What Is Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement?
Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement, backed by Ofgem and scheduled to take effect on 7th December 2026, is expected to drive considerable changes in the electricity sector. Its main goals include creating a more affordable electricity framework, encouraging flexible electricity use, and helping small businesses save on costs. The roll out of the Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement is phased, which is why we’re starting work now. It allows us to ensure a smooth transition and to begin delivering the benefits of Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement as early as possible.
In the past, considerable electricity consumers such as large companies had their usage recorded every half-hour, while small businesses often had theirs estimated. But now, with the widespread use of smart meters, both large and small businesses have the capability to monitor consumption more accurately.
Smart meters enable half-hourly settlement by continuously tracking electricity usage and sending data across the energy network, facilitating more efficient management of electricity distribution and demand balancing. It provides businesses of all sizes with accurate consumption data, leading to a more sustainable and cost-effective future.
Benefits of Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement
The change will help to facilitate a smarter, more flexible system and empower smaller businesses to manage their electricity and take an active role in guiding the shift towards a greener electricity system as the industry moves towards decarbonisation.
There are many benefits, for all market participants, including:
- More accurate and transparent billing, improved service delivery for all electricity customers
- Better daily visibility of usage data, make informed decisions aimed at reducing electricity consumption
- New innovative products based on time-of-use, offering customers opportunity to reduce costs
- Enhanced network data, enabling the energy network to better forecast customer supply and demand
- Advancing the UK’s progress towards sustainability and achieving Net Zero carbon emissions
How It Impacts Your Business
The transition will not affect your supply of electricity, but could open new ways to save electricity, directly affecting your usage and spending. There is no preparation needed for the upcoming change, but staying informed is essential to navigate the ever-evolving electricity landscape effectively.
For businesses with a working smart meter already installed, the shift will be seamless as the update will occur automatically and readings will be altered accordingly, without any noticeable changes.
However, for those without smart meters, the changeover to half-hourly settlement readings requires an upgrade. To ensure a smooth transition, we will reach out to customers without smart meters to arrange site visits for smart meter installation or other necessary upgrades before March 2026. Enabling all customers to experience the efficiency and precision of half-hourly settlement readings.
FAQ’s
To help you understand this significant change, we’ve compiled a comprehensive list of FAQs. Here, you’ll find answers to common questions about how MHHS works, its benefits, and what it means for both businesses and suppliers. Dive in to get all the details you need about this groundbreaking development in the UK electricity market.
Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement is a new initiative, backed by Ofgem, set to take effect on 7th December 2026. It aims to create a more affordable electricity framework, encouraging flexible usage, and helping small businesses save on costs. This system uses smart meters to record electricity usage every half-hour, providing accurate consumption data.
The roll out of the Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement is phased, which is why we’re starting work now. It allows us to ensure a smooth transition and to begin delivering the benefits of Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement as early as possible.
Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement is scheduled to take effect on 7th December 2026.
The roll out of the Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement is phased, which is why we’re starting work now. It allows us to ensure a smooth transition and to begin delivering the benefits of Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement as early as possible.
Ofgem, the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets in the UK, is overseeing the implementation of Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement.
This initiative is crucial for the UK’s goal of reaching Net Zero by 2050. It supports the transition to a greener electricity system by providing the flexibility needed to manage electricity more effectively, reducing carbon emissions, and fostering a fairer and more environmentally friendly market.
Smart meters track electricity usage in real-time and send this data to suppliers every half-hour. This allows suppliers to manage electricity needs more accurately, leading to better service delivery, more transparent billing, and the development of innovative, cost-saving products based on time-of-use.
There are many benefits, for all market participants, including:
- More accurate and transparent billing, improved service delivery for all electricity customers
- Better daily visibility of usage data, make informed decisions aimed at reducing electricity consumption
- New innovative products based on time-of-use, offering customers opportunity to reduce costs
- Enhanced network data, enabling the energy network to better forecast customer supply and demand
- Advancing the UK’s progress towards sustainability and achieving Net Zero carbon emissions
This transition can open new ways to save electricity, directly affecting your usage and spending. For businesses with working smart meters, the shift will be seamless, with updates occurring automatically. Businesses without smart meters will need to upgrade to enable half-hourly settlement readings.
If your business does not have a smart meter, we will contact you to arrange for a site visit to install a smart meter or perform necessary upgrades before March 2026. This ensures that all customers can benefit from the efficiency and precision of half-hourly settlement readings.
By enabling more accurate electricity usage tracking and fostering flexible usage, Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement helps reduce overall electricity consumption and carbon emissions, contributing significantly to the UK’s goal of achieving Net Zero by 2050.
Suppliers will benefit from enhanced network data, allowing them to better forecast customer supply and demand, improve service delivery, and develop innovative products that encourage electricity efficiency and cost savings.
Yes. The top line of the MPAN will be changing. The Meter Timeswitch Code (MTC) and Line Loss Factor (LLF) will be removed. These will be replaced with the Standard Settlement Configuration (SSC) and Distribution Use of System (DUoS) Tariff ID.
