On Friday, Ofwat published its decision to allow wholesalers to leave the “retailer ID” field in the Central Market Operating System blank when requesting a supply point ID for either a new connection or an entry change of use where the customer has not chosen a retailer.
To date, wholesalers have been using a workaround in such situations by treating them as gap sites – the only option that will allow them to request a SPID when the retailer is unknown. The change, proposed by Thames Water, was recommended by the Panel and approved by Ofwat, and will be implemented on 3 March 2018.