Ofwat unveils two market code changes

MOSL retail director

Ofwat has approved a change recommended by MOSL to the Market Arrangements Code (MAC) to allow a further extension to the deadline for nominating a retailer director to the MOSL board. Earlier this month, Ofwat approved CPM009 which gave the sector another six month extension (to 30 September 2018).

The original deadline for the nomination was six months post go-live. In September, Ofwat extended this to 12 months past go-live, and has now gone to 18 months past go live. The changes follow the discovery of a discrepancy between the appointment process set out in MOSL’s Articles of Association and the MAC.

MOSL’s revised articles, which took effect from 1 April 2017, distinguished between non-voting “associated” retailers and voting “unassociated” retailers but the MAC does not. After the first extension, MOSL consulted its members on the issues. The preference was for creating an new class of membership for associated retailers with full voting rights and a new board position for an associated retailer director. Enacting the change requires alterations to both the Articles of Association and the MAC. These are due to be drafted this month.

Market Entry Assurance streamlined

Ofwat has approved MOSL’s CPW023 change proposal to address inefficiencies and lack of clarity that have surfaced since market opening in the Market Entry Assurance (MEA) and Market Re-assurance processes.

These respectively provide assurance that retailers are capable of operating in the market initially or following a material change to the operations of an existing trading party. For example, one change is to align MOSL’s MEA process with Ofwat’s licence processes so they can run concurrently rather than consecutively to speed things up.

This followed a November 2017 consultation.