Project planning your Code requirements and deadlines
This case study looks at the circumstances of a participant’s failure to provide information to the reconciliation manager. The failure constituted an alleged breach of the Electricity Industry Participation Code 2010 (Code).
Background
The Code requires participants to provide information to other participants, market operation service providers and the Authority by specified deadlines. These deadlines exist in many clauses across all parts of the Code. Missing deadlines can have ongoing effects on compliance for the participant and other industry parties.
Code obligations in project managing new points of connection
In this case, the alleged breach could have been avoided with clear communication of project time frame changes. Project slippage is a common part of managing a project. When planning a project participants should consider both the Code obligations that they have directly, and those that will affect other industry parties if they are unable to meet a timeframe.
In most cases, the Code will allow for a change in deadline if the change is notified before the obligation takes effect. It is important to know when a project delay will impact a Code obligation and what options you have, to manage the delay compliantly.
Code provisions
15.4 Submission information to be delivered for reconciliation
(1) Each participant must, by 1600 hours on the 4th business day of each reconciliation period, ensure that submission information has been delivered to the reconciliation manager for all NSPs for which the participant is recorded in the registry as having traded electricity during the consumption period immediately before that reconciliation period, in accordance with Schedule 15.3.
15.11 Grid connected generator
Each generator who has a generating station or generating unit with a point of connection to the grid must deliver to the reconciliation manager for each of its points of connection—
(a) submission information for the immediately preceding consumption period, by1600 hours on the 4th business day of each reconciliation period; and
(b) revised submission information provided in accordance with clause 15.4(2), by 1600hours on the 13th business day of each reconciliation period.
15.14 Notice of changes to the grid
(1) Each grid owner must give written notice to the reconciliation manager, in accordance with any procedures or other requirements reasonably specified by the reconciliation manager from time to time, of any changes that the grid owner intends to make to the grid that will affect reconciliation.
(2) The grid owner must give the notice at least 1 month before the effective date of the intended change.
(3) No later than 1 business day after receipt of the notice, the reconciliation manager must give a copy of the notice to the clearing manager and the Authority.
(4) Each grid owner must give notice of an intended change to an existing point of connection to the grid or a new point of connection to the grid to be commissioned.
15.18 Reconciliation manager may request additional information
For the purpose of carrying out its role in accordance with this Code, the reconciliation manager may, in respect of a consumption period, give notice to a reconciliation participant that it requires such additional information from the reconciliation participant as the reconciliation manager reasonably requires, and the reconciliation participant must, as soon as practicable, provide such information to the reconciliation manager.
Circumstances
Our case study concerns a participant who failed to submit information to the reconciliation manager by 4.00pm on business day four. The reconciliation manager believed there was advice from the participant to the grid owner regarding when new generation would be injecting electricity into the grid, and therefore when the monthly AV-130 NSPVOLS file would be provided as submission information. An AV-130 NSPVOLS file gives the reconciliation manager network supply point volume information for use in the reconciliation process.
When the files were not received as expected, the reconciliation manager requested the files from the participant. The participant did not provide the submission information to the reconciliation manager in response to the request because there was no meter installed and it believed it had not agreed to the effective date.
Although there was no evidence that the participant did explicitly agree to an effective date, the participant did provide a proposed effective date. To meet its obligation, the grid owner provided a notice to the reconciliation manager of a change it intended to make to the grid that would affect reconciliation using the proposed effective date. This notice was required to be given at least one month before the effective date of the intended change.
When the project was delayed, the participant did not explicitly request a different effective date either before or after the grid owner provided notice to the reconciliation manager using the proposed effective date.
Based on the notice provided to it, the reconciliation manager expected to receive submission information from the participant. When the reconciliation manager did not receive the expected submission information, it requested the information under clause 15.18. Clause 15.18 requires a participant to give the reconciliation manager any reasonably requested additional information as soon as possible. The participant did not have the information to submit, and believed it was not required to.
The reconciliation manager, grid owner and the participant all required time to resolve and produce the required information so the reconciliation process could proceed.
Analysis
When considering an alleged breach, the Authority examines the specific circumstances of the case and takes into account our enforcement policy. In this case, the participant could have avoided the alleged breach by informing the grid owner of a revised effective date preventing the operational impacts. However, the participant acknowledged its error, responsibility under the Code, and took steps to prevent recurrence.
Summary of learnings
When a participant fails to meet Code obligations and deadlines, it impacts other industry parties and consumers. It is the participant’s responsibility to adhere to deadlines and account for potential delays.
Effective project management must include regulatory obligations and strategies for compliance. A staff member should be responsible for ensuring compliance and updating relevant parties in case of delays.