Retail Market Assurance Services for the Irish Electricity Market Anna Anderson Loughlin IGG 26 th August 2010

Agenda Assurance activities MCR 0161 & Defect 8455 Update June 2010 Feedback / Lessons Learned Review November 2010 MDU

Assurance Activities

Conducted project closure for June 2010 MDU –Lessons learned review carried out with RMDS –Obtained Market Participant feedback for June 2010 MDU Two new Suppliers currently undergoing market entry Preparation for MCR 0161 & Defect 8455 IPTs Initial preparation for the November 2010 MDU assurance activities

MCR 0161 & Defect 8455 Update

MCR 0161 – Change from MIC to connection voltage as threshold for connection agreement return New threshold to be medium voltage or higher IPTs are scheduled for September 6 th, Go Live is planned for 18 th September, IPTs will be run by ESB CS

MCR 0161 & Defect 8455 Update Defect 8455 to be included with MCR 0161 Defect fix will resolve the bug in the following instances: –Where a reduction in the MIC has been requested Existing CA request (in process) not recognised Incorrectly triggers 102P Incorrectly triggers duplicate CA

June 2010 Market Participant Feedback

Market Participant Feedback from June 2010 Market Design Update The approach was to contact all market participants for feedback The information collated was categorised by: –Preparation –Documentation (RMDS and Gemserv) –IPT –Cut-over –Communication –Areas for future improvement

Preparation Expected timescales on Project roadmap were met. Relevant documentation was provided in a timely manner to set the expectations required for each market participant. The tiered Assurance approach was appropriate for all market participants. Greater consultation required for significant dates e.g. –Go-live date, schema release, IPT window

Documentation Market documentation was comprehensive and straight forward to complete. Request for the test scripts to be more descriptive for testing requirements.

IPT A higher number of incorrect market messages were sent into Networks compared to previous MDUs. Networks were unable to receive/send messages for a period of time due to the test hub being down. Most market participants kept to the agreed IPT schedule but there were some significant deviations which resulted in the re-scheduling of timeslots for some suppliers. Some market participant evidence submissions were not provided in a timely manner.

Cut-over RMDS/ESBN were co-located for cut-over and this was found to be beneficial. RMDS staff commended for their assistance and support during this phase.

Communication All market participants thought communication with RMDS & Networks was very good particularly during cut-over. Market participants were happy with communication with Gemserv. Market participants were aware of all fixed dates for this MDU. Update s from RMDS re: hub issues are favoured.

Areas for future improvement Future Market Design Updates for gas and electricity should not coincide as this puts a strain on internal IT resources (Supplier x 1). The format of market messages to be strictly adhered to in testing (Networks). Suppliers would like the technical instructions for future MPCC upgrades to be clearer (Supplier x 2). More robust controls should be in place for future MPCC upgrades (Supplier x 1).

Areas for future improvement More testing is executed prior to any future MPCC upgrade (Supplier x 1). Step by step instructions to be provided with test scripts (Supplier x 1). Market participants to have greater input into the prioritisation of market change requests (Supplier x 1). Suppliers would like future MPCC cut-overs to occur either out of hours or at weekends (Supplier x 2).

Areas for future improvement Cut-over should not happen at the end of the month as it clashes with suppliers invoicing cycles (Supplier x 1).

Overall Overall methodology for the June 2010 Market Design Update Programme was deemed suitable. Some improvements have been identified.

June 2010 MDU Lessons Learned Recommendations

Recommendations Obtain implementation specification for MCRs to be delivered from Networks Implementation specification to be circulated to IGG members Gemserv, RMDS and ESB Networks to formulate joint project team to deliver future Market Design Updates Market Participants to use operational staff to conduct future IPTs

November 2010 MDU

MCR 0081 and MCR 0177 to be delivered IPTs are scheduled for October 11 th – 1 st November, Go Live is planned for 19 th November, IPTs will be run only by the Market Participants who operate in the Unmetered segment of the market.

November 2010 MDU Participant Questionnaire will be sent to Market Participants on the 13 th September, Market Participants will have 4 weeks to complete and return the questionnaire. Questionnaire to be submitted by October 11 th, 2010.

Questions & Discussion