Understanding the BSC and Modern Energy Trading Solutions

The Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC)

The Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) is a crucial framework governing the electricity wholesale market in Great Britain. Administered by Elexon, the BSC defines the rules and governance arrangements for electricity balancing and settlement.

Diagram showing the relationship between Elexon, Market Participants, Settlement Process, and Agents & Services in the BSC framework

Elexon serves as the BSC administrator and delivery body, ensuring fair and efficient operation of the wholesale electricity market. The BSC outlines processes for:

  • Calculating how much electricity generators and suppliers produce/consume
  • Determining wholesale electricity prices
  • Managing the financial settlement process
  • Facilitating participation in the energy market
  • Providing governance for market changes and modifications

Simtricity Flows provides a complete turnkey solution for meters and metering services satisfying the BSC requirements.

P442: Enabling Exempt Supply and Bilateral Energy Contracts

Exempt Supply provides a financial benefit to generators by enabling them to sell electricity directly to consumers at rates higher than wholesale market prices but lower than retail tariffs, effectively capturing a portion of the supplier margin while avoiding many of the regulatory costs and obligations that licensed suppliers must bear.

Diagram showing the relationship between generators and consumers in an exempt supply arrangement

The recent introduction of P442 has formalised the process of allowing generators and consumers to enter bilateral energy contracts through an "Exempt Supply" arrangement. This modification enables direct energy trading relationships between generators and consumers outside the traditional supplier model. Under P442, eligible generators can supply electricity to consumers without needing a full supply license, provided they meet license exemption criteria.

The Exempt Supply Notification Agent (ESNA)

In order to benefit from these new arrangements Generators must appoint an ESNA to act on their behalf. The Exempt Supply Notification Agent (ESNA) plays a crucial role in this new framework. An ESNA is responsible for:

  • Identifying exempt supply volumes from half-hourly metered data
  • Aggregating this data for settlement purposes
  • Submitting Eligible Exempt Supply Volumes to the Elexon Settlement Administration Agent (SAA)
  • Ensuring accurate recording of exempt supply volumes within the settlement process
Diagram showing the relationship between Elexon, Market Participants, Settlement Process, and Agents & Services in the BSC framework

Simtricity Flows provides a complete turnkey solution for ESNA services. Generators subscribe to our ESNA service, instruct their Supplier to appoint us as their ESNA. We do the rest.

P415: Empowering Battery Storage in the Wholesale Market

P415 represents another significant advancement in the energy market, specifically designed to enable battery storage systems to participate more effectively in the wholesale market. This modification allows batteries to contract with Asset Metering Virtual Lead Parties (AMVLPs) and Virtual Trading Parties (VTPs) to trade flexibility directly.

With P415, battery storage operators can:

  • Register asset metering systems for settlement purposes
  • Allocate Asset Metering System ID (AMSID) Pairs to Secondary BM Units
  • Participate in balancing services and wholesale trading
  • Receive accurate settlement for their flexibility services

P455: Enabling Residential Microgrids and Supplier Switching

P455 introduces groundbreaking capabilities for residential microgrid operators. This modification enables the establishment of smart grids that support switching between third-party suppliers and exempt suppliers within private wire networks.

The key benefits of P455 include:

  • Supporting residential community energy schemes
  • Enabling accurate settlement in private wire arrangements
  • Facilitating supplier switching within microgrids
  • Creating pathways for innovative tariff structures
  • Supporting local energy trading

Simtricity Flows: A Unified Smart Metering Platform

Simtricity Flows represents a single, modern smart meter data infrastructure that enables customers to access all these innovative approaches to balancing and settlement from one cohesive platform.

As a specialist metering operator and data collector accredited as both an AMMOA (Asset Metering Monitoring and Operations Agent) and AAHHDC (Accredited Agent Half Hourly Data Collector), Simtricity Flows offers a unified solution that supports:

  • P442 exempt supply arrangements for generators
  • P415 battery flexibility services for commercial customers
  • P455 residential microgrid operations
  • Seamless integration with traditional settlement processes