What Is a Half-Hourly Meter and Does Your Business Need One?

If your business uses significant amounts of electricity, you may have heard the term half-hourly meter or seen it referenced on your energy bills. Understanding what it means and whether it applies to you can have a real impact on how your energy is priced and managed.

What Is a Half-Hourly Meter?

A half-hourly (HH) meter records your electricity consumption in 30-minute intervals and sends this data automatically to your supplier and the national grid. This is different from a traditional meter, which only records total consumption and requires manual reads.

The data from half-hourly meters allows for more accurate billing and opens up different contract structures based on your actual consumption profile rather than estimates.

Who Is Required to Have One?

In the UK, all businesses with a maximum demand of 100 kilowatts (kW) or more are legally required to have a half-hourly meter. These are referred to as Profile Class 00 supplies.

Businesses with smaller supplies but whose peak demand exceeds certain thresholds may also be moved to half-hourly metering by their distributor.

What Are the Benefits?

More Accurate Billing

Because consumption is recorded every 30 minutes, there are no estimated reads. You pay for exactly what you use.

Access to Better Contract Structures

Half-hourly data enables suppliers to offer time-of-use tariffs, which can be significantly cheaper if your business can shift consumption away from peak hours.

Better Energy Management

With granular data, you can identify exactly when your business is consuming the most energy and take steps to reduce peak loads. This can lead to meaningful savings over time.

What Are the Drawbacks?

Half-hourly supplies typically come with data collection and data aggregation charges added to your bill. These are separate from your unit rate and standing charge and can vary between suppliers.

The Move Towards Smart Metering

The government's rollout of smart meters is gradually extending half-hourly data capabilities to smaller businesses. Smart meters automatically send reads at regular intervals and can provide many of the same benefits as traditional HH meters for lower consumption supplies.

What Should You Do?

If you are unsure whether your business has a half-hourly meter, check your MPAN number. If the first two digits are 00, you are on a half-hourly supply.

If you are approaching the 100 kW threshold or want to understand how your consumption profile affects your contract options, speak to your account manager or get in touch with the Choice Utility team.