[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":228},["ShallowReactive",2],{"page-\u002Fguides\u002Fhalf-hourly-meters":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"description":215,"extension":216,"meta":217,"navigation":223,"path":218,"seo":224,"seoTitle":225,"stem":226,"__hash__":227},"content\u002Fguides\u002Fhalf-hourly-meters.md","What is a half hourly meter?",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":201},"minimark",[9,13,20,23,28,36,45,49,52,55,58,62,65,68,72,75,78,82,85,88,92,95,98,101,105,108,111,114,118,126,129,132,135,143,147,150,153,156,160,163,170,193,196],[10,11,5],"h1",{"id":12},"what-is-a-half-hourly-meter",[14,15,16],"p",{},[17,18,19],"em",{},"Last updated: August 2026",[14,21,22],{},"A half hourly meter records how much electricity your site uses in every half hour, then sends those readings to your supplier automatically. It is compulsory for businesses whose demand passes 100kW in any half hour (Elexon, Measurement Class C, verified August 2026). By 22 July 2026, half of all industry meter points in Britain had migrated to half hourly settlement (MHHS Programme).",[24,25,27],"h2",{"id":26},"how-do-i-know-if-i-have-a-half-hourly-meter","How do I know if I have a half hourly meter?",[14,29,30,31,35],{},"Look at the MPAN on your electricity bill, the long number in a box with a large S beside it. The first two digits are your profile class. A half hourly supply shows ",[32,33,34],"strong",{},"00"," (British Gas Business, verified August 2026). Numbers between 01 and 08 mean you are still settled non half hourly.",[14,37,38,39,44],{},"Cannot find it? Our ",[40,41,43],"a",{"href":42},"\u002Fguides\u002Fmpan-mprn-numbers","MPAN and MPRN guide"," shows you where to look.",[24,46,48],{"id":47},"which-businesses-have-to-have-one","Which businesses have to have one?",[14,50,51],{},"Sites whose maximum demand goes above 100kW in any half hour. In the industry code that is Measurement Class C, defined by Elexon as \"Half Hourly Metering Equipment at above 100kW Premises\". British Gas Business and the metering firm SMS both state plainly that it is compulsory.",[14,53,54],{},"The trigger is your peak in a single half hour, rather than your annual total. A bakery running ovens for three hours a morning can cross the line. An office burning more kWh across the year stays below it.",[14,56,57],{},"Smaller sites can be half hourly too. Elexon's classes E, F and G cover half hourly metering below 100kW, split by whether the meter uses current transformers or whole current.",[24,59,61],{"id":60},"how-do-half-hourly-meter-readings-reach-your-supplier","How do half hourly meter readings reach your supplier?",[14,63,64],{},"Nobody reads the meter. A Data Collector pulls your consumption data through a remote communications link, and a Data Aggregator validates it for billing and settlement (British Gas Business).",[14,66,67],{},"So there are no estimated bills and no reading card. The data sits in 48 rows a day, and your supplier or data collector will send you the file if you ask. You do not need us for that.",[24,69,71],{"id":70},"what-is-a-non-half-hourly-meter","What is a non half hourly meter?",[14,73,74],{},"A meter that records over longer periods, from which the energy used in each half hour is then estimated (Elexon). The estimating is done by profiling, on a sample of about 2,500 customers, all below 100kW.",[14,76,77],{},"Settlement is how suppliers get charged for the gap between the energy they buy and what their customers use (Ofgem, 2017). On a non half hourly supply, that sum runs on a shape borrowed from other people's meters.",[24,79,81],{"id":80},"why-did-my-meter-change-to-half-hourly","Why did my meter change to half hourly?",[14,83,84],{},"A change to the industry code called P272 made half hourly settlement mandatory for Profile Classes 5 to 8, the maximum demand classes. Implementation completed on 1 April 2017 (Elexon). P322 phased it in from 5 November 2015, within 45 business days of each contract or renewal (Ofgem, 16 June 