Ofgem's open letter ‘half-hourly settlement (HHS): the way forward'
Citizens Advice welcomes the opportunity to respond to this open letter. We recognise the potential benefits of half-hourly settlement (HHS) for smaller sites, which could improve the efficiency of the energy system and lead to lower costs for consumers. However, we also have a number of concerns about the proposals set out by Ofgem, and the impact that they may have on consumers.
We examined the consumer impact of demand side response (DSR), and in particular non-traditional Time of Use (ToU) tariffs, in our report, Take a Walk on the Demand Side. It contained recommendations for both Ofgem and industry, to ensure that changes to enable DSR work for consumers. These form the basis of our considerations in relation to the introduction of elective HHS, although we have also set out some concerns related to the proposed timeline and process for moving to mandatory HHS.