specification: API Commons Rate Limits
specificationVersion: '0.1'
schema: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/interface-research/main/schema/api-commons.yml#/$defs/RateLimits
provider: Elexon
providerId: elexon
created: '2026-06-13'
modified: '2026-06-13'
reconciled: false
tags:
  - Electricity
  - UK Energy Market
  - BMRS
  - Rate Limiting
  - Fair Use
description: >
  Elexon does not publish explicit per-endpoint rate limits or quota policies for the
  Insights Solution API. The API is described as fully public with no authentication
  required and no documented throttling thresholds. Streaming endpoints are explicitly
  documented as having "no restrictions" on data return. Elexon advises consumers not
  to use web scrapers against the BMRS portal and to use the API instead, implying
  the API is designed for high-volume programmatic access. Rate limits are expected
  to operate under an undocumented fair-use policy enforced at the infrastructure
  level (Azure API Management). The IRIS real-time push service operates via persistent
  WebSocket/STOMP connections and is not subject to per-request rate limits.
sources:
  - https://developer.data.elexon.co.uk/
  - https://github.com/elexon-data/insights-docs/blob/main/docs/insights_data_platform.md
  - https://bmrs.elexon.co.uk/api-documentation/guidance
algorithm: unspecified-fair-use
responseCodes:
  throttled: 429
notes: >
  No rate-limit response headers (X-RateLimit-*) are documented. Streaming endpoints
  explicitly state no data return restrictions. Consumers experiencing throttling
  should implement exponential backoff. For high-volume production use, contacting
  insightssupport@elexon.co.uk is recommended. The underlying infrastructure is
  Azure API Management, which enforces platform-level fair-use policies.
limits:
  - id: streaming-endpoints
    scope: endpoint
    label: Streaming endpoint data return limit
    value: unlimited
    notes: >
      Elexon explicitly states that streaming endpoints have "no restrictions" on data
      returned, making them suited for bulk historical data retrieval in JSON format.
  - id: dataset-endpoint-formats
    scope: endpoint
    label: Response formats per dataset endpoint
    value: 3
    notes: >
      Dataset endpoints support CSV, XML, and JSON response formats selectable via
      Accept header or format query parameter.
  - id: iris-connections
    scope: service
    label: IRIS (real-time push) concurrent connections
    value: unknown
    notes: >
      IRIS provides near-real-time push delivery via WebSocket/STOMP. No documented
      limit on concurrent connections; contact insightssupport@elexon.co.uk for
      production-scale usage guidance.