2021). Sites in classes 05 to 08 with an automatic meter converted to Profile Class 00 (EDF Energy).",[14,86,87],{},"Ofgem sets out what changed for you. Bills settle on actual data, they vary with when you use electricity, and suppliers can price around that.",[24,89,91],{"id":90},"what-extra-charges-appear-on-a-half-hourly-bill","What extra charges appear on a half hourly bill?",[14,93,94],{},"Four lines a non half hourly bill does not carry (EDF Energy). A half hourly meter operator charge. A half hourly data collection charge. A settlement agency fee, levied by Elexon. And a service capacity, or availability, charge from your network operator.",[14,96,97],{},"The last one surprises people. The kVA charge is a monthly amount paid to your network operator for the capacity made available to your site, set by your agreed Maximum Import Capacity (British Gas Business). You pay it whether or not you use the capacity, and you pay more again if you exceed it. We cover agreed capacity in a separate guide to kVA and P272.",[14,99,100],{},"We are not going to put a pounds figure on any of these. Nobody publishes a standard rate for meter operator or data collection contracts, so anyone quoting you a typical annual cost is guessing.",[24,102,104],{"id":103},"why-the-time-of-day-starts-to-matter","Why the time of day starts to matter",[14,106,107],{},"Half hourly sites are billed for distribution using time bands. Network operators apply red, amber and green unit rates, plus a fixed daily charge per MPAN. On top sits a capacity charge in pence per kVA per day, set against your agreed capacity. Exceed it and there is a further charge, and a reactive power charge applies if your power factor drops below 0.95 (SSEN, 16 January 2017).",[14,109,110],{},"Red is the band that costs most, and it moves depending on where you are. National Grid Electricity Distribution's charging guidance (undated document, verified August 2026) puts red at 17:00 to 19:00 on weekdays in the South West, 17:00 to 19:30 in South Wales, and 16:00 to 19:00 in the Midlands, where weekends are green all day. Treat those as illustrative and check your own area's charging statement.",[14,112,113],{},"Shift an hour of heavy use out of your red band and the saving is real.",[24,115,117],{"id":116},"why-half-hourly-supplies-need-a-conversation","Why half hourly supplies need a conversation",[14,119,120,121,125],{},"Our standard ",[40,122,124],{"href":123},"\u002Fbusiness-energy-quote","business energy quote"," form asks for a postcode and an annual usage figure. For most supplies that is enough.",[14,127,128],{},"A half hourly price is built from your site's own consumption shape, so the supplier looks at when you use electricity as well as how much (EDF Energy; SMS describes the same model). Add the network time bands, your agreed capacity and the two metering contracts, and an annual kWh figure typed into a box cannot produce an honest number.",[14,130,131],{},"So we do this one by conversation. Send us a recent bill and your half hourly data, and we come back with the whole cost, capacity charge included.",[14,133,134],{},"If your contract has months left to run, there is nothing to do today.",[14,136,137,138,142],{},"Having a meter fitted for the first time? Our ",[40,139,141],{"href":140},"\u002Fbusiness-electricity-meter-installation","business electricity meter installation"," page covers that.",[24,144,146],{"id":145},"what-is-market-wide-half-hourly-settlement","What is market-wide half hourly settlement?",[14,148,149],{},"The programme extending half hourly settlement to every electricity meter point in Britain, around 30 million of them (Elexon, March 2026). Migration started on 22 October 2025 and runs for 18 months.",[14,151,152],{},"Elexon reported more than two million meters transitioned in February 2026. Five months later, on 22 July 2026, the MHHS Programme announced that half of all industry MPANs had migrated.",[14,154,155],{},"Three dates matter to a business reader (MHHS Programme, key milestones, verified August 