Ofgem pauses midata programme

Energy regulator Ofgem has announced it is pausing the development of the midata programme for 2020/21 while it enacts other retail market programmes.

Midata is a method of electronically transferring customers’ data, with consent, from a company system to a third-party intermediary.

While it is already used by some of the larger energy retailers, it is due to be more widely implemented via amendment to the regulator’s standard licence conditions.

In an open letter to stakeholders published today (27 May) Anna Rossington, deputy director, consumers and markets, said there were other ongoing programmes that will also impact industry data availability and quality, and will “help consumers more easily navigate and realise value” from the data-driven transformation of the retail energy market.

These include the switching programme, the market-wide half hourly settlement (MHHS) programme, the smart meter rollout and the smart data review.

She explained: “The overall nature and potential outcomes of these programmes will impact the content of messages sent through industry systems, the structure of data flows, and how market participants and consumers access and use data.

“For example, the switching programme is coordinating a significant data cleanse across central systems; and the smart meter roll-out combined with MHHS will increase the availability and use of half-hourly data across the industry for specific purposes. Any future changes made to the data access framework will require further consideration, remaining mindful of privacy and security needs.”

Rossington added: “Ofgem’s retail market programmes, particularly the switching programme and MHHS, will be enacting or designing significant changes to the energy data landscape progressing over 2020 and 2021. Given the synergies and potential overlaps between activities for these programmes and activities required to deliver midata, we are pausing development of midata in 2020/21.

“This is to ensure that what is developed continues to deliver benefits to consumers as the market evolves, and also manages the level of system development we are requiring of suppliers. We are also keen to ensure midata utilises existing data access systems and frameworks where possible, so will be considering how we can best achieve this given the current retail market changes.”