The REC Performance Assurance Report Catalogue (PARC) details a range of data and reports collected by the Code Manager from REC Parties and other industry participants to support Performance Assurance activities across the Retail Energy Code (REC) , as approved by the Performance Assurance Board (PAB).

The data items listed within the catalogue are driven by the Performance Assurance Framework, particularly the Retail Risk Register. Data items are used to measure performance against the risks defined in the Retail Risk Register and to monitor market trends. There are also specific reporting requirements defined in the REC that the Code Manager needs to complete, such as Theft Reporting, which require data to be shared by Parties or Service Providers. These are also included in the catalogue so that organisations have a single place to look to understand what information they need to regularly share with the Code Manager.

Please note that the PARC is focused on the data that needs to be collected regularly on a recurring basis. Parties may be requested to provide other reports and information periodically for other REC processes (e.g. Maintenance of Qualification) and/or on an ad-hoc basis as part of investigating or responding to specific performance and market issues.

Access the Performance Assurance Report Catalogue here and the Retail Risk Register here. Further details on the use of data and basis for processing can be found in the documents listed in the ‘Useful Links’ section below.

Obligations on REC Parties

As per the REC Schedule 6 - Performance Assurance (Section 9), REC Service Users and Service Providers are required to provide data items detailed in the catalogue:

‘Each REC Service User and each REC Service Provider shall ensure that the REC PAB is provided with such data as the REC PAB may from time to time reasonably request for the purposes of fulfilling its functions. The requested data shall be provided in accordance with the format, frequency and timescales set out in the Performance Assurance Report Catalogue that may be consulted upon and approved by the REC PAB from time to time.’

Non-compliance with the data provision requirements listed in the catalogue could result in escalation to the PAB and application of a Performance Assurance Technique. If Parties have questions related to the submission of data they should contact the Performance Assurance Team (performanceassurance@recmanager.co.uk) who are happy to help with any data-related queries. By contacting the team, this helps to resolve any queries before there is an issue of non-compliance.

Content of the Report Catalogue

The catalogue contains three main categories of reports and data items:

1. Items provided by REC Parties to measure their own performance in relation to REC obligations.
2. Items provided by central service providers to measure party performance in relation to REC obligations.
3. Items provided by central service providers relating to their agreed service levels e.g. service availability reporting.

To help organisations find the information relevant to them the Report Catalogue is split into separate tabs. Items under the first category are listed within the tab ‘Report Catalogue’, with further detail on specific items detailed on separate tabs (currently ‘90’ to ‘1810’, matching the numbered items in the ‘Report Catalogue’ tab). Items in the second and third categories are listed in tab ‘Other Data Collection’, with additional detail for data items sourced from the CSS Provider, SDES Provider, ElectraLink and Xoserve provided on the tabs ‘CSS Data Items, ‘SDES Data Items’, ‘ElectraLink Data Items’ and ‘Xoserve Data Items’, respectively.

Against each required report, the following information is provided:

• The identity of the organisation or type of organisation providing the report.
• Whether the report is a new requirement under the REC or was a report/data item that was covered by obligations in place prior to REC go-live.
• The data to be captured within the report, if the report is a new requirement under the REC.
• The frequency of reporting.
• The rationale for producing the report with reference to the Retail Risk Register.

Further detail can be found within the ‘Cover’ sheet of the catalogue.

How to Submit Data

All data items listed in the ‘Report Catalogue’ tab should be submitted via the REC Portal. You can do this by navigating to the ‘Performance Assurance’ area within ‘Party Operations’, selecting the relevant organisation, and then going to ‘Your Files’ and clicking ‘Upload File’.

Please ensure the file meets the specifications detailed in the Report Catalogue exactly. Any discrepancies to the defined specifications could result in your file failing to upload to the REC Portal or the Code Manager contacting you to ask you resubmit the file.

To assist, sample files have been provided under the list of ‘Useful Documents’ within the ‘Party Operations’ REC Portal page. The files provided do not contain accurate data and have been provided to help Parties to understand the file format required.

Example files for Supplier Parties can be downloaded using this link.

When to Submit Data

There is a one-month lag between the end of the period data is to be submitted for and the submission deadline. In the case of a report that is to be provided monthly, data for the month of January would not be required to be submitted until the first working day in March, and in the case of a quarterly report, data for January – March would not be required to be submitted until the first working day in May.

What to do if a Data Item doesn’t apply to you?

To determine which data items are applicable to you, filter the ‘Provided by which REC Party’ column for your applicable Party type. If on reviewing the list you realise a data item listed against your Party type is not applicable or you have no data to submit for an item for a period of time, a nil return should be submitted by emailing the nil return form to the performance assurance mailbox, notifying us of the item(s) you will not be submitting, the time period the nil return applies and the reason for the nil return.

Here are two examples of how this may apply:

• If you have a role as a Gas MEM and only utilise the ONJOB and ONUPD RGMA flows (data items reference 680 and 690 in the Report Catalogue), you should submit a nil return for an indefinite period for all other RGMA data items applicable to a Gas MEM (data item references 660-670 and 700-770 in the Report Catalogue).
• If you are a Supplier party and received no complaints in the month of January, you should submit a nil return for that month prior to the deadline for submission.

Following the submission deadline, the Code Manager will contact parties where expected data has not been provided, submission of a nil return helps us to avoid contacting you unnecessarily.

Note the Nil Return process should not be used if you cannot provide data for some reason (e.g. a temporary operational / systems issue) – it should only be used when there is a validly no data to submit.

Change Process

Changes to the Report Catalogue are subject to the Category 1/2 Change Process whereby stakeholders will be notified, and consulted if impacted, before any proposed change is implemented.

REC Parties can propose changes to the catalogue through the submission of a Change Proposal, which will be subject to PAB consideration. If you are interested in raising a change, please contact the Code Manager first as we will be happy to discuss your proposed change and provide suggestions on how the underlying Performance Assurance needs could still be met in light of any proposed change.

Useful links and Further Information

A range of further detailed information is available to help you understand the catalogue and how the data submitted is processed.

• The Performance Assurance Report Catalogue linked above can also be found within the REC Operational Documents List here. 
• The Retail Risk Register and Performance Assurance Techniques can be found within the list of Category 3 Products here.
• The example files for both Gas MEM and Supplier Parties can be found within the list of Useful Documents on the Party Operation REC Portal page, here and here, respectively.
• The nil return form linked above can also be found within the list of REC Forms and Templates here.
• We have held several industry webinars in which the Report Catalogue was explained, and queries were answered. The recordings of these sessions can be found below:
• Report Catalogue industry session recording (15 September 2021)
• PARC additional guidance and frequently asked questions (September 2021) - for Portal account holders only
• Performance Assurance drop in session recording (20 October 2021) 
• Overview of REC Performance Assurance recording and slides (7 December 2021) - for Portal account holders only
• A set of frequently asked questions have been published here (available for Portal account holders), collating common questions submitted during the above webinars and via the helpdesk.
• The DPIA conducted by RECCo, covering the data items within the Report Catalogue can be found here (available for Portal account holders).
• A further document detailing the Code Manager’s basis for processing the data detailed in the Report Catalogue can be found here.