Qualification Approach and Plan

The Qualification Approach and Plan (QA&P) applies to all participants that are required to complete MHHS Qualification, whether they plan to undertake testing through the Systems Integration Testing (SIT) or Qualification Testing (QT) route.

The QA&P sets out the purpose of MHHS Qualification during the MHHS Programme and the high-level plan and requirements for Programme participants to undertake in relation to the Balancing & Settlement Code (BSC) and Retail Energy Code (REC).

The QA&P is supported by four Annexes:

1. Annex 1: Non-SIT Licensed Distribution System Operator (LDSO) MHHS Qualification Testing Approach   
2. Annex 2: Non-SIT Supplier & Agent MHHS Qualification Testing Approach
3. Annex 3: New Entrant Non-SIT LDSO MHHS Qualification Testing Approach 
4. Annex 4: Non-Completion of Qualification 

Qualification Approach & Plan and Annex 2 Consultation

On Monday 19 May 2025 the Programme and Code Bodies published the QA&P and Annex 2 for industry consultation. 

The QA&P was updated to reflect the change in Programme terminology from Systems Integration Testing (SIT) Minimum Viable Cohort (MVC)/Non-MVC to M10 Ready/M11 Ready/Not M11 Ready as well as reflecting the approval of the Smart Exemption and updates to the Legacy Arrangement assurance.

Annex 2 was updated to reflect the removal of the Central Switching Service (CSS) simulator from the Qualification Testing Framework. 

The consultation closed on Friday 30 May 2025. Thank you to all participants who provided a response. 

Participant feedback and comments have been triaged by the Code Bodies and the artefacts have been updated to reflect these, as captured in the Consolidated Comments Log which you can view below:

CCL

The Code Bodies will provide an update at the Qualification Working Group (QWG) meeting on Tuesday 10 June 2025. Following this, subject to any changes, the updated document will be tabled for approval at the Qualification Advisory Group (QAG) on Thursday 19 June 2025. The document suite will then be submitted to the BSC and REC Performance Assurance Boards (PABs) for approval during the June Governance cycle.

Qualification Approach & Plan Annex 1 

The Programme and Code Bodies made further updates to Annex 1 and published the artefact for industry consultation. The consultation closed on Friday 20 December 2024. Thank you to everyone who responded.

In general, changes were made to ensure that the artefact reflected updated delivery timelines following Ofgem's approval of CR055: Amendments to M10 and Corresponding Milestones, as well as the role of the Data Integration Platform (DIP) Manager in assuring Non-Functional Testing Requirements.

You can view baselined versions of this artefact which was approved at the Qualification Advisory Group (QAG), the Balancing & Settlement Code (BSC) and Retail Energy Powered by TinyCode (REC) Performance Assurance Boards (PABs) in January 2025.

Qualification Approach & Plan Annex 3

The Programme and Code Bodies published the QA&P Annex 3: New Entrant Non-Systems Integration Testing (SIT) Licensed Distribution System Operator (LDSO) (Post M10) MHHS Qualification Testing Approach for industry consultation.

This document, which you can view in the in the Annex 3 library below, sets out the testing framework, objectives and approach to Non-SIT LDSO Qualification Testing during the Qualification Waves for Non-SIT LDSO Qualification Testing participants who are choosing to Qualify through the Non-SIT route, to operate in the MHHS market post-M10 but before M14.

Please note that any new entrant LDSOs who intend to operate in the market at M10 should follow the approach set out in the QA&P Annex 1: Non-SIT LDSO MHHS Qualification Testing Approach.

This consultation closed on Thursday 6 February 2025. Thank you to all participants who submitted comments or confirmed review.

The Programme and Code Bodies reviewed and responded to all participant feedback. An update was given at the Qualification Working Group (QWG) on 11 March 2025, followed by approval of the updated document at the Qualification Advisory Group (QAG) on 20 March 2025, and the Retail Energy Code (REC) and Balancing & Settlement Code (BSC) Performance Assurance Boards (PABs) on 25 and 27 March 2025, respectively. 

Qualification Approach & Plan: Annex 4

The Programme and Code Bodies published the Qualification Approach & Plan (QA&P) Annex 4: Non-Completion of Qualification for industry consultation.

This document sets out the market sanction process under the Balancing & Settlement Code (BSC) if a current Programme participant fails to complete MHHS Qualification in line with the MHHS Programme Plan. This document applies to all participants no matter their qualification route. 

The consultation closed on 14 February 2024. Thank you to all participants who submitted comments or confirmed review of the QA&P and Annexes.

The Programme and Code Bodies reviewed and responded to all participant feedback. An update was given at the Qualification Working Group (QWG) on 11 March 2025, followed by approval of the updated document at the Qualification Advisory Group (QAG) on 20 March 2025, and the Retail Energy Code (REC) and Balancing & Settlement Code (BSC) Performance Assurance Boards on 25 and 27 March 2025, respectively. 

Qualification Approach and Plan v4.0 Poaps 

The Code Bodies have extracted the following Poaps from the Qualification Approach and Plan (QA&P) v4.0 for participant’s ease: 

• Systems Integration Testing (SIT) Qualification 
• Non-SIT Licensed Distribution Systems Operator (LDSO) Qualification 
• Non-SIT Supplier, Agent and new entrant LDSO Qualification by Wave 

You can view these below:

Qualification Approach and Plan v4.0 Plans on a page

If you have any questions on the QA&P or any of the Annexes, please email the Code Bodies at MHHSQualification@elexon.co.uk 

Participant Qualification Journeys 

The Code Bodies have created a series of Plans on a page (Poaps) showing the Qualification Journey for Non-Systems Integration Testing (SIT) Supplier & Agent Wave 1, 2, 3 and 4 participants, running from the Pre-Integration Testing (PIT) Requirements to Test Traceability Matrix (RTTM) submission through to Service Activation. You can view these below:

Please note that: 

• The Poaps are aligned to the QA&P v4.0 Annex C and MHHS Programme Plan v6.18. 
• The QA&P v4.0 Annex C and MHHS Programme Plan depict the Qualification Waves as a series of ‘windows’ of activity, within which each participants activity should be completed. 
• Participants are not required to adhere to the Qualification dates set out in the MHHS Programme Plan precisely and could for example complete their activities earlier. However, the expectation is that a participant completes all activities they are responsible for within the required window. 
• At the December Qualification Working Group (QWG), the Programme presented the go early / late pathways using Qualification Wave 2 as an example to bring this to life for participants.
• You can view the December QWG papers on the QWG page of the Collaboration Base.
• As part of the Service Activation process, participant’s Migration Plans will need to be agreed with the Programme.
• When further information on the timeframes for these activities have been agreed, the Code Bodies will update the Qualification Journey Poaps to reflect this.  

If you have any questions, please email the Code Bodies at MHHSQualification@elexon.co.uk