Review of Electricity Standards of Service and Overall Standards of Performance

Overview

The Utility Regulator (UR) has launched a consultation on our review of the Electricity Guaranteed Standards of Service (GSS) and Overall Standards of Performance (OSP).

The Electricity GSS set out prescribed service levels which domestic and non-domestic consumers can expect from the electricity distributor and their electricity supplier. They include payments when the company has failed to adhere to the standards that it is reasonably expected to meet (subject to certain exemptions). GSS aims to acknowledge the inconvenience caused to the consumer when a company’s performance falls below the prescribed level.
Overall Standards of Performance set out general required standards that are not individual consumer specific and do not carry a payment to consumers if breached.

The purpose of this review is to update the current electricity GSS Regulations and OSP Determinations for the electricity distributor and electricity supply companies in Northern Ireland, to ensure that the GSS and OSP provisions are fit for purpose and provide an enhanced level of consumer protection to Northern Ireland consumers.

The consultation seeks stakeholder views on the proposed GSS and OSP standards for metering activities, on introducing a GSS standard for supply restoration in severe weather conditions and on introducing inflationary uplifts to GSS payments. The paper also provides clarification on current GSS responsibilities for the electricity distributor and electricity supplier. 

Why your views matter

It is recommended that you read the main consultation document ‘Review of Electricity Guaranteed Standards of Service and Overall Standards of Performance’ prior to completing this questionnaire.  Associated annexes to this document can be found on the Utility Regulator's website.

The consultation documents should be read before completing the questionnaire. 

• Copies of all documents will be made available in large print, Braille, audio cassette and a variety of relevant minority languages if required.
• Your response may be made public by the Utility Regulator. If you do not want all or part of your response or name made public, please state this clearly in the response by marking your response as ‘CONFIDENTIAL’
• If you want other information that you provide to be treated as confidential, please be aware that, under the FOIA, there is a statutory Code of Practice with which public authorities must comply and which deals, amongst other things, with obligations of confidence. In view of this, it would be helpful if you could explain to us why you regard the information you have provided as confidential
• Information provided in response to this consultation, including personal information, may be subject to publication or disclosure in accordance with the access to information regimes (these are primarily the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA)).
• As stated in the GDPR Privacy Statement for consumers and stakeholders, any personal data contained within your response will be deleted once the matter being consulted on has been concluded though the substance of the response may be retained.