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Production/Consumption Status and Flag

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Production / Consumption Status and Flag

Guidance Note

In this document, we explain:

1.) what a Production/Consumption (P/C) Status is

5.) how Parties can check a BM Unit’s P/C Flag and P/C Status

1. What is a P/C Status?

Each BM Unit has a P/C Status which, on any given Settlement Day, is either Production or Consumption.

The BSC uses the terms:

    • Production BM Unit – a BM Unit which has a Production P/C Status; and

    • Consumption BM Unit – a BM Unit which has a Consumption P/C Status.

2. What is the P/C Flag?

The P/C Flag is a setting within the central BSC Systems for each BM Unit, which dictates how the systems determine its P/C Status.

There are three possible settings for a BM Unit’s P/C Flag:

    • Production (P);

    • Consumption (C); or

    • Null (blank).

The central BSC Systems apply the rule that:

    • if a BM Unit’s P/C Flag is set to P, then its P/C Status is fixed as Production and cannot change unless the P/C Flag setting changes;

    • if a BM Unit’s P/C Flag is set to C, then its P/C Status is fixed as Consumption and cannot change unless the P/C Flag setting changes; and

    • if a BM Unit’s P/C Flag is Null, then (with some exceptions which we explain in the next section) its P/C Status is determined dynamically – this means that it may be either Production or Consumption for any given Settlement Day, and can change at any time.

3. How do we determine a MB Unit’s P/C Flat setting and P/C Status?

This depends on the type of BM Unit.

The table below summarises the different types of BM Unit and the rules affecting their P/C Status. The rest of this section explains in detail how we determine the P/C Flag setting and P/C Status for each type of BM Unit.

Type of BM Unit

Identified in central BSC Systems by:

Description

P/C Status is:

Interconnector BM Unit

I_ prefix in BM Unit ID

BM Unit Type I

Each Party using an Interconnector (an ‘Interconnector User’) has two BM Units for that Interconnector.

Fixed by the central BSC Systems and cannot be changed

Supplier

BM Unit

2_prefix in BM Unit ID

BM Unit Type G

(Base BM Unit)

BM Unit Type S (Additional BM Unit)

Each Supplier has 14 Base BM Units – one for each Grid Supply Point (GSP) Group.

Suppliers can also optionally register one or more Additional BM Units for a GSP Group.

Supplier BM Units’ is the BSC’s collective term for Base BM Units and Additional BM Units.

Fixed by the central BSC Systems and cannot be changed

Exempt Export BM Unit

Exempt Export Flag set to ‘True’ (T)

Can be any BM Unit prefix or Type with the exception of I

A BM Unit relating to an Exemptable Generating Plant1. Can be a Supplier BM Unit with embedded generation or a ‘generation’ BM Unit.

To have an Exempt Export BM Unit, the Lead Party must apply for Exemptable status using BSC Procedure 15: BM Unit Registration (BSCP15).

Fixed by the Lead Party and can only be changed by them

‘Generation’

BM Unit

E_prefix in BM Unit ID / BM Unit Type E

T_prefix in BM Unit ID / BM Unit Type T

M_prefix / BM Unit Type T

Although the BSC doesn’t define the term ‘generation BM Unit’, we have several different types of BM Unit to represent generation equipment:

  • E means an ‘embedded’ generator connected to a Distribution System;

  • T means a generator directly connected to the Transmission System2; and

  • M_ refers to legacy miscellaneous Type T equipment.3

Not fixed – the central BSC Systems calculate this dynamically and it can change at any time

See our separate BM Units Guidance for more on BM Units. ‘Lead Party’ means the BSC Party who is responsible for any energy flows associated with the BM Unit.4

Interconnector BM Units

The P/C Flag settings, and therefore the P/C Status, of Interconnector BM Units are fixed by the central BSC Systems and cannot be changed.

We assign Interconnector BM Units in pairs, and each Party has a different pair for each Interconnector it uses:

    • One of these two BM Units has a fixed P Flag, and accounts for energy entering GB over the Interconnector. Its P/C Status is therefore always Production.

    • The other BM Unit has a fixed C Flag, and accounts for energy leaving GB. Its P/C Status is always Consumption.

Exempt Export BM Units

The Lead Party of an Exempt Export BM Unit must choose to set the BM Unit’s P/C Flag to either P or C. In other words, it must choose a fixed P/C Status of either Production or Consumption for the BM Unit.

