The new arrangements relating to the trading and transmission of electricity in Great Britain known as BETTA took effect on 1 April 2005. BETTA is short for the "British Electricity Trading and Transmission Arrangements". Under BETTA the Scottish market, which up to now has been separate, is merged with the England and Wales market so that there is a single GB-wide set of arrangements for trading electricity and for access to and use of the transmission system.
Single competitive wholesale electricity trading market
The trading arrangements that, as of 1 April 2005, apply throughout the whole of Great Britain are based upon the arrangements introduced into England and Wales in 2001 under NETA. Participants in Scotland as well as England and Wales will now be able to trade electricity through bilateral contracts and power exchanges on a GB-wide basis. The GB balancing mechanism and settlement process, which ensures physical balance of the transmission system and settles differences between physical and contractual positions of market participants, is also to be based upon the pre-BETTA arrangements in place in England and Wales.
Single set of arrangements for access to and use of any transmission system
The Electricity Act 1989, as amended by the Energy Act 2004, now provides for the new licensable activity of "participating" in the transmission of electricity, which means either co-ordinating and directing the flow of electricity onto and over a transmission system and/or making available for use for the purposes of such a transmission system anything which forms part of it. This change has been necessary to allow for the creation of a single system operator for the entire GB transmission system (National Grid Company plc) and enables the transmission system assets to continue to be owned by separate transmission licensees (currently National Grid, Scottish Hydro-Electric Transmission Limited and SP Transmission Limited). The contractual arrangements between the transmission system operator and transmission owners is set out in a new System Operator Transmission Owner Code.
Users of the GB transmission system now contract with National Grid as transmission system operator for access to and use of the GB transmission system with the various industry codes amended to apply on a GB-wide basis.
Northern Ireland
BETTA has indirectly affected market participants in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. As a result of BETTA, users of the Moyle Interconnector between Northern Ireland and Scotland can now more easily trade with all GB participants since the former Scotland–England interconnector has been absorbed into the GB transmission system. Nonetheless, the market in Northern Ireland remains separate from GB. Plans for the "Single Electricity Market" between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland were published yesterday by the regulators, NIAER and CER.
For advice relating to BETTA or electricity markets more generally, or to find out more about our Energy and Projects Group, please contact either Amanda Seaton [email protected] or Robert Lane [email protected]
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