Ofgem: Designing and delivering a system centring on automation and enhanced self-serv

The Challenge

To replace and enhance the system at the heart of a prominent UK green energy programme.

British energy regulator Ofgem manages the Government’s high-profile Feed-in Tariff (FIT) scheme, which promotes the uptake of small-scale renewable and low-carbon electricity generation.

Powering the scheme is the Central FIT Register. This system holds a record of every generating installation and performs the critical calculations to ensure electricity companies make or receive the correct payments.

The previous system was reaching end-of-life and Ofgem wanted a more modern, flexible tool that enhanced transparency, self-service and reporting, and thereby streamlined key processes. And with the FIT scheme being periodically amended, Ofgem also needed to ensure its new system and in-house development teams could accommodate future changes with ease.

Our Solution

Designing and delivering a system centring on automation and enhanced self-service.

Softwire led a combined delivery team of our own digital specialists and those from Ofgem, working in the customer’s headquarters.

We analysed the business requirements and drew on our technical expertise to showcase the art of the possible in the shape of an optimal solution. Using .NET with an AngularJS front-end, we then built the new Central FIT Register and integrated it with other Ofgem tools.

Our system includes self-service and automation capabilities, notably around reporting and updating key information. We also created easy-to-use quality assurance measures that demonstrate how payments are calculated. And to ensure the system can quickly be adapted when laws evolve, we designed it so the elements likely to change are all in one place.

Lastly, with Ofgem wishing to maintain the system in-house, we trained its teams on how to operate and support the new software.

The Result

Better reporting, streamlined working and improved quality assurance, plus confidence for Ofgem that its team can adapt the system fast when legislation changes.

Following our successful migration from Ofgem’s legacy system – which was independently verified – the new Central FIT Register launched in Spring 2017. It now holds records for nearly a million generator installations and monitors over £1 billion per-annum of payments.

Its impact has been immediate, both for Ofgem and electricity companies. Processes that required significant manual effort are now self-service and automated. Reporting is dramatically improved. And quality assurance is faster.

Perhaps most importantly, though, Ofgem now knows that whatever legislative changes happen in the future, it has a tool that’s fully equipped to respond, and the right in-house skills to deliver the changes.