Introduction of CSS refresh functionality
Summary
CSS Market Messages sent by the Central Switching Service (CSS) to Switching Data Service Providers (SDSP) are either not being received, being received after Gate Closure, or are being received out of the order that they were originally sent in. This Change Proposal seeks to introduce a refresh functionality to mitigate these issues.
Latest update and next planned activity
Date of latest update
Latest Update
06/12/2023- This Change was implemented as part of the 6 December 2023 Extraordinary Release
Impacts Overview
Impacted Consumers
Electricity
Gas
Impacted REC Parties and Market Participants
Other
Impacted REC Services
Electricity Enquiry Service (EES)
Central Switching Service (CSS)
Gas Retail Data Service (GRDS)
Electricity Retail Data Service (ERDS)
Gas Enquiry Service (GES)
Priority and rationale
Standard
Priority last updated on 29 May 2026
Solution development
Problem Statement
CSS messages not received by the SDSPs in the order they were sent or received, or after Gate Closure, can be difficult to detect and often require significant manual effort to resolve. This issue can directly impact Consumer switching experiences causing disruption and possible delays.
Proposed solution summary
- As a Consumer, I want the Switching process to work successfully, so that I can switch Energy Supplier without delays or issues.
- As the CSS Provider I want the messages I send to SDSPs to be received and processed successfully, so that there is no interruption to the Switching process or the Consumers’ Switching experience. As the CSS Provider, I want the functionality to be available for SDSPs to automatically resolve issues when messages are not received in the correct order or are received after Gate Closure, so that this work does not have to be done manually.
- As an SDSP, I want to be able to detect when I have not received the expected CSS messages, so that I am able to request that the missing messages are sent to me to process. As an SDSP I want to be able to request a refresh of CSS messages when they are not received in the correct order or they are received after Gate Closure, so that I am able to maintain an accurate reflection of the current Switch status and minimise impacts on CSS Users and Consumers.
No documents available.
Change Plan
Solution Analysis and Development
Completed
Start:
29 Aug 2022Due:
19 Oct 2022Completion:
19 Oct 2022Service Provider Impact Assessment
Completed
Start:
19 Oct 2022Due:
29 Mar 2023Completion:
29 Mar 2023Consultation
Completed
Start:
11 Apr 2023Due:
09 May 2023Completion:
28 Apr 2023Preliminary Change Report Issued
Completed
Start:
29 Mar 2023Due:
11 Apr 2023Completion:
05 Apr 2023Final Change Report Issued
Completed
Start:
Due:
Completion:
21 Jun 2023Responsible Committee Decision
Completed
Start:
09 May 2023Due:
28 Jun 2023Completion:
28 Jul 2023Original submission
Change details
Ann Perry - -
29 Aug 2022
Change details
Introduction of CSS refresh functionality
Since the switching arrangements went live in July 2022, there have been a number of observed incidents whereby systems that interface with CSS have not received expected messages, or they have been received after gate closure or have been received out of sync.
These issues can result in processing errors and intensive manual error resolution activities.
These issues can result in processing errors and intensive manual error resolution activities.
Systems which interface with the CSS can receive out of sync messages which can be difficult to detect and result in significant manual effort when resolving.
The impact is significantly higher when messages are received after gate closure for gas allocation and settlement services.
The impact is significantly higher when messages are received after gate closure for gas allocation and settlement services.
Introduction of a CSS refresh functionality would allow systems which interface with the CSS to request a re-send of out of sync messages, messages received after gate closure, or missing messages without the need of manual intervention.
There may be a requirement to introduce missing message detection functionality, to identify ‘single send’ missing messages.
There may be a requirement to introduce missing message detection functionality, to identify ‘single send’ missing messages.
CR-D061 was raised under the Switching Programme to introduce functionality to CSS that would allow for a data refresh where misalignment had been identified, reducing the burden on CSS service operations to resolve the issue.
The functionality that CR-D061 looked to introduce has been built and is being used to provide CSS refresh data to Smart DSP, both for concerns regarding registration data relating to an RMP and to missed gate closure messages. This solution could be applied to other CSS Data Service Providers without significant development activity.
The functionality that CR-D061 looked to introduce has been built and is being used to provide CSS refresh data to Smart DSP, both for concerns regarding registration data relating to an RMP and to missed gate closure messages. This solution could be applied to other CSS Data Service Providers without significant development activity.
Impacts
Electricity, Gas
Switching experience, Trust and confidence
Increased likelihood of CSS System incidents which reduce the efficiency of switching.
Increase stability of downstream processes dependant on the CSS System such as Registration Services and Enquiry Services, such that overall switching efficiency is improved.
Increase stability of downstream processes dependant on the CSS System such as Registration Services and Enquiry Services, such that overall switching efficiency is improved.
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Central Switching Service (CSS), Gas Retail Data Service, Electricity Retail Data Service, Gas Enquiry Service
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Impact to CSS Users to be validated
No details provided
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No
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Priority & timing
No
At the time of raising, change proposal is considered urgent given frequency of incident occurrence which have the potential to cause significant impact to the GES ecosystem. There are a number of operational fixes currently being deployed into CSS which may reduce the urgency of this change proposal, but at current it is considered urgent.
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Activity
Proposed solution summary changed to As a Consumer, I want the Switching process to work successfully, so that I can switch Energy Supplier without delays or issues.As the CSS Provider I want the messages I send to SDSPs to be received and processed…
Proposed solution summary changed to As a Consumer, I want the Switching process to work successfully, so that I can switch Energy Supplier without delays or issues.As the CSS Provider I want the messages I send to SDSPs to be received and processed successfully, so that there is no interruption to the Switching process or the Consumers’ Switching experience. As the CSS Provider, I want the functionality to be available for SDSPs to automatically resolve issues when messages are not received in the correct order or are received after Gate Closure, so that this work does not have to be done manually.As an SDSP, I want to be able to detect when I have not received the expected CSS messages, so that I am able to request that the missing messages are sent to me to process. As an SDSP I want to be able to request a refresh of CSS messages when they are not received in the correct order or they are received after Gate Closure, so that I am able to maintain an accurate reflection of the current Switch status and minimise impacts on CSS Users and Consumers..
Show moreImplementation Date has been updated to 06 Dec 2023.
Orphaned SME: Lead Technical Analyst has been allocated as SME.