Half-Hourly Meters

The P272 regulation is a piece of legislation put into effect by the UK government in 2017. It requires companies in electricity-intensive industries (EIIs), such as manufacturing and food processing, to move from non-half hourly meters (NHH) to half-hourly meters (HH). Moving to half-hourly metering allows suppliers to keep better track of customer energy usage more accurately.

Most large non-domestic electricity consumers were issued with Automated Meter Reading (AMR) meters in April 2014. ARM meters have the ability to record Half Hourly (HH or 00) consumption. Measuring the HH usage data will more accurately reconcile costs between consumers and suppliers.

Half-hourly meters are automatic, so they don’t need to be read manually. Readings are taken every half-hour, totalling 48 per day.

The system relies on a fixed line that updates your supplier with automatic meter readings. With updates in real-time, suppliers can create highly accurate charges based on HH data to make sure you’re paying for exactly how much energy you use.

Despite businesses coming in all shapes and sizes, energy suppliers separate them into two categories - standard business energy users and high-consumption energy users. The high consumption category means you’re classed as a large business.

As large business customers require a higher demand for the energy grid, energy suppliers treat them differently than other businesses.

You’re considered a large business energy user if you meet one of the following:

• High Gas Usage
  You’re classed as a large energy user if your annual gas usage exceeds 200,000 kWh.
  
  
• High Electricity Usage
  You’re considered a large energy user if your business uses 55,000 kWh of electricity or more each year.

Half-hourly metering also gives you a much clearer picture of your electricity usage. You can review precisely when your business uses the most electricity by analysing your consumption data and working towards operating more efficiently to reduce your bills.

Half-hourly metering will make it much easier for your business to analyse the impact of any energy-saving measures put in place.

HH data is simply the data sent from your half hourly meter to your supplier. It includes things like how much electricity and gas you use each day and your peak usage times.

Suppliers can use HH data to propose adjustments to your tariff to make your payments more accurate. This helps you avoid any back-billing that could occur if your usage is underestimated, so you don’t build up debt over time.

To find out what kind of meter you have, look at the MPAN number on your last energy bill. The MPAN number can be found on the top left of your bill to the right of the S.

If your MPAN number is ‘00’, you have a half-hourly meter. If the number is 05, 06, 07 or 08, you’ll need to upgrade to half hourly metering as soon as you can. You can do so by getting in touch with your meter operator.

CT stands for current transformer. This means a transformer measures the current that runs through the cables in your meter. CT meters are usually installed on any connection with a load greater than 100 Amps, typically businesses that consume more power. 

WC stands for whole current. This means the electricity runs through and is measured by the meter itself. WC meters are typically for smaller businesses and domestic usage. 

CT meters and WC meters are typically half-hourly meters for electricity.