The Lead Party for the BM Unit:

    • must choose its P/C Flag setting when applying for Exemptable Generating Plant status, using either the BSCP15/4.5 form or BSCP15/4.9 form; and

    • can later change its P/C Flag and thereby its P/C Status (from P to C, or from C to P), by submitting a BSCP15/4.8 form.

The Lead Party can change the BM Unit’s P/C Flag at any time, subject to the minimum notice period in BSCP15.

If the BM Unit’s Exempt Export status is terminated under BSCP15, the central BSC Systems will reset its P/C Flag to Null at the same time they reset its Exempt Export Flag to ‘False’ (F).

Supplier BM Units

Non-Exempt Export Supplier BM Units always have a P/C Flag of Null. Despite this, they always have a fixed P/C Status of Consumption which cannot be changed (i.e. they are always Consumption BM Units).

This is because they are part of a Base Trading Unit.

There are 14 Base Trading Units, one for each GSP Group. All BM Units in a Base Trading Unit have a fixed P/C Status of Consumption, with the exception of any Exempt Export BM Units in the Base Trading Unit which choose to have a fixed P/C Status of Production by setting their P/C Flag to P.

The central BSC Systems will set a BM Unit’s P/C Status to Consumption if:

    • the BM Unit is part of a Base Trading Unit (i.e. its Base Trading Unit Flag is ‘True’ (T)); and

    • the BM Unit’s P/C Flag is ‘Null’.

All Supplier BM Units (i.e. 2_ types G and S) which are not Exempt Export (i.e. have an Exempt Export Flag of ‘False’) are always part of the Base Trading Unit for the relevant GSP Group. They therefore have a Base Trading Unit Flag of ‘True’.

A Base Trading Unit may also contain embedded (E_) Exempt Export BM Units but not transmission-connected (T_) Exempt Export BM Units or any other type of BM Unit.

See our separate Trading Units Guidance and BSCP31 for more about the different types of Trading Unit.

All other ‘generation’ BM Units

If a BM Unit is not an Interconnector BM Unit, an Exempt Export BM Unit or a Supplier BM Unit then its P/C Flag will be Null. Because it is not part of a Base Trading Unit, the central BSC Systems will determine the BM Unit’s P/C Status dynamically and it can change at any time.

The central BSC Systems will determine a BM Unit’s P/C Status dynamically if

    • the BM Unit is not part of a Base Trading Unit (i.e. its Base Trading Unit Flag is ‘False’); and

    • the BM Unit’s P/C Flag is ‘Null’.

This means that the BM Unit’s P/C Status will be determined by summing the Relevant Capacities of all the BM Units in its Trading Unit, including the BM Unit itself. A BM Unit’s Relevant Capacity depends in turn on its Generation Capacity (GC, a positive or zero value) and Demand Capacity (DC, a negative or zero value).5

A BM Unit’s Relevant Capacity is:

    • its GC value, if its GC+DC is greater than zero; or

    • its DC value, if its GC+DC is less than or equal to zero.

A BM Unit with a ‘False’ Base Trading Unit Flag and a ‘Null’ P/C Flag will have a P/C Status of:

    • Production, if the sum of all the BM Unit Relevant Capacities in its Trading Unit is greater than zero; or

    • Consumption, if the sum of all the BM Unit Relevant Capacities in its Trading Unit is less than or equal to zero.

If the BM Unit is a Sole Trading Unit on its own, then only its own GC and DC values affect its P/C Status.

However, if it’s part of a Trading Unit with one or more other BM Units then the GC and DC values of these other BM Unit(s) will also affect its P/C Status. A BM Unit in a Trading Unit with other BM Units may therefore have a Production P/C Status even if its individual Relevant Capacity is its DC value, or a Consumption P/C Status even if its individual Relevant Capacity is its GC value.

The central BSC Systems re-determine the BM Unit’s P/C Status whenever:

    • the BM Unit joins or leaves a Trading Unit;

    • another BM Unit joins or leaves its Trading Unit; and/or

    • the GC and/or DC value for the BM Unit, or for any other BM Unit in its Trading Unit, changes.6

The BM Unit’s P/C Status can therefore change at any time.

An example of a dynamically-determined P/C Status (Null P/C Flag, F Base TU Flag):

BM Unit

GC (MW)

DC (MW)

Relevant Capacity

Sum of Relevant Capacities means:

T_GEN-1

75

-5

75

P/C Status is P

T_GEN-2

25

-5

25

T_DEM-1

5

-30

-30

Sum of Relevant Capacities

70

This Trading Unit contains three BM Units, none of which are Interconnector BM Units, Exempt Export BM Units or Supplier BM Units (i.e. all three BM Units have ‘Null’ P/C Flags, ‘False’ Exempt Export Flags and ‘False’ Base Trading Unit Flags).

