Half Hourly Metering

Half-hourly metering is worth investigating for any business looking to boost its green credentials and manage energy costs. This form of recording and billing your business energy use is now considered so important in the fight against climate change that it's mandatory for businesses above a certain size to have one, but smaller businesses may also benefit from it.  

What is a Half-Hourly Meter?

Half-hourly meters provide detailed insights into energy consumption patterns, sending exact details of your usage to your energy company so they can bill you accurately. They also enable businesses to monitor energy usage accurately, identify inefficiencies, and optimise consumption strategies. With real-time data, your business can make informed decisions to reduce costs, improve sustainability, and enhance overall energy efficiency.  

How Do Half-Hourly Meters Work?

Unlike standard meters, which record usage at fixed intervals, half-hourly meters capture data on your business energy use every 30 minutes and send it directly to your energy supplier over a telephone line or your internet connection. Energy companies then use this data to provide you with completely accurate billing based on your actual usage.

Benefits of Half-Hourly Metering

Accurate readings mean you only pay for the amount of energy you use. They’re also a good way of monitoring your energy usage to increase your energy efficiency and help cut the cost of your energy bills. The data provided may, for example, identify certain times of the day when your energy use is greater, or it may indicate that your business would financially benefit from switching to a different tariff. 

Does My Business Need a Half-Hourly Meter?

If your business has a peak demand of 100kW or more every half hour, you must have a half-hourly meter installed by law. As part of the government's strategy to reduce energy usage, all businesses must be offered the chance to install a smart meter by 2025. 

How Are Half-Hourly Meter Charges Different From Normal Billing?

Because usage information is sent directly to your energy supplier, who can then bill you only for the amount of energy your business has used rather than relying on the extremely time-consuming practice of providing meter readings or estimated billing.  

Criteria for Half-Hourly Meters

Not only can big businesses benefit from having half-hourly meters installed, but smaller businesses may also be able to! If you use more than 70kWh, you can also request to have one installed. 

Why Did My Business Get Moved onto a Half-hourly Meter?

Whether or not your business needs a half-hourly meter depends on size and energy usage. In the case of larger businesses, this will likely be because of the legal requirement to switch all businesses with a usage of 100kWh to half-hourly metering. If you’re moving into new premises, you might find that you already have it. You can check whether you already are by looking at a recent energy bill. If there’s a ‘00’ in the upper left corner of your S number, that means you are already on half-hourly metering.

What is a P272 Mandatory Meter Change?

P272 is an Ofgem rule that has been in force since April 2017. It determines that energy suppliers are responsible for moving businesses with profile class 05-08 meters to half-hourly meters. This means that non-half-hourly meter readings are now settled as half-hourly. This rule change was introduced to make the energy market more efficient and create more accurate billing for business consumers.

Do I Need to Take a Manual Reading on a Half-hourly Meter?

No, you do not need to take readings from a half-hourly meter. Half-hourly meters automatically record energy consumption at 30-minute intervals and transmit this data directly to your energy supplier. This eliminates the need for manual readings and provides accurate, real-time information for billing and effective business energy monitoring. 

What is a Half-hourly Meter Operator (Mop)?

A half-hourly meter operator, or MOP, installs and maintains electricity meters within business premises. They must ensure the meter can send the data to the data collector. A third-party MOP is often cheaper than using your supplier, but you must also have a contract with an electricity supplier. 

Can a Business Choose to Switch to a Half-hourly Meter?

If your business uses 100kWh of electricity every half hour, you’ll find that you’re already on one. But businesses with a greater half-hourly usage than 70kW can also apply to be moved onto half-hourly metering. By analysing current bills, you can establish the financial benefits of making the switch, but be aware that different suppliers may have different ways of calculating your use, so you may find it beneficial to speak to a broker about your options first. 

There are numerous benefits to switching to half-hourly metering. From the perspective of your business, it’s more accurate and tends to result in lower bills for those who install them, but it’s also worth considering the other hidden benefits. The data it provides, for example, can be extremely valuable to you and your energy company. 

It may help you to be able to maximise your efficiency in terms of the time of day that you carry out certain practices, or it might even help you to establish that you’re on the wrong tariff in the first place! Seeing this sort of real-time data can also be beneficial in gaining a better overall understanding of your business energy use, allowing you to reduce it and benefit the environment. If you want to optimise energy consumption, reduce costs, and enhance sustainability for your business or home, installing half-hourly meters could revolutionise how you manage your energy usage.