ClauseMatch digitises energy code partnering with Gemserv

ClauseMatch, an award-winning London-based technology company that enables regulated organisations to evidence compliance with applicable regulations through effective organisation and workflow on their internal corporate governance documentation has partnered with Gemserv, an expert provider of professional services for the energy industry which manages energy codes, which define the rights and obligations of energy suppliers, network operators and other relevant parties involved in the energy market in Great Britain.

Just like any regulatory fields, the energy sector has been criticised for lengthy and difficult to understand documents and out-of-date practices, which do not leave any room for innovation and reduced compliance costs. Regulators across the world in regulated industries have been looking to solve these problems by digitising and making the regulatory text machine-readable, however to date, there has been no technology platform used in a live environment to digitise regulatory text.

As a result of the partnership to help tackle these challenges of making energy codes accessible in a digital format to all market participants, Gemserv integrated ClauseMatch platform into its practice to launch the code and regulation management platform, CodeWorks. The platform is designed to:

• provide better access to codes, especially for new market entrants;

• provide a more agile approach to updating the rules by improving industry collaboration;

• enabling market participants to bring innovation to consumers faster due to agility of the rules that can be adapted faster to market changes

• reduce supplier costs in running regulatory teams and help automate compliance by integrating rules directly into internal compliance systems.

The CodeWorksplatform has been built using Gemserv’s extensive sector knowledge and technology to support regulated markets work more effectively. At the core of the platform is the drafting and governance module that enables faster and more robust process of creating, updating and publishing rules in a digital structured format. For the launch, Gemservhave successfully digitised the Smart Energy Code (2000+ pages), a pivotal contract that sits at the heart of the smart metering roll-out. Through the portal market participants can interact with code documentation, filter for information that is relevant to them, access previous versions of the Code complete with all the changes made and provide comments in real-time during the consultation process. This will save businesses and regulatory teams time, as well as make the Code easier to understand.

This is the first case in production when regulatory rules are managed and published dynamically, from inception through to consultation and then publishing, for an entire industry on one single platform.

Evgeny Likhoded, ClauseMatch CEO & Founder: “Today, regulation is extremely cumbersome and slow to implement and change. It may take several years to implement or reverse changes making regulated markets slow to change and innovate to bring better experiences to consumers. That’s why digitising regulationsis on the agenda for many regulators. Lots of work is being done by the regulators all over the globe, for example, in financial services the FCA in the UK, MAS in Singapore, HKMA in Hong Kong and FINRA in the US are exploring this field. Itis amazing how fast the energy industry is responding to these challenges and we areproud to be pioneering this significant change in cooperation with Gemserv.”

Gemserv’ s Director of Business Development and Consultancy, Jon Harley, stated that we believe the launch ofCodeWorksis the most tangible and exciting example of code digitalisation to date and marks a significant first step in the digitalisation of the code and regulatory landscape.

By simplifying access to the codes, enabling new methods of collaboration and reducing the burden of administration on code participants, code managers can operate more efficiently enabling focus on what matters – driving improvements for consumers and the market. We are delighted to be working in partnership with ClauseMatch and for Smart Energy Code Panel (SEC), we were able to bring our expertise of code and the Energy market and configure a solution underpinned by the regulatory and technological expertise of ClauseMatch. We have already set out plans for phase 2 and 3 for the SEC and plan to roll these solutions out across other areas we work.”

In effect, this partnership is the first step of a wider technological transformation program which in the long run is aimed at making the conditions for the energy consumption market in the UK better. As everything will eventually be managed digitally on one platform, and consumers will be able to access all the details from one source.

Over the next 12 months CodeWorks platform will go through a phased upgrade cycle that will add will add the ability for parties to request modifications to the codes, which can then be collaborated on and approved digitally. Additionally, the security and compliance assessment functionality will be added which will allow for industry-wide self-assessments to be conducted through the portal. Such assessments are a fundamental step for any party wishing to participate in the market.