, product, or process disclosed herein, and do not represent that use of such information, product, or process would not infringe on privately owned rights.
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