# AIMDA launches to maintain competition, innovation, and customer choice

- Link: https://imserv.com/news-and-events/aimda-launches-to-maintain-competition-innovation-and-customer-choice/
- Published: 2019-10-01T18:01:06+00:00

Competition is good for everyone.  It encourages business innovation, drives efficiency,
rewards customer-centricity and gives consumers greater choice, and lower prices.
Without competition there is little incentive to change the status quo.  At IMSERV
we passionately believe in the benefits of the free-market for both consumers and
businesses.  However, we are increasingly concerned that current government policy
relating to energy metering and data services threatens to erode competition.

So, on behalf of our customers, we have taken action and recently formed the ‘Association
of Independent Meter and Data Agents’ (AIMDA)* together with our peers.

The heart of the issue is that Government consultations continue to question the
optimal operating model for delivering energy metering and data services to end 
user customers. AIMDA aims to preserve effective competition for the benefit of 
the customer. We believe that centralising energy metering and data services will
stifle innovation and cost effectiveness for the business community because competitive
markets provide the most efficient and effective delivery of energy metering and
data services.

### What are we doing:

 * lobbying OFGEM and BEIS to influence government policy making, and so preserve
   effective competition for the benefit of the customer in the markets for energy
   metering and data for business users.
 * calling for open access to the Data Communications Company to ensure that individual
   businesses can continue to offer settlement services and preserve the ability
   to keep competition and choice for customers; not a single provider but multiple
   service providers to choose from.

###  The primary objectives of AIMDA are:

 * To preserve and promote competition within the electricity and gas markets and
   in particular for (i) the provision of half-hourly settlement and (ii) advanced
   metering products and services within Great Britain and
 * To collectively address regulatory and legal changes to the electricity and gas
   markets for in particular (i) the provision of half-hourly settlement and (ii)
   advanced metering products and services within Great Britain.

_*AIMDA is made up of seven of the UK’s largest, and competing, independent non-
domestic customer metering and data collection businesses. The member companies 
include: IMSERV Europe Limited; Energy Assets Limited; Siemens Managed Services;
SMS Plc; Stark Software International Ltd; WPD Smart Metering Ltd; and TMA Data 
Management Ltd_