Half Hourly Meters Explained

Half hourly (HH) electricity metering is an essential part of large business electricity usage monitoring. Designed to give the most accurate readings, it can help your company save money in the long run.

Here’s our handy guide on how it works, who needs it, and how it can save you money.

What is a half hourly meter?

Half hourly meters (also known as 00 meters) do exactly what you think; measure your business’ electricity usage every 30 minutes. This data is recorded and sent to your provider automatically, helping give an incredibly accurate picture of your energy usage.

Half hour electricity is mandatory in the UK for businesses using at least 100,000 kWh every year. This includes, but is not limited to, manufacturing plants, printers, and assembly plants. Some businesses with lower consumption can also opt for an HH meter, because of the accuracy of the readings.

How does a half hourly meter work?

HH meters work in a very similar way to your standard electricity meter, in that it automatically records your usage data and sends it via telephone or fibre lines to your supplier.

The regularity and detail of this information has three main benefits:

1. Your supplier can calculate our unit charge daily rates on information that is 100% accurate.
2. Historical usage data can be used to negotiate better deals on your next HH contract.
3. You can more successfully implement energy efficiency programmes to better manage your usage.

You can either opt for a fixed half hourly price or take a risk and let the market decide your unit price. It’s impossible to say whether you’ll actually save money or not, because the energy market is so prone to change.

Does my business need a half hourly meter?

There are three main criteria when assessing the need for a half hourly meter in your premises:

1. If your annual usage is in excess of 100,000 kWh, or when working at maximum capacity you require more than 200 kWh per hour, then you are legally required to have an HH meter installed
2. Any other business that requires constant access to its energy usage data, even if its usage is below the threshold, can have access to an HH meter
3. Domestic residents who want to keep an eye on their usage can get a smart meter, which functions in much the same way.

If you’ve just moved into new premises, you might be unsure if you half an HH meter yet or not. The easiest way to discover is to look at a recent bill – if your supply (S) number begins with 00, then it’s a half hourly meter.

Due to legislation P272 from industry regulator Ofgem, if you are a business owner and if your meter class is 05, 06, 07 or 08, then you will have automatically been switched to an HH meter.

How can I get the best deal on my half hour electricity?

Due to the fact that every business has different energy consumption requirements, it’s difficult to provide an accurate and informative picture of what an “average” unit price would be. We can, however, offer tips on how to go about searching for the best HH business energy deal for your premises.

The process is not as simple as just switching onto a bog-standard business or domestic energy policy – there are many more steps involved:

1. Contact a broker or your provider and provide your business premises’ energy information, such as meter number and address
2. Allow you broker access to your usage data from your current provider with a Data Release Letter (DRL)
3. An Invitation to Tender (ITT) is then arranged and submitted to all energy suppliers. The broker then will provide you with a range of rates to review. This information is usually only correct for a 24-hour period, due to the volatility of the market and the nature of HH meters.
4. Once you’ve decided on a new supplier, switching takes about 4-6 weeks, depending on your current contract renewal date.