As the UK’s transition to Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement (MHHS) enters its final stages – with all electricity meters migrating over to new systems by May 2027 – now is an ideal time to check your metering and data services can support your business to make the most of future data insights.
Although these services – providing, installing and maintaining meters along with collecting and presenting data – are similar across most providers, the standards of service and types of contract can vary greatly.
And as new meter agent roles come into force in the new MHHS world, here are some pointers to help you understand if you’re getting the best deal for your business.
Cost certainty and transparency are important. So drill down to determine the value of the different contracts on offer.
For example, you may be offered a fully-inclusive contract that seems expensive, but you’ll be paying a set price for the contract period that includes all the services you need.
At the other end of the spectrum, a fully-transactional contract may seem cheap. But while basic metering services are included, anything extra incurs an additional cost. So you’ll pay every time a meter fails to poll and a hand-held read is needed, or if a meter needs repairing or the meter communications equipment needs replacing.
These things do happen, so make sure you factor in these extra charges when trying to compare different types of contract.
When reviewing agents, it’s important to look for demonstrable capability. What is a provider’s track record in the half-hourly settlement space – and over what period of time?
Do they have experience of both simple and complex metering portfolios? How do they perform when it comes to working with suppliers and other industry partners?
It’s also important to consider what might happen if things go wrong. It’s your agent’s responsibility to ensure your meters are fully operational – so if a fault were to occur, how quickly will it be identified and resolved?
Ideally, you’re looking for a high-performing agent who can deliver what you need to a high standard, while also meeting supplier and industry requirements.
Ensuring you have access to correct consumption data is essential – not only for your own energy management but also to ensure your billing is accurate.
Does your agent consistently exceed industry targets when it comes to data quality?
Poor data collection leads to reconciliations and rebilling, which can disrupt budgeting, cash flow and cause issues across financial years.
Having a high-quality, responsive metering agent in place can ensure that these issues are less likely to happen.
MHHS will deliver lots more data – but it’s not much use if you can’t make sense of it. So when considering a data and metering agent, find out if they provide any data visualisation and reporting tools.
Ideally, you want to be able to access clear, accurate energy insight so you can better understand your energy usage and identify where savings can be made.
For example, is your data visualised as graphs that compare day-time and night-time consumption to help spot anomalies? Or is your energy performance compared day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month and even year-to-year?
Another important consideration is if the tool or platform provided is fully self-serve – or can you access help and support if you need it?
A key aim of MHHS is to deliver far greater data insight to accelerate energy efficiencies among consumers. Working with the right data and metering partner is an important part of realising this goal.
For more on the changes to expect with MHHS – and new opportunities in energy flexibility – you can watch our recent webinar: MHHS: risks, costs and opportunities.