2026). On 28 October 2026, every supplier must have qualified, and meter points can no longer return to the non half hourly regime. On 7 May 2027, every MPAN must be in the new arrangements. On 2 July 2027, settlement switches from the 14-month timetable to a four-month one.",[24,157,159],{"id":158},"what-about-gas","What about gas?",[14,161,162],{},"There is no half hourly settlement in gas, and any page telling you otherwise has it wrong. Gas supply points are classed by Annual Quantity. Class 1 sites, above 58.6 million kWh a year, are read remotely every day. Class 2 sites also read daily, Class 3 weekly to monthly, and Class 4 monthly, half yearly or yearly (Xoserve, verified August 2026).",[14,164,165,166,169],{},"Same principle, different plumbing. Big sites get read automatically. If your gas sits in Class 1 or 2, a ",[40,167,168],{"href":123},"business gas quote"," takes the same consultative route as electricity.",[171,172,174,181,187],"faq-section",{"title":173},"Questions people ask us",[175,176,178],"faq-item",{"question":177},"How do you read a half hourly meter?",[14,179,180],{},"You do not need to. Collection is remote and validated for settlement, so no manual reading is taken (British Gas Business). Ask your supplier for the file if you want the numbers.",[175,182,184],{"question":183},"Can I go back to a non half hourly meter?",[14,185,186],{},"Not if your demand exceeds 100kW. And from 28 October 2026, meter points cannot return to the non half hourly regime under the market-wide programme.",[175,188,190],{"question":189},"Does a half hourly meter save money?",[14,191,192],{},"By itself, no. It gives you the data to find savings. Sites that act on it, by moving load out of the red band or resetting agreed capacity, usually find something. Sites that file the data and forget it pay the extra metering charges for nothing.",[194,195],"hr",{},[14,197,198],{},[17,199,200],{},"Sources: Elexon BSC Knowledgebase, what is a metering system (verified August 2026); Elexon BSC glossary, measurement classes (verified August 2026); Elexon BSC, profiling (verified August 2026); Elexon BSC, P272 implementation guidance (verified August 2026); Ofgem, BSC modifications P272 and P322 factsheet (16 June 2021); Ofgem, how half-hourly settlement will help cut energy bills (26 July 2017); British Gas Business, half-hourly meters (verified August 2026); SMS plc, understanding half-hourly metering for businesses (9 July 2025); EDF Energy, guide to understanding your change to half hourly metering, P272 (verified August 2026); SSEN, how are DUoS charges calculated (16 January 2017); National Grid Electricity Distribution, DUoS charging for LV and HV metered connections (undated, illustrative, verified August 2026); MHHS Programme, 50% of industry MPANs migrated (22 July 2026) and key programme milestones (verified August 2026); Elexon, market-wide half hourly settlement and the BSC, and interview with Helen Adey (23 March 2026); Elexon, more than two million meters transitioned (16 February 2026); Xoserve, supply point types infographic (verified August 2026).",{"title":202,"searchDepth":203,"depth":203,"links":204},"",2,[205,206,207,208,209,210,211,212,213,214],{"id":26,"depth":203,"text":27},{"id":47,"depth":203,"text":48},{"id":60,"depth":203,"text":61},{"id":70,"depth":203,"text":71},{"id":80,"depth":203,"text":81},{"id":90,"depth":203,"text":91},{"id":103,"depth":203,"text":104},{"id":116,"depth":203,"text":117},{"id":145,"depth":203,"text":146},{"id":158,"depth":203,"text":159},"What a half hourly meter is, how to spot one on your MPAN, the 100kW rule, the extra charges it puts on your bill, and where the 2026 market-wide rollout has got to.","md",{"registeredPath":218,"vertical":219,"role":220,"sitemapGroup":221,"schema":222},"\u002Fguides\u002Fhalf-hourly-meters","shared","guide","guides","Article+FAQPage",true,{"title":5,"description":215},"Half hourly meters: what they are and who needs one","guides\u002Fhalf-hourly-meters","zatK0P0D_s6IF53C4oX7Q8if3iriPANhbIoju7iwZmE",1786561189187]