BSC Central Services
This page explains the various IT systems used in the Imbalance Settlement process. Collectively the systems in the shaded blue area are known as the ‘BSC Central Services’.
How it relates to you
Following Gate Closure, National Grid uses the Balancing Mechanism to balance the system. Contract notifications, bids and offers, and other data, is sent to BSC Central Services for Imbalance Settlement.
The Balancing Mechanism balances the energy on the system and is managed by National Grid (NGC). Information on the actions that the Balancing Mechanism takes to balance the system will be passed to the Settlement Administration Agent (SAA), for use in the Settlement calculations.
Participant Systems are the systems owned and operated by Market Participants which interact with the Central Systems, either by sending data to the Central Systems or receiving data from them.
Accessing data from the systems
BSC Parties are entitled to receive a variety of data flows directly from the central BSC Systems. If you are a company who isn’t a BSC Party but would like to receive specific BSC data, please get in touch with us through the BSC Service Desk. We have some standard packages of reports that the BSC requires us to make available to non-Parties on request, subject to set licensing arrangements and fees.
Elexon Kinnect: the BSC Party platform
Elexon Kinnect is a flexible and scalable digital platform that will deliver three main functions for BSC Parties:
- Customer Solution service – providing an intuitive customer experience
- Settlement Solution project – performing scalable, flexible and modular Settlement operations
- Insights Solution project – to receive, process and publish data
Elexon Kinnect offers a streamlined approach for customers wanting to manage their company information and settlement data.
BMRA
The Balancing Mechanism Reporting Agent (BMRA) collects and publishes information about the electricity system in Great Britain. Balancing Mechanism and System Related Information is sourced from the System Operator (National Grid), and Registration Information from the Central Registration Agent.
CDCA
Central Data Collection Agent (CDCA) collects power station and Grid Supply Point metered volumes. It is responsible for the collection, validation, processing and aggregation of metered data within the Central Volume Allocation arena to enable Settlement to meet the Payment Calendar.
Where metered data is incorrect the CDCA is also involved in a process of data estimation and substitution. The CDCA maintains a central registration database for all Metering Systems registered within CVA and carries out Proving Tests on new registrations of Metering Equipment to check they are operational.
CRA
The Central Registration Agent (CRA) manages market participant registrations as a correct record of all Metering Systems within Great Britain is required for accurate Settlement.
The CRA registers, validates, maintains and distributes valid registration data from BSC Parties, Party Agents and ELEXON. The CRA also maintains information relating to Credit Cover requirements to facilitate Credit Cover monitoring by the FAA and the ECVAA.
ECVAA
The Energy Contract Volume Aggregation Agent (ECVAA) receives notifications of bilateral trades between Trading Parties. Once it receives, timestamps (to identify the exact time that the trade was made) and validates the trade, the data is sent to the Settlement Administration Agent (SAA). This is required for Settlement to be undertaken accurately.
The ECVAA also performs a credit check immediately after Gate Closure (one hour before real time trading) and processes requests from BSC Parties to reduce their cover.
Contract Notification Guidance
Our Guidance Notes outline the processes for managing contract notifications and submissions to the ECVAA.
FAA
The FAA manages the funds transfer between ELEXON Clear Limited and BSC Trading Parties for Trading Charges owed to or by BSC Parties during the balancing and settlement of the market. The FAA sends out the invoices and pays/collects funds.
The FAA also manages the Credit Cover arrangements to ensure that BSC Parties have enough cover when trading within the market. The FAA maintains a Payment Calendar that defines when payments are due for each Settlement Day.
MIDP
The Market Index Data Provider (MIDP) provides Power Exchange pricing data. This data is called Market Index Data and power exchanges are classed as Market Index Data Providers (MIDPs). Market Index Data (MID) is used in the calculation of the Reverse Price for each Settlement Period, and reflects the price of wholesale electricity in the short-term market.
Information on the price and volumes of contracts traded through the power exchanges is used by the Central Systems in the calculation of Energy Imbalance Prices. The price and volume data is known as Market Index Data and the power exchanges are classed as Market Index Data Providers (MIDPs).
The SAA uses data on the costs and volumes of contracts traded through the power exchanges in the Energy Imbalance Price calculation.
SAA
The Settlement Administration Agent (SAA) performs daily Settlement Runs and produces balancing mechanism and Settlement Reports to BSC Parties, the FAA and ELEXON. These reports detail monies owed and owing as a result of balancing mechanism actions and settlement of imbalances. The SAA calculates the charges in £’s from MWh data.
The SAA operates a number of Settlement Runs for each Settlement Day and produces these reports based on the data submitted by the System Operator, CDCA, Interconnector Administrators, ECVAA and SVAA.
SVAA
Supplier Volume Allocation Agent (SVAA) aggregates Supplier metered volumes.
The SVAA manages Supplier Volume Allocation (the aggregation of profile and actual data obtained from both Half Hourly and Non Half Hourly Metering Systems registered in the Supplier Meter Registration Service (SMRS) maintained by licensed distributors).
It also manages the Daily Profile Production and the Market Domain Data service.
All of these functions allow the SVAA to calculate half hourly consumption attributable to each Supplier in a GSP Group in respect of Metering Systems registered in Supplier Meter Registration Service (SMRS).
Teleswitch Data Services Agent
This agent monitors the messages concerning contact switching times sent under the Radio Teleswitch Agreement to SVA Metering Systems equipped with a teleswitch. The agent provides a daily service that prepares a data interface file of teleswitch contact switching times reflecting actual messages broadcast for that day and transmitting the file to the SVAA on a daily basis.
It maintains a log archive recording the provision of details of teleswitch messages and reports to the SVAA any known or suspected failures in the monitoring and provision of messages. The teleswitch times are then used by the SVAA to calculate the half-hourly consumption values for Non-Half-Hourly meters.