Master Registration Agreement (MRA) Secretariat Case Study

The Challenge

Gemserv was tasked with taking on a complex role of the service provider for the Master Registration Agreement (MRA), an industry-wide agreement between electricity distributors and suppliers in England, Wales and Scotland, which is key to the success of competition in the GB electricity market. The MRA covers a range of market-critical processes and interfaces. They include those required to support customer switching, transfer of data between parties, and other associated technical, financial, safety and interface areas.

Services provided by Gemserv include:

• Acting as design authority, managing the MRA market design and representing the MRA on industry panels and regulatory workgroups;
• Management of the operation of the Electricity Central Online Enquiry Service (ECOES);
• Maintenance and development of industry data transfer standards for communications between participants operating in retail and settlement arrangements;
• Management of entry assessment activities for new participants;
• Delivery and maintenance of retail design governance and support for the day-to-day operation of the GB electricity market;
• Development of the MRA in line with regulatory changes and other relevant legislation;
• Identification and development of potential solutions with the MRA parties, ensuring that there are robust change management and issue resolution procedures in place and providing dispute management and conciliation services; and
• Legal drafting of changes to the MRA and MRA Agreed Procedures, as well as technical drafting for updates to associated documentation.

The Outcome

Our expertise and experience in working at the market level has been a key factor in the successful delivery and maintenance of retail design governance and support for the day-to-day operation of the GB electricity market under the MRA contract.