PERFORMANCE ASSURANCE: ASSURANCE INFORMATION REQUEST (AIR) & Technical Assurance of Performance Assurance Parties (TAPAP) |
Guidance Note |
What this document covers
What Elexon’s Assurance Information Request (AIR) and Technical Assurance of Performance Assurance Parties (TAPAP) Performance Assurance Techniques (PATs) are and what they are intended to achieve as part of the Performance Assurance Framework (PAF).
How and when these are applied, including what you need to do if Elexon contacts you about either Technique
What this document does not cover
Full details of the associated Code governance, Obligations and timescales for each Technique, which can be found in BSC Procedure (BSCP) 605 and BSCP535 and elsewhere in the Code as set out in those documents.
Your Operational Support Manager (OSM) is your first point of contact for Performance Assurance queries and is available to support you.
If you have a more general question about Performance Assurance, please raise a ticket through the online
Elexon Support portal.
Who should use this Guidance Note?
This Guidance Note can be used by anyone looking to familiarise themselves with Elexon’s Performance Assurance Framework (PAF).
Suppliers
Virtual Lead Parties (VLPs)
Virtual Trading Parties (VTP)
Asset Metering Virtual Lead Parties (AMVLP)
Central Volume Allocation (CVA) Meter Operators (MOAs)
Half Hourly (HH) and Non-Half Hourly (NHH) Data Collectors (DCs)
HH and NHH Data Aggregators (DAs)
Meter Administrators (MAs)
Advanced, Smart, and Unmetered Data Services
Licensed Distribution System Operators (LDSOs)
Supplier Meter Registration Agents (SMRAs)
Unmetered Supplies Operators (UMSOs)
Registrants of CVA Metering Systems
What are the AIR and TAPAP Techniques?
AIR and TAPAP are Detective Techniques that Elexon and the Performance Assurance Board (PAB) can deploy to gather information to understand how and to what extent Parties and Party Agents are able to meet their Code obligations.
The process for raising an AIR is set out in
BSCP605; the process for conducting a TAPAP in
BSCP535.
Both Techniques are typically deployed to investigate areas of concern identified through the Performance Assurance Reporting and Monitoring System (PARMS), Material Error Monitoring (MEM), Performance Assurance Monitoring (PAM), BSC Audit and Technical Assurance of Metering (TAM) Techniques, or in anticipation of a foreseeable Market Event likely to impact specific Settlement Risks or business processes.
Deployment of AIR or TAPAP should always be followed by the deployment of at least one other PAT in response to the findings. Common examples include Education, EFR, or BSC Change.
PATs are deployed to mitigate the impact of one or more of the
Settlement Risks identified by Elexon each year in the
Risk Evaluation Register (RER). Elexon will often include plans to deploy AIR or TAPAP in the annual
Risk Operating Plan (ROP) published on the Elexon website. However, Elexon and the PAB can also decide to deploy either Technique at any point during the year, as the need arises.
Elexon and the PAB determine which Parties and/or Party Agents to include in an AIR or TAPAP when the Technique is deployed. Participation in an AIR or TAPAP is mandatory; if Elexon contacts you to require your involvement in an AIR or TAPAP you must respond within the timescales set out in the BSCPs and/or any relevant communications.
The basic principles of both the AIR and TAPAP Techniques will remain the same during and after the transition to Market Wide Half Hourly Settlement (MHHS).
Differences between the AIR and TAPAP Techniques
Elexon and the PAB deploy both AIRs and TAPAPs to obtain additional information required to investigate an area of concern – these could include specific Settlement Risks, BSC Processes and/or BSC obligations, or readiness for upcoming Changes or BSC Modifications.
The key differences between the Techniques centre around the process by which Elexon obtains the information, and the kind of information and level of detail requested.
Generally, an AIR requires Parties or Party Agents to provide Elexon with quantitative data on a specific business process or Settlement Risk. A TAPAP, by contrast, takes the form of a remote or in-person Audit through which Elexon carries out a “deep dive” into a particular Risk or process area
Because a TAPAP provides a greater level of detail than an AIR, all participating PAPs are provided with a Confidential report detailing Elexon’s findings with regards to their own organisation. PAPs are required to resolve any Non-compliances with the BSC identified in their TAPAP findings, just as they would for those identified through the BSC Audit. More detail on this process is provided below.
