Kestrel Dress Rehearsal 2
The Migration testing window for Dress Rehearsal 2 (DRH2) is now open until Friday 5 September 2025.
Key points for participants to note:
- Only Suppliers, Licensed Distribution System Operators (LDSOs), Central Parties and Smart Data Communications Company (DCC) are required to complete DRH2
- Agents are not included in DRH2
- The original testing window for DRH2 was planned to run through to Friday 29 August 2025, but due to a delay in releasing the Data Integration Platform (DIP) execution reports and to ensure participants have sufficient time to execute all the test scripts for their roles, the Migration team have extended the testing window through to Friday 5 September 2025
- This means that participants have until Friday 5 September 2025 to close out their testing and submit their completed test scripts to the Migration team at Migration@mhhsprogramme.co.uk
- You can view the test scripts below, which have been split into different roles, so we ask that participants please ensure they complete the correct set of tests
- Please note that so far, participants have only been able to progress test steps 1 - 4, but from Wednesday 27 August 2025, participants will be able to progress test steps 5 onwards and close out their testing
- If you need any help or have any questions about DRH2, you can view the following resources which are available on the MHHS Webinars & Open Days page of this website.
- Slides and recording from the Kestrel Dress Rehearsal 2 Webinar on 6 August 2025
- Recordings of the drop-in sessions on 13 and 20 August 2025
- If you have reviewed these materials but still need additional support, please bring your questions to the next DRH2 drop-in sessions on Wednesday 27 August or Wednesday 3 September 2025, at 14:00 – 14:30 or to email the Migration team at Migration@mhhsprogramme.co.uk
The purpose of Kestrel Dress Rehearsal 2
DRH2 builds on Kestrel Dress Rehearsal 1 (DRH1) by involving all participants, not just Suppliers, and demonstrating that Kestrel can support key reporting requirements such as:
- Plan vs Actual Outturn.
- Aggregated Outturn Reports.
- In DRH2, synthetic data will be used to simulate real-world Migration scenarios. This allows participants to test processes without impacting live operations.
- DRH2 will also ensure that all participants are familiar with the Kestrel platform, reporting outputs and submission processes ahead of live Migration phases.
Kestrel DRH2 requirements by role
As part of DRH2, participants are expected to:
- Access and review simulated reports via the Kestrel portal
- View their Committed Baseline Schedule and Daily Outturn Reports (Systems Integration Testing (SIT) Suppliers only)
- Access aggregated baseline schedules and progress reports (Non-SIT Suppliers and all other participants)
- Familiarise themselves with the test scripts and report schemas ahead of the testing window (all participants)
DRH2 Mandatory participants
1. All SIT Suppliers must:
- undertake Sprint Execution activities
- review synthetic committed Daily Baselined Schedules
- review Daily Migration Outturn Reports: (RP-04 - Plan vs Actual) and (RP-05 - Transaction Summary)
2. All SIT Licensed Distribution System Operators (LDSOs) (BUUK & SSEN) and Data Communications Company (DCC)
- view Aggregate Baselined Schedules
- review example Aggregate Daily Migration Outturn Reports: (RP-04 - Plan vs Actual) and (RP-05 - Transaction Summary)
DRH2 Voluntary participants
1. Non-SIT Suppliers are advised to:
- review example Aggregate Daily Migration Outturn Reports: (RP-04 - Plan vs Actual) and (RP-05 - Transaction Summary)
2. All other LDSOs are advised to:
- view Aggregate Baselined Schedules
- review example Aggregate Daily Migration Outturn Reports: (RP-04 - Plan vs Actual) and (RP-05 - Transaction Summary)
Supplier Agents features
Access to Kestrel features for Supplier Agents will not be available for DRH2. The Migration team are still working to understand Supplier Agent demand and are considering the best way to disseminate this information via Kestrel.
Likewise, Supplier Software providers will only have access to Kestrel for Supplier Group Market Participant Identifiers (MPIDs) where the Suppliers Migration Principal Contact has nominated Software Supplier contacts for Kestrel.
