Elexon plans to introduce a new digital interface that could cut the time taken to submit and acknowledge electricity trades from around 15 minutes to near real-time.
The proposed Application Programming Interface will modernise the systems used by market participants to report contracted electricity volumes under the Balancing and Settlement Code.
Electricity generators, suppliers and traders enter bilateral contracts covering the power they intend to buy or sell.
The associated volumes are submitted to Elexon through Energy Contract Volume Notifications, known as ECVNs, so they can be reflected correctly in the settlement process. Companies also use Metered Volume Reallocation Notifications to transfer metered electricity volumes between parties in line with their commercial arrangements.
Most of these submissions are currently sent through older file-based systems, with acknowledgements taking around 15 minutes.
Elexon said the proposed API would allow companies to submit notifications and receive confirmation almost immediately.
Faster acknowledgement could reduce uncertainty for traders, particularly close to market deadlines when an unsuccessful or delayed notification may create balancing and settlement risks.
The change could become increasingly important as electricity trading becomes faster and more complex.
Growing renewable generation, battery storage, flexible demand and shorter-duration markets are increasing the number of transactions that participants must manage across the system.
More automated submissions could also reduce manual handling, improve operational resilience and give companies quicker warning when a notification has failed or contains an error.
Elexon reviewed the existing process through an industry working group, which concluded that the technology supporting submissions was ageing and no longer provided the speed expected by market participants.
The organisation plans to raise a Balancing and Settlement Code Change Proposal seeking approval to begin developing the new interface.
Industry consultation will help determine the technical design, implementation timetable and whether the existing submission routes should remain available alongside the API.
The proposal focuses on improving how trades are reported and acknowledged rather than changing the contracts themselves, or the rules governing electricity settlement.
Copyright © 2026 Energy Live News LtdELN