Key steps in the AIR process
Authorisation and Deployment
When Elexon or the PAB determine that an AIR may be required, a member of Elexon’s Assurance Team will take a Public paper to a PAB meeting to request their authorisation to deploy the Technique. These papers are available to view through the Elexon website.
This Paper outlines the reason why an AIR is required, gives details of related Settlement Risks or Processes, and identifies which PAPs will be included and the questions that will be asked.
If the PAB agree to deploy an AIR, Elexon will contact the relevant PAPs via e-mail, setting out details of what information needs to be provided and when.
What should I do if I receive an AIR?
It is important that you review all the information and supporting documents provided and make sure that you understand what you’re being asked to provide.
Please pay particular attention to any requests for data to be formatted in a certain way – if you are returning data in an Excel file, we often ask that you make sure it doesn’t contain any numbers formatted as text.
You are required to respond with all the information requested to the best of your ability, within the timeframe outlined in the AIR. You must let your OSM and/or Elexon’s Assurance Team know as soon as possible if you think you will struggle to provide the information required by the date given in the request.
If you have any questions, you should send an e-mail to the address provided in the AIR or contact your OSM. If necessary, we will be happy to set up a meeting to make sure you are confident in providing us with the information we need.
Please don’t include any additional data beyond what is specified in the request without first discussing this with your OSM and/or a member of Elexon’s Assurance Team.
What happens once responses have been received?
After the AIR response deadline has passed and all responses have been received, Elexon analyse the data from the responses and present a Public report to the PAB detailing the findings and proposing further actions as needed. Again, these are available to view through the Elexon website.
Key steps in the TAPAP process
Authorisation and Deployment
When Elexon or the PAB determine that a TAPAP may be required, a member of Elexon’s Assurance Team will take a Public Scope paper to a PAB meeting to request their authorisation to deploy the Technique. These papers are available to view through the Elexon website.
The Scope Paper outlines the reason why a TAPAP is required, gives details of related Settlement Risks or Processes, and identifies which PAPs will be included and the questions that will be asked.
If the PAB agree to deploy a TAPAP, Elexon will contact relevant PAPs via e-mail to schedule the meetings, setting out details of what information PAPs will need to prepare in advance.
Elexon will let PAPs know who will be carrying out the check as part of this communication. This will usually be Elexon’s Assurance Team but may sometimes be an external service provider such as the BSC Auditor or Technical Assurance Agent (TAA).
What should I do if I am contacted to schedule a TAPAP?
It is important that you respond promptly to the request to schedule a meeting, and review all of the information and supporting documents provided to make sure that you understand what you being asked to provide.
You are required to prepare for the check to the best of your ability, within the timeframe outlined by Elexon and in BSCP535. You must let your OSM and/or Elexon’s Assurance Team know as soon as possible if you think you will struggle to prepare the information required by the date given in the request.
If you have any questions, you should send an e-mail to the address provided in the TAPAP request or contact your OSM. If necessary, we will be happy to set up a meeting to make sure you are confident you are providing us with the information we need.
What happens once the checks have been completed?
After the meeting, Elexon and any external service provider will analyse the data from the responses and provide you with a Confidential report detailing their findings.
If any non-Compliances have been identified, you will be asked to provide details of how you plan to resolve these. Depending on the severity of the issue, Elexon may consider deploying the EFR PAT to provide additional visibility and accountability of your progress in addressing the non-Compliance.
If you disagree with a finding of non-Compliance, you have 10 working days to begin the appeal process set out in BSCP535.3.3.4.
Once all meetings have taken place, Elexon will combine its analysis of all the individual checks into a Public report to the PAB detailing the findings and proposing further actions as needed. This Public report will not include references to specific PAPs.
Do you need more information?
Your
OSM is your first point of contact for Performance Assurance queries and is available to support you. If you’re not sure who they are, check the
BSC Signatories and Qualified Persons page of our website.
For any other information please raise a ticket through the online
Elexon Support portal.
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