There are two Generating Units and a demand unit. We calculate the Relevant Capacity of each BM Unit and sum these values.

In the example above, the total is 70 so all three BM Units have a P/C Status of Production even though the demand unit is consuming.

However, the GC value of one of the Generating Units then changes. The new total in the example below is -10, so the P/C Status of all three BM Units (including the remaining Generating Unit) changes to Consumption.

BM Unit

GC (MW)

DC (MW)

Relevant Capacity

Sum of Relevant Capacities means:

T_GEN-1

0

-5

-5

P/C Status is C

T_GEN-2

25

-5

25

T_DEM-1

5

-30

-30

Sum of Relevant Capacities

-10

4. Why does P/C Status matter?

P/C Status has three important effects on a Party:

    • it determines to which of a Lead Party’s Energy Accounts the central BSC Systems allocate the BM Unit’s Metered Volume for the purpose of calculating imbalance charges;

    • it restricts Lead Parties’ ability to reassign the BM Unit’s Metered Volumes to another Subsidiary Party, which can affect both Parties’ imbalance charges; and

    • it affects how we estimate the Lead Party’s Energy Indebtedness, which we use to decide whether it’s lodged enough financial credit to cover its imbalance charges.

Effect on Energy Account imbalance

If the BM Unit’s P/C Status is Production, we allocate its Metered Volume to the Lead Party’s Production Energy Account. If its P/C Status is Consumption, we allocate its Metered Volume to the Lead Party’s Consumption Energy Account.

To avoid imbalances, Parties try to match their volumes of contracted and metered energy. Parties must financially settle any differences (or ‘imbalances’) between these using the relevant energy imbalance price (System Buy Price or System Sell Price (SBP/SSP)).

Since the implementation of Approved Modification P305 in 2015, SBP and SSP have the same value. This means that Parties no longer need to balance their volumes in the same Energy Account to avoid imbalance charges. Imbalance charges are applied at the Party level and so any account-level imbalances will net off, leaving any remaining overall imbalance.

For example, if a Party has 50 MWh in its Production Account and 100 MWh in its Consumption Account, it will be in imbalance on both accounts. It can choose to trade volumes between its two Energy Accounts to balance at an account level (using an Energy Contract Volume Notification (ECVN)), or it can allow the account imbalances to net off at the Party level using the same, single energy imbalance price. Either way the Party will still be ‘short’ 50 MWh and will have to pay SBP for this remaining imbalance volume.

To give the reverse example, if the Party has 100 MWh in its Production Account and 50 MWh in its Consumption Account it will have a remaining ‘long’ imbalance volume of 50 MWh, for which it will be paid SSP.

See our separate Beginner’s Guide to the electricity trading arrangements, for more about how we work out energy imbalances and apply imbalance charges.

Effect on Metered Volume Reallocation Notifications

A BM Unit’s P/C Status restricts its Lead Party’s ability to use Metered Volume Reallocation Notifications (MVRNs).

Parties can use ECVNs to trade energy volumes from:

    • one Production Energy Account to another;

    • one Consumption Energy Account to another;

    • a Production Account to a Consumption Account; or

    • a Consumption Account to a Production Account.

These can be trades to the Energy Account of another Party, or between a Party’s own two Energy Accounts.

The Lead Party for a BM Unit can also reallocate some or all of the BM Unit’s Metered Volume to the Energy Account of another Party (the ‘Subsidiary Party’) through an MVRN. However, MVRNs can only reallocate energy:

    • from a Production BM Unit to a Production Energy Account; or

    • from a Consumption BM Unit to a Consumption Energy Account.

The BSC does not permit Production to Consumption, or Consumption to Production, MVRNs.

If a BM Unit’s P/C Status changes, the central BSC Systems automatically give any existing MVRNs for that BM Unit an end-date of the day before the change. This means that we will subsequently allocate the entire BM Unit Metered Volume to the Lead Party. This potentially leaves both the Lead Party and Subsidiary Party in imbalance if they are unaware of the change and do not have energy contracts in place to balance their positions.

Because Exempt Export BM Units are the only type of BM Unit that can choose their P/C Status (by fixing their P/C Flag as P or C), their Lead Parties can effectively choose to which of a Subsidiary Party’s Energy Accounts the BM Unit’s Metered Volumes can be reallocated.

