Half hourly meters are used by large UK power users to better monitor your usage. If a full MPAN starts with (00) this is a HH meter. These meters are electronically read by the supplier every 30 minutes for more accurate billing.

Non-half hourly meters are for smaller consuming UK power users which are supplied on monthly or quarterly tariffs.

Your electricity supply reference number is the 21 digit unique identifying number (MPAN) for the electricity meter at your business premises. Your supply number will normally be shown on your bill using a large ‘S’ and a grid of numbers. It differs from the meter serial number printed on the meter itself. If you cannot find it contact us we will be able to source it on your behalf.

The first 2 digits (profile class) of the MPAN indicate the type of supply and size of electricity meter.

01: Domestic Unrestricted
02: Domestic Economy 7
03: Non-domestic Unrestricted
04: Non-domestic Economy 7
05 to 08: Non-domestic, with maximum recording capability
00: Half-hourly supply with automatic meter reading

Electricity suppliers are the public face of the electricity industry. A major part of their role is to pull together the costs of other parties in the electricity supply chain. These third parties play a crucial role in producing and delivering your power and the majority of their charges are regulated by Ofgem. Suppliers build these infrastructure costs into your prices depending on the type of meter you have, its location and the type of contract you have with them. So these costs can be included in the unit price of your electricity, charged separately as a standing charge, or itemised separately. They comprise the following:
1. Energy cost
This is the cost of the electricity purchased on the wholesale market to cover your predicted future usage. It is the single biggest component of the unit price and accounts for between 60 and 80% of a business’ total bill.
2. Infrastructure costs
These charges relate to the costs of providing the infrastructure required to deliver your power. They include the cost of energy lost (as heat) as it travels from the power station, through the transmission (TLoss) and distribution (DLoss) wires to you. You are also charge for using the transmission and distribution networks; referred to as Transmission Use of System (TUoS) and Distribution Use of System (DUoS). National Grid charges electricity companies to recover the costs incurred through balancing the system through Balancing System Use of system (BSUoS) charges.
3. Cost to serve
Costs incurred by your supplier to service your account. These include the costs of maintaining IT systems; paying the staff that manage your energy accounts; and the risks involved with your predicted consumption versus your actual consumption known as imbalance risk. This typically accounts for only a small part of your total bill, usually around 2%. This charge again might be built into the unit rate or charged separately as a standing charge.

Increasingly you will see additional pass through charges from the Government. These include the more familiar climate change levy, renewable obligations, feed in tariffs and as from 1st April 2015, electricity market reform/contracts for difference. Please see more detailed information regarding these charges on our FAQ page.

Primarily for half-hourly meters, this charge covers investment and maintenance of the electricity network to prevent localised power outages. Customers are charged a fee (per unit) according to the agreed capacity for that site.

Reactive power refers to the difference between the electricity supplied and the electricity converted into useful power (i.e. that which you are able to use). If a site has high Reactive Power i.e. if there is a large amount of power being wasted, more current needs to flow to provide the same output. This puts an additional strain on the distribution network, potentially increasing costs for the Distribution Network Operator. This charge is a contribution towards those costs. Where reactive power charges are building up it may be useful to ask an engineer to inspect equipment on site to remedy the problem.

If you have a half-hourly meter, this charge reflects the costs associated with collecting and handling your metering data.

Behind the scenes distribution companies, suppliers, metering companies and others need to reimburse, and recover their costs from one another. This relates to the cost they charge for doing so.

The Renewables Obligation (RO) is the main support scheme for renewable electricity projects in the UK. It places an obligation on UK suppliers of electricity to source an increasing proportion of their electricity from renewable sources. The RO accounts for approximately 10% of the total bill and is increasing annually. These are charged per unit and can be built into the unit rates themselves, but increasingly are being passed through as a separate item on bills.

These are export tariffs paid to generators of renewable electricity (solar, wind, wave etc). They are paid for by all end users of electricity. Suppliers assess the amount needed to be recovered from customers and typically build a cost per unit into the unit rates, although again they can be itemised separately. Suppliers will claw-back any shortfall from the end user in quarterly reconciliations if they have underestimated the amount needed to be recovered.

EMR is a new energy policy within the UK that aims to maintain security of supply while keeping energy bills affordable and increasing low-carbon generation. In essence, this means replacing older power stations with new forms of low carbon generation and ensuring that there is enough generation capacity to meet national demand. There are two elements of EMR that will impact on your energy bills
Contracts for difference (CfD) – payments for low-carbon generators to encourage development of new projects, operated by the Low Carbon Contracts Company. CfD is expected to increase as more projects start generating.
Capacity market – payments for generators to ensure capacity on the grid during times of peak demand, operated by the Electricity Settlements Company.

An organization responsible for installing and maintaining electricity meters. Organisations with half-hourly meters and any other meters with an AMR facility (smart meters) are typically required to have a separate agreement with a meter operator (MOP) to cover meter maintenance and data communications. Data is sent from the meter automatically to a data collector and aggregator (typically appointed by the supplier) who will check and collate the information and send it onto the supplier for billing. If you are notified that your MOP agreement is coming up for review, contact Eneco and we can often negotiate a better price on your behalf.