New Smart Energy Code content (Stage 4)
Download the full outcome
Detail of outcome
December 2015 response
This document sets out the Government response to the following consultations:
- All the outstanding topics from the SEC 4 consultation (June 2014)
- March 2015 SEC consultation
- July 2015 SEC consultation
Related legal drafting for incorporation into the regulatory framework will be laid in Parliament following publication of this document. This will also include legal drafting which has already been concluded upon as part of previous Government conclusions documents.
This document provides the final policy position (and associated legal text), or in a few cases an update on the current position, on topics including:
- DCC Services and DCC Testing
- Communications hubs
- Security Licence Conditions, public key infrastructure and independence
- Implementation performance regime
- Confidentiality and privacy
- Incident Mmnagement, error handling strategy and event of default
- Activation of the code modification process
- Threshold anomaly detection scope
- Scope of risk management obligations for users
- User supplier to non-user supplier churn
New drafts of three future SEC Appendices are also published for information, these are:
- Inventory Enrolment and Withdrawal Procedures
- Service Request Processing Document
- Certified Products List (CPL) Requirements Document
March 2015 response
This document provides the government response to specific areas of the following consultations:
- Stage 4 of the Smart Energy Code (SEC 4) published on 30 June 2014
- Additional Consultation as part of the SEC 4 Part A Government Response published on 17 November 2014
- January 2015 SEC Consultation published on 26 January 2015
This document provides the final policy position (and associated legal text), or in a few cases an update on the current position, on topics including:
- DCC User Interface Service Schedule
- Provision of Data for the Central Delivery Body
- User Supplier to Non User Supplier Churn
- Requirement to consult on Communication Hub Dimensions
- Movement of some Technical Arrangements into Subsidiary Documents
- SMKI/DCCKI and IKI related changes to the SEC
- Further Security Requirements and Post Commissioning Obligations
- Notifying new commencement dates for SEC testing phases
- Testing
- Changes to when Communications Hubs can be ordered and associated forecasts are required to be submitted
Conclusions on the remaining SEC 4 and SEC 4 Part A content will follow in due course.
January 2015 response
This document provides the government response to specific areas of the following consultations:
- Stage 4 of the Smart Energy Code (SEC 4) published on 30 June 2014
- Additional consultation as part of the SEC 4 Part A government response published on 17 November 2014
This document provides the final policy position and associated legal text on: Test Certificates; User IDs, DCC IDs and Party IDs; and Compliance Policy Independence Arrangements (CPIA). These are areas for which an actual or possible early requirement has been identified. Conclusions on the remaining SEC 4 and 4A content will follow in due course.
Part A of the response
This document provides the government response to the following consultations:
- Stage 4 of the Smart Energy Code (SEC4) (Part A of the response)
- Transitional matters for the Smart Energy Code
Part A of the response to the SEC4 consultation provides final policy and associated legal text for a number of areas; and concludes on others where the legal text will follow in the Part B response, principally Communications Hubs. Conclusions and legal text for the Transitional Arrangements consultation are also included in this document.
It also further consults on some areas of additional policy and proposed legal text, principally in relation to security.
We have noted an error in the ‘SEC4A and Transitional Arrangements government conclusions and further consultation text’ and ‘Smart Energy Code with SEC4A and Transitional Arrangements conclusions incorporated - clean’ documents. The correct definitions of DCC User Interface Specification and DCC User Interface Services Schedule are:
- DCC User Interface Specification means the SEC Subsidiary Document identified as the ‘DCC User Gateway Interface Specification’ set out in Appendix [TBC].
- DCC User Interface Services Schedule means the SEC Subsidiary Document of that name set out in Appendix [TBC].
We will amend the in force legal text at the earliest opportunity and apologise for any confusion caused.
Feedback received
Detail of feedback received
We have published the responses received to this consultation.
Original consultation
Consultation description
The consultation document for Stage 4 of the Smart Energy Code also includes the government response to previous consultations including:
- Response to SEC 2 consultation on Communications Hub Charging and further consultation on associated SEC 4 legal drafting;
- Response to SEC 3 consultation on using the SMKI Service and further consultation on associated SEC 4 legal drafting;
- Response to consultation on the regulatory arrangements for Enrolment and Adoption of Foundation Meters and further consultation on associated SEC 4 legal drafting;
- Response to consultation on the Arrangements to Support Churn of an Enrolled Smart Metering System from a user to a non-user and further consultation on associated SEC 4 legal drafting
The Smart Energy Code (SEC) is a new industry code which has been created through, and comes into force under, the Data and Communications Company (DCC) Licence. The SEC is a multiparty contract which sets out the terms for the provision of the DCC’s Smart Meter communications service, and specifies other provisions to govern the end-to-end management of Smart Metering.
This document consults on proposed text for stage 4 of the Smart Energy Code (SEC4). This follows the designation of Stage 1 of the Smart Energy Code (SEC1) in September 2013 and stage 2 (SEC2) in January 2014. The conclusion to stage 3 (SEC3) was published in two sections, SEC3A was published March 2014 and SEC3B was published in June 2014.
This SEC Stage 4 (SEC4) consultation covers a wide range of areas, including:
- the roles and responsibilities on the DCC and other SEC Parties throughout the lifecycle of the communications hub, including the procurement, maintenance, returns and removal of Communications Hubs and a requirement on the DCC to provide communications hubs upon request for testing purposes.
- the process of enabling the enrolment of SMETS1 meters into the DCC and the adopting of associated communications contracts through an Initial Enrolment Project;
- further requirements for the DCC and Users to maintain secure systems and undertake regular audits of those systems using a centrally procured Competent Independent Organisation;
- establishment of a Security Sub-Committee (SSC) to provide security expertise and on-going scrutiny of security arrangements;
- additional requirements on parties in relation to SMKI, including liabilities when subscribing for certificates from the SMKI, and when relying on certificates;
- obligations on the DCC to provide for the business continuity of its services; and
- a process which allows an energy supplier who is not a DCC User to supply customers whose smart metering systems are enrolled with the DCC.
Confidentiality: Please note that DECC intends to summarise all responses and place this summary on the GOV.UK website. This summary will include a list of names or organisations that responded but not people’s names, addresses or other contact details. In addition DECC intends to publish the individual responses on its website and you should therefore let us know if you are not content for the response or any part of it to be published. We will not publish people’s personal names, addresses or other contact details. If you indicate that you do not want your response published we will not publish it automatically but it could still be subject to information requests as detailed below.
Further, information provided in response to this consultation, including personal information, may be subject to publication or disclosure in accordance with the access to information legislation (primarily the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004).
If you do not want your individual response to be published on the website, or to otherwise be treated as confidential please say so clearly in writing when you send your response to the consultation. For the purposes of considering access to information requests it would be helpful if you could explain to us why you regard the information you have provided as confidential. If we receive a request for disclosure of the information we will take full account of your explanation, but we cannot give an assurance that confidentiality can be maintained in all circumstances. An automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system will not, of itself, be regarded by us as a confidentiality request.
Documents
Last updated 22 January 2016 + show all updates
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New SEC appendix documents.
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Consultation response - December 2015 update.
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March 2015 Smart Energy Code Government Response to Consultation.
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Further government response published.
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Government response published.
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First published.