See our separate Contract Notifications Guidance for more about MVRNs.

Effect on Metered Volume Reallocation Notifications

A BM Unit’s P/C Status restricts its Lead Party’s ability to use Metered Volume Reallocation Notifications (MVRNs).

Parties can use ECVNs to trade energy volumes from:

    • one Production Energy Account to another;

    • one Consumption Energy Account to another;

    • a Production Account to a Consumption Account; or

    • a Consumption Account to a Production Account.

These can be trades to the Energy Account of another Party, or between a Party’s own two Energy Accounts.

The Lead Party for a BM Unit can also reallocate some or all of the BM Unit’s Metered Volume to the Energy Account of another Party (the ‘Subsidiary Party’) through an MVRN. However, MVRNs can only reallocate energy:

    • from a Production BM Unit to a Production Energy Account; or

    • from a Consumption BM Unit to a Consumption Energy Account.

The BSC does not permit Production to Consumption, or Consumption to Production, MVRNs.

If a BM Unit’s P/C Status changes, the central BSC Systems automatically give any existing MVRNs for that BM Unit an end-date of the day before the change. This means that we will subsequently allocate the entire BM Unit Metered Volume to the Lead Party. This potentially leaves both the Lead Party and Subsidiary Party in imbalance if they are unaware of the change and do not have energy contracts in place to balance their positions.

Because Exempt Export BM Units are the only type of BM Unit that can choose their P/C Status (by fixing their P/C Flag as P or C), their Lead Parties can effectively choose to which of a Subsidiary Party’s Energy Accounts the BM Unit’s Metered Volumes can be reallocated.

See our separate Contract Notifications Guidance for more about MVRNs.

Effect on Energy Indebtedness

The BSC’s Credit Cover calculation needs a way to estimate Parties’ accrued Energy Indebtedness before we know their actual BM Unit Metered Volumes. It does this by using Final Physical Notifications (FPNs) for some types of BM Unit. For other BM Units, the calculation uses either their GC or DC value and their P/C Status affects which.

The following tables summarise how we calculate the Energy Indebtedness of each different type of BM Unit. To learn more about the purpose of the Credit Cover calculation, see our separate Credit Cover Guidance.

Credit Cover calculation based on FPNs

My BM Unit is:

Its GC is:

Its DC is:

Its Credit Cover calculation uses:

Credit Qualifying

Irrelevant to its Credit Cover calculation

FPN

An Interconnector BM Unit

The initial part of the Credit Cover calculation uses FPNs to estimate the Energy Indebtedness of:

    • Credit Qualifying BM Units (which have a Credit Qualifying Status of ‘True’ (T) in the central BSC Systems); and

    • Interconnector BM Units (i.e. I_ type I).

These BM Units’ P/C Status, and GC/DC values, are therefore not relevant to this calculation.

An FPN is the BM Unit’s expected generation or demand for a Settlement Period. Lead Parties submit Physical Notifications a day ahead and can refine them up to an hour ahead. For ‘generation’ BM Units and Interconnector BM Units, FPNs are a more accurate estimate of the BM Unit’s likely Metered Volume than its GC/DC values (which are expected maximum/minimum values over an entire BSC Season).7

A BM Unit is Credit Qualifying if it submits FPNs, is not an Interconnector BM Unit and is also one or more of the following:

    • a Production BM Unit (i.e. has a P/C Status of Production);

    • an Exempt Export BM Unit (i.e. has its Exempt Export Flag set to ‘True’); and/or

    • a BM Unit which, following an application by the Lead Party, the BSC Panel determines has been a consistent net exporter of electricity over the previous six months.

Credit Cover calculation based on GC/DC

For BM Units that are not Credit Qualifying BM Units or Interconnector BM Units, their P/C Status affects how we calculate their Energy Indebtedness. If a BM Unit’s P/C Status changes, the Lead Party should therefore ensure that it reviews its Credit Cover requirements.

For these remaining BM Units, the rules differ according to the type of BM Unit. The following tables explain how.

Supplier BM Units

For Supplier BM Units (2_ types G and S) that are not Credit Qualifying (have a Credit Qualifying Status of ‘False’) and are not Exempt Export (have an Exempt Export Flag of ‘False’), their GC/DC values determine how we estimate their Energy Indebtedness.

