Annual Election for the Modifications Committee

The Annual Election Procedure takes place during June and July each year in accordance with Sections 2.165 to 2.176 and B.17.5 to B.17.7.10 of Part A and Part B of the Trading and Settlement Code respectively. This is a ‘Single Modifications Committee for Parts A, B and C’ and transitional provisions apply in accordance with section 6 of Trading and Settlement Code Part C.

Any Party, registered as a Participant in the market can participate in the elections; this includes nominating, being nominated and voting in the elections.

A complete list of registered Participants for Trading and Settlement Code Part A is available from the SEMO website and a list of registered Participants for Trading and Settlement Code Part B will be published in due course.

A presentation delivered to the Modifications Committee at Meeting 49 provides an overview of the Elections process.

Step 1: Nominations

Candidate Nominations for both Generator Participant Members and Supplier Participant Members on the Trading and Settlement Code Modifications Committee are called for by the Modifications Committee Secretariat via email.

"Each Nominating Participant may put forward a Nominee and an Alternate for that Nominee, for appointment to the Modifications Committee". (Trading & Settlement Code Part A Section 2.170 and Part B Section B.17.5.1)

  • Generator Nominations: Generator Participants may put forward Generator Nominees, to a maximum of the number of Generator seats expiring.
  • Supplier Nominations: Supplier Participants may put forward Supplier Nominees, to a maximum of the number of Supplier seats expiring.
  • Demand Side Nominations: Demand Side Participants may put forward Demand Side Nominees, to a maximum of the number of Demand Side seats expiring.
  • Interconnector Nominations: Interconnector Participants may put forward Interconnector Nominees, to a maximum of the number of Interconnector seats expiring.
  • Assetless Nominations: Assetless Participants may put forward Assetless Nominees, to a maximum of the number of Supplier seats expiring.

Nominee information including name, job title, company, contact details, profile (brief description of current role, background etc) should be issued to the Secretariat with each Nomination. Prior to putting forward a Nominee, Participants must ensure that the proposed Nominee has given their consent to the Nomination.

Step 2: Vote

Both Generator and Supply Participants can participate in the Election and cast votes for their respective Nominees. All votes must be accompanied by both the Party and Participant identification numbers (available from the list of registered Participants for Trading and Settlement Code Part A).

The Secretariat will validate all email ballots upon receipt and issue acknowledgement of receipt of ballot. All ballots must be submitted to the Secretariat via email to modifications@sem-o.com.

Step 3: Result

Participants will be notified of the successful Supply and Generation representatives on the Modifications Committee upon completion of the process.

Frequently asked questions

Modifications Committee Members are elected to represent the interests of the type of party (under Trading and Settlement Code Part A Section 2.150 and Part B Section B.17.3.1) they are elected to represent. Members must be available for all Modifications Committee Meetings, in the case where a Member cannot attend a Meeting, their selected Alternate may attend in their absence.

The functions of the Modifications Committee are to facilitate the Modifications Process by:

  • Co-ordinating the resources of Parties to facilitate the development and processing of a Modification Proposal
  • Assessing Modification Proposals and the impact of any Modification Proposals having regard to the Code Objectives
  • Further developing Modification Proposals which are not rejected as being spurious
  • Working up the detail of Modification Proposals
  • Consulting on Modification Proposals as required
  • Compiling reports and making recommendations on Modification Proposals to the Regulatory Authorities
  • Making any appropriate changes to Agreed Procedures

Further information on the rules and functions of the Modifications Committee are located in Section 2 of Part A or Chapter B of Part B of the Trading and Settlement Code and Part A Agreed Procedure 12 or Part B Agreed Procedure 12.

Each Member is appointed for a maximum term of two years. In an exceptional case where an ad-hoc election has occurred during the year, the term of appointment can vary slightly.

Six Ordinary Meetings take place each year and where necessary Extraordinary and/or Emergency Meetings may be called in accordance with the criteria set out in the Code.

Working Group meetings can be called during the year to further develop proposals. Working Group meetings are called by the Committee at meetings when it is believed that further development or information is required from the industry in order to make a decision on a proposal. Committee Member attendance is not obligatory at Working Group meetings.

For a Nominating Participant Annual Election, Nominating Participants can nominate in accordance with the election provisions outlined in AP12.

A Nominating Generation Participant is defined within the Code as: ‘…a Party which is a Generation Participant and is allowed to nominate and vote for Generation Participant nominees to the Modifications Committee’.

A Nominating Supply Participant is defined within the Code as: '...a Party which is a Supply Participant and is allowed to nominate and vote for Supply Participant nominees to the Modifications Committee’.

A Nominating Demand Side Participant is defined within the Code as: '...a Party which is a Demand Side Participant and is allowed to nominate and vote for Demand Side Participant nominees to the Modifications Committee’.

A Nominating Interconnector Participant is defined within the Code (Part A only) as: '...a Party which is an Interconnector User Participant and is allowed to nominate and vote for Interconnector User Participant nominees to the Modifications Committee’.

A Nominating Assetless Participant is defined within the Code (Part B only) as: '...a Party which is an Assetless Participant and is allowed to nominate and vote for Assetless Participant nominees to the Modifications Committee’.

The number of nominations a Participant can put forward will depend on the number of expiring Participant terms.

Example

1 Generator position expiring = 1 Generator Nominee per Generator Participant

2 Supplier positions expiring = 2 Supply Nominees per Supplier Participant

The Modifications Committee Secretariat will call for nominations via email and will specify the closing date for nominations; the dates are also available via the SEMO website calendar. Ballot papers and voting instructions are issued shortly after nominations are received.

Nominating Generation Participants shall be entitled to vote to elect a Generator Member from the persons nominated by them. [Ref: Trading and Settlement Code Part A Section 2.170 (4) and Part B Section B.17.7.4 (d)]. i.e. Generation Participants are eligible to submit Nominations and are entitled to vote.

Nominating Supply Participants shall be entitled to vote to elect a Member from the persons nominated by them. [Ref: Trading and Settlement Code Part A Section 2.170 (3) and Part B Section B.17.7.4 (c)]. i.e. Supply Participants are eligible to submit Nominations and are entitled to vote.

Nominating Demand Side Participants shall be entitled to vote to elect a Member from the persons nominated by them. [Ref: Trading and Settlement Code Part A Section 2.170 (5) and Part B Section B.17.7.4 (e)]. i.e. Demand Side Participants are eligible to submit Nominations and are entitled to vote.

Nominating Interconnector Participants shall be entitled to vote to elect a Member from the persons nominated by them. [Ref: Trading and Settlement Code Part A Section 2.170 (6)]. i.e. Interconnector Participants are eligible to submit Nominations and are entitled to vote.

Nominating Assetless Participants shall be entitled to vote to elect a Member from the persons nominated by them. [Ref: Trading and Settlement Code Part B Section B.17.7.4 (f)]. i.e. Assetless Participants are eligible to submit Nominations and are entitled to vote.

The number of votes a Participant can cast will be dependent on the number of registered Participants that Party has. Full details of registered Participants

Example

1 Party with 1 registered Participant = 1 vote

1 Party with 3 registered Participants = 3 votes

The Elections are administered by the Secretariat and conducted by email (by secret ballot) over a number of weeks. The Elections are for the Member and Alternate positions. The Alternate Members chosen in the nomination are automatically selected for that role and subject to change by the new Members upon appointment given three days notice.

The determination of the new Generator and Supply Members will be by a majority of preference vote.

For full detail on Modifications Committee Election rules, please see Sections 2.165 to 2.176 of Part A and B.17.5 to B.17.7.10 of Part B of the Trading and Settlement Code.