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The government and Ofgem have launched a major review of industry codes and governance to support the ongoing transformation of the energy system.
The review was trailed by business and energy secretary Greg Clark earlier this month during a speech in which he made a series of big policy announcements, whilst also declaring the end of the energy trilemma.
Ofgem has now published a document outlining the terms of the review. According to the regulator, there is a “growing industry consensus” that the present arrangements, designed several decades ago, have become outdated and a barrier to progress.
The document says the current system is slow, “with even simple decisions taking many years”, and reactive rather than forward-looking. It also overly complicated, “with the entirety of the codes estimated to run to over 10,000 pages and weighing 50kg”, and resource-intensive, resulting in a lack of representation from smaller and newer parties.
Furthermore, the system is fragmented, with a large number of poorly coordinated code panels and bodies. As a result, systematic changes are difficult.
The review will examine a number of issues, including: the purposes of industry codes and whether they are all necessary; the content of the codes themselves and whether they are up to date; the current governance model and possible alternatives; and the process for implementing changes.
Ofgem is aiming to consult on potential reforms by the summer of 2019.
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