Opinion

Establishment of the new MCS Structure

Following key developments over the past 12 months, a new structure for the Microgeneration Certification Scheme is beginning to evolve, reports MCS

Many of these developments stem from Tripartite Agreement signed on 1st October 2014 by DECC, the MCS Service Company (MCSSCo) Ltd, and Gemserv (as the MCS Administrator). Following this agreement being signed, MCS has been working towards establishing the MCS Charitable Foundation (MCS CF) and the enduring structure of its legal entity (MCSSCo Ltd).

The aim of the MCS Charitable Foundation will be to provide both confidence and trust in renewable and low carbon technologies, whilst ensuring focus remains on consumer and environmental protection. MCS has placed an application with the Charity Commission in order to register the charity, and we will ensure installers and manufacturers are kept up to date as this progresses.

MCS recently took in applications from potential Trustees to sit on the Board of the Charitable Foundation, and this process was concluded with the appointment of six Trustees noted below:

Patricia ChaléKaren McArthur
Bruce FarquharSandra Walmsley
Steven GouldNick Whitaker

For further information on the Trustees please visit http://www.microgenerationcertification.org/about-us/news-and-events

MCSSCo Ltd will become a wholly owned subsidiary of the MCS CF, under which a Stakeholder Advisory Group, the MCS Committees, and an Administrator will sit. The Tripartite Agreement paved the way for MCS to transition into its enduring legal entity structure; providing robust certification and compliance within the renewable energy technologies and their installation practices.

The process for the appointment of the four new Board Directors for MCSSCo Ltd has now been initiated, and the closing date for applications is 30th September 2015. An additional two MCSSCo Ltd Directors have been appointed from the Board of Trustees of the MCS CF. More information on the MCSSCo Ltd Director vacancies can be found on the website.

For updates regarding the status of the MCS CF and MCSSCo, please check the MCS website.

Consultation on a review of the Feed-in Tariffs scheme
On 27th August 2015, DECC launched a consultation proposing a set of measures to control costs under the Feed-in Tariffs Scheme (FiTS). The consultation proposes to amend the tariff and degression bands to align with changes in renewable technology costs. Additionally, DECC has highlighted that if such measures cannot put the FiTS on a sustainable platform then there should be an end to generation tariffs for new applicants as soon as legislatively possible; this date could be as early as January 2016.

MCS strongly encourages industry stakeholders to respond to DECC’s consultation which closes on 23rd October 2015 at 11.45pm. Furthermore, in light of the proposed reduction of FiTS, we anticipate a rush in the number of installations and high volumes of MCS certificates being registered on the MCS database. A number of measures have already been established to monitor installation volumes for any type of unusual activity in light of the expected increase in volumes. Companies are reminded that any material change (such as technical capabilities and the size of the workforce) to their businesses should be noted to their Certification Bodies.