Smart Secure Electricity Systems (SSES): Load control licence regulations and licence conditions

Overview

We have published the draft SI for the Load Control Licence regulations and licence conditions, informed by stakeholder feedback over the 2024 and 2025 SSES Programme consultation cycle.

The draft SI and associated licence conditions include regulations and conditions that would:

• Make it an offence to undertake certain load control activities without a licence and authorise Ofgem to grant licences to organisations undertaking such activities. 
• Implement a 12 month transition period between licence applications opening and the requirement to hold a licence coming into force.
• For all licensees, introduce general licence conditions and financial and operational resilience requirements.
• For load controllers, introduce cyber security requirements, as well as require them to comply with certain industry codes. 
• For Flexibility Service Providers, introduce consumer protection requirements.

We currently plan to lay regulations and for licence applications to open by the end of 2026. 

This consultation sets out what the draft Load Control Licence regulations and associated licence conditions aim to achieve and seeks stakeholder views on the extent to which the draft regulations and licence conditions achieve the policy intent set out in the April 2025 government response. 

Read the consultation document on GOV.UK.