Establishing a harmonised prioritisation process in the Industry Codes: statutory consultation

Establishing a harmonised prioritisation process in the Industry Codes: statutory consultation | Ofgem Please enable JavaScript in your web browser to get the best experience. BETA This site is currently in BETA. Help us improve by giving us your feedback . Close alert: Establishing a harmonised prioritisation process in the Industry Codes: statutory consultation Publication type: Consultation Publication date: 20 November 2025 Closed date: 13 January 2026 Status: Closed (awaiting decision) Topic: Energy codes, Offshore electricity transmission Subtopic: Changes to energy codes Print this page Related links Consultation on the preliminary Strategic Direction Statement and governance arrangements for industry codes Decision on the preliminary Strategic Direction Statement and governance arrangements for industry codes Share the page Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn We are undertaking a statutory consultation under the Energy Act 2023 on our proposals to harmonise the code modification prioritisation process across the codes. Who should respond As these proposals are part of energy code reform, we particularly welcome views from people with an interest in energy code governance. We welcome all responses from other stakeholders and the public. This includes: code administrators code parties central system delivery bodies consumer groups Background The Act sets out a significant package of reform to the governance of the energy industry codes, including new powers and responsibilities for Ofgem. To implement the Act, existing code governance arrangements must be updated to reflect new roles and responsibilities. Using the transitional powers provided by the Act, we proposed to harmonise the code modification prioritisation processes across all codes, with the aim of facilitating the introduction of the strategic direction statement (SDS) and the transition towards reformed code governance arrangements. Our proposals We are consulting on the following four policy areas to implement our proposed harmonised prioritisation process: prioritisation process prioritisation criteria and categories prioritisation governance policy implementation We are seeking feedback on these policy areas, as well as on the accompanying guidance in ‘Annex A: Proposed Authority guidance on code modification prioritisation’, and our proposed code text changes in annexes B to L. We are also publishing a notice document alongside this consultation that sets out the transitional powers that we propose to use to make these changes, and our proposed basis for using them. How to respond You can tell us your views on our proposals to implement a harmonised code modification prioritisation process by answering the questions in the consultation document. A response form is provided with the consultation. Send the form by email to industrycodes@ofgem.gov.uk by 12 January 2026. Consultation documents Energy code reform programme – statutory consultation on modifications to industry codes to implement the harmonised code modification prioritisation process [PDF, 533.31KB] Notice of statutory consultation on proposed modifications to industry codes to implement a harmonised code modification prioritisation process [PDF, 104.77KB] Annex A: Proposed Authority guidance on code modification prioritisation [PDF, 255.35KB] Annex B: Proposed legal drafting of code modification prioritisation procedure – Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) [PDF, 130.59KB] Annex C: Proposed legal drafting of code modification prioritisation procedure – Connection and Use of System Code (CUSC) [PDF, 128.56KB] Annex D: Proposed legal drafting of code modification prioritisation procedure – Distribution Code (D-Code) [PDF, 144.26KB] Annex E: Proposed legal drafting of code modification prioritisation procedure – Distribution Connection and Use of System Agreement (DCUSA) [PDF, 108.18KB] Annex F: Proposed legal drafting of code modification prioritisation procedure – Grid Code [PDF, 104.54KB] Annex G: Proposed legal drafting of code modification prioritisation procedure – Independent Gas Transporters’ Uniform Network Code (IGT UNC) [PDF, 92.84KB] Annex H: Proposed legal drafting of code modification prioritisation procedure – Retail Energy Code (REC) [PDF, 139.50KB] Annex I: Proposed legal drafting of code modification prioritisation procedure – Smart Energy Code (SEC) [PDF, 153.49KB] Annex J: Proposed legal drafting of code modification prioritisation procedure – Security and Quality of Supply Standard (SQSS) [PDF, 128.93KB] Annex K: Proposed legal drafting of code modification prioritisation procedure – System Operator Transmission Owner Code (STC) [PDF, 101.98KB] Annex L: Proposed legal drafting of code modification prioritisation procedure – Uniform Network Code (UNC) [PDF, 161.84KB] Energy code reform programme– statutory consultation on modifications to industry codes to implement the harmonised code modification prioritisation process – response template [DOCX, 97.88KB] Print this page Related links Consultation on the preliminary Strategic Direction Statement and governance arrangements for industry codes Decision on the preliminary Strategic Direction Statement and governance arrangements for industry codes Share the page Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Close