My BM Unit is:

Its P/C Status is:

Its DC is:

Its GC is:

Its Relevant Capacity is:

Energy Indebtedness calculated using:

A Supplier BM Unit

+

Not Credit Qualifying or Exempt Export

Consumption

=0

=0

=0 (DC)

DC*CALF

<0

=0

<0 (DC)

DC*CALF

<0

>0

<=0 (DC)

DC*CALF

(can apply for alternative CALF)

>0 (GC)

=0

>0

>0 (GC)

GC*SECALF

The normal rule is that we use the BM Unit’s DC value multiplied by its Credit Assessment Load Factor (CALF). CALF is a measure of a BM Unit’s average generation/demand as a ratio of its maximum for the given BSC Season.

However, there are two exceptions to this rule:

    • Supplier BM Units with a mixture of demand and embedded generation (i.e. with both a non-zero DC and GC) can apply for an alternative CALF value which, when multiplied by their DC, reflects this; and

    • Supplier BM Units that only contain embedded generation (i.e. have a zero DC and non-zero GC), have a Supplier Export CALF (SECALF) in place of the normal CALF and we multiply this by their GC instead.

See our CALF Guidance for more about how we calculate CALF, alternative CALF and SECALF.

Exempt Export BM Units

Because Exempt Export BM Units are the only type of BM Unit that can choose their P/C Status (by fixing their P/C Flag as P or C), their Lead Parties can effectively choose which set of Credit Cover calculation rules apply to them.

Exempt Export BM Units that are not Credit Qualifying or a Supplier BM Unit

For Exempt Export BM Units (Exempt Export Flag set to ‘True’) that are not Credit Qualifying (have a Credit Qualifying Status of ‘False’) and are not a Supplier BM Unit (i.e. are types E or T), then:

    • if their P/C Status is Production, their Relevant Capacity determines whether we use their GC or DC (multiplied by their CALF) to calculate their Energy Indebtedness; and

    • if their P/C Status is Consumption, we always use their DC multiplied by their CALF to calculate their Energy Indebtedness, and their Relevant Capacity is irrelevant to this calculation.

My BM Unit is:

Its P/C Status is:

Its Relevant Capacity is:

Energy Indebtedness calculated using:

An Exempt Export BM Unit

+

Not Credit Qualifying or a Supplier BM Unit

Production

>0 (GC)

GC*CALF

<=0 (DC)

DC*CALF

Consumption

Irrelevant to its Credit Cover calculation

DC*CALF

Exempt Export Supplier BM Units that are not Credit Qualifying

For Exempt Export Supplier BM Units (i.e. 2_ types G or S with an Exempt Export Flag of ‘True’) that are not Credit Qualifying (have a Credit Qualifying Status of ‘False’), then:

    • if their P/C Status is Production, the normal rule is that their Relevant Capacity determines whether we use their GC or DC (multiplied by their CALF) to calculate their Energy Indebtedness; and

    • if their P/C Status is Consumption, the normal rule is that we use their DC multiplied by their CALF to calculate their Energy Indebtedness.

However, there are two exceptions to this rule:

    • Exempt Export Supplier BM Units which have a Consumption P/C Status and a mixture of demand and embedded generation (i.e. both a non-zero DC and GC) can apply for an alternative CALF value which, when multiplied by their DC, reflects this; and

    • Exempt Export Supplier BM Units (whether Production or Consumption) that only contain embedded generation (i.e. have a zero DC and non-zero GC) have a SECALF in place of the normal CALF and we multiply this by their GC instead.

My BM Unit is:

Its P/C Status is:

Its DC is:

Its GC is:

Its Relevant Capacity is:

Energy Indebtedness calculated using:

An Exempt Export Supplier BM Unit

+

Not Credit Qualifying

Production

=0

=0

=0 (DC)

DC*CALF

<0

=0

=0 (DC)

DC*CALF

<0

>0

<=0 (DC)

DC*CALF

>0 (GC)

GC*CALF

=0

>0

>0 (GC)

GC*SECALF

Consumption

=0

=0

=0 (DC)

DC*CALF

<0

=0

<0 (DC)

DC*CALF

<0

>0

<=0 (DC)

DC*CALF

>0 (GC)

DC*CALF

(can apply for alternative CALF)

=0

>0

>0 (GC)

GC*SECALF

All other ‘generation’ BM Units

For all other ‘generation’ BM Units that are not Credit Qualifying or Exempt Export (i.e. types E or T) which have both a Credit Qualifying Status and Exempt Export Flag of ‘False’), then:

    • if their P/C Status is Production, their Relevant Capacity determines whether we use their GC or DC (multiplied by their CALF) to calculate their Energy Indebtedness; and

    • if their P/C Status is Consumption, we always use their DC multiplied by their CALF to calculate their Energy Indebtedness, and their Relevant Capacity is irrelevant to this calculation.

My BM Unit is:

Its P/C Status is:

Its Relevant Capacity is:

Energy Indebtedness calculated using:

Not Credit Qualifying or Exempt Export

+

Not an Interconnector or Supplier BM Unit

Production

>0 (GC)

GC*CALF

<=0 (DC)

DC*CALF

My BM Unit is:

Its P/C Status is:

Its Relevant Capacity (and GC/DC values) are:

Energy Indebtedness calculated using:

Not Credit Qualifying or Exempt Export

+

Not an Interconnector or Supplier BM Unit

Consumption

Irrelevant to its Credit Cover calculation

DC*CALF

5. How do I find out a MB Unit’s P/C Flag and P/C Status?

Our Registered BM Units spreadsheet on the Elexon Portal provides a list of every BM Unit registered under the BSC, and its registration data.

This includes each BM Unit’s:

    • BM Unit ID and BM Unit Name;

    • [Lead] Party ID and [Lead] Party Name;

    • BM Unit Type;

    • Exempt Export Flag;

    • Base Trading Unit Flag;

    • P/C Flag;

    • P/C Status;

    • GC;

    • DC;

    • FPN Flag; and

    • Credit Qualifying Status.

‘Null’ Flags will show as blank cells.

Lead Parties can also use the Central Registration Agent (CRA)-I014 Registration Report to check this registration data for their own BM Units.

Lead Parties should ensure that they know the registration data for their BM Units. Please note that:

    • the Elexon Portal spreadsheet only shows the current information;

    • the CRA-I014 only shows Lead Parties any future-dated changes which they have requested for their own BM Units; and

    • neither will show any change in a BM Unit’s P/C Status which is caused by other BM Units (or the change in other BM Units’ GC/DC values or Trading Unit registration which triggered that P/C Status change) until after the event.

6. Why doesn’t P/C Status affect my MB Unit’s transmission losses?

We allocate transmission losses to BM Units by using a Transmission Loss Multiplier (TLM) to scale their Metered Volumes up or down. This is separate to, and unaffected by, BM Units’ P/C Status.

Interconnector BM Units (i.e. I_ type I) are exempt from being allocated transmission losses, and therefore have a fixed TLM of 1.

Each other BM Unit’s TLM value is affected by the following:

    • Whether the BM Unit is part of a ‘delivering’ (net Export) or an ‘offtaking’ (net Import) Trading Unit in the relevant Settlement Period. This is based on the sum of the Trading Unit’s actual BM Unit Metered Volumes in that Settlement Period and not P/C Status.

    • After the implementation of Approved Modification P350 on 1 April 2018, the geographic Zone to which the BM Unit is assigned for the purpose of allocating transmission losses.

See our Transmission Losses Guidance for more about how we calculate and allocate TLMs.

Need more information?

See:

You can find definitions of all capitalised terms in BSC Section X, Annex X-1: General Glossary.

Or contact the BSC Service Desk or call 0870 010 6950.

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1 Where the person generating electricity is either exempt from holding a Generation Licence, or would be if that was their only Generating Plant.

2 This includes Power Station demand units as well as Generating Units.

3 We no longer use this for new BM Units.

4 For a Supplier BM Unit, this is the relevant Supplier. For an Interconnector BM Unit, it’s the relevant Interconnector User. For a ‘generation’ BM Unit, it’s usually the person generating the electricity at the relevant Generating Plant. However, for an Exemptable Generating Plant, that person can authorise another BSC Party to accept the responsibility.

5 GC and DC are the Lead Party’s estimates of the BM Unit’s maximum expected Settlement Period generation or demand. Lead Parties submit these under BSCP15 for each BSC Season, and must resubmit them during a season if the BM Unit’s expected maximum generation/demand exceeds the declared GC/DC value by more than the amount specified in BSC Section K3.4.

6 As well as potentially changing for each BSC Season, Lead Parties may re-declare GC/DC values at any time during a Season.

7 The Grid Code sets out which BM Units have to submit FPNs to the Transmission Company (National Grid). BM Units can also choose to participate in the BM and submit FPNs even if they are not required to do so. A BM Unit which submits FPNs has an FPN Flag of ‘True’ (T) in central BSC Systems. See our Beginners Guide for more about the purpose of FPNs.