Half hourly meters explained
As well as your Half Hourly meter prices for electricity, you may have additional charges on your bill. These might include Capacity prices, MOP and DC charges, and maybe even a list of pass-through charges such as DUos, TNUoS, RO, FiT, CfD, depending on your contract. We explain these charges below.
If you prefer to speak to us, or would like a quote for your Half Hourly meter prices, please call us on 020 3372 6517. We work with over 20 energy suppliers in the electricity market, so are perfectly placed to give you expert, independent advice.
Half Hourly meter contracts
There are two types of Half Hourly meter:
Whole Current meter (WC)
Current Transformer meter (CT)
Whichever meter you have, you will also need a Meter Operator (MOP) and Data Collection (DC) contract. This is a legal requirement. You can read more about MOP and DC contracts in this section. They cover the maintenance of your meter, and ensure data is sent to your electricity supplier so they can bill you accurately.
WC Half Hourly meter contract
You need a contract for your electricity supply, and another for the MOP and DC.
CT Half Hourly meter contract
You will need the same as above, but the electricity contract will include a Capacity charge. The Capacity charge is the price set by the Distribution Network Operator (DNO) for reserving capacity on the network for you.
Half Hourly meter contracts are available in both fixed price, and pass-through contracts.
Half Hourly meter prices – fixed price contract
A fixed price contract is the most common type of contract for a Half Hourly meter.
It is very similar to contracts for standard meters.
Half Hourly meters are usually priced on a day rate and a night rate. These run from 7am to midnight, and midnight to 7am. This is very common, and most electricity suppliers will stick to this format.
There are a few suppliers who are happy to bill on a single rate for 24 hours a day. Some suppliers can offer a three rate tariff. This will have one rate for Weekday use, another for Evenings and Weekends, and a third rate for Night use.
A standard electricity meter may have, for example, a Day rate of 12.2p per kWh, a Night rate of 9.4p, and a Standing Charge of 25.00p per day. A Half Hourly electricity contract will be similar. The prices may be lower than a standard meter, as the annual consumption is likely to be considerably higher if you have a Half Hourly meter.
Which is the best tariff for my Half Hourly meter?
The best option for your business depends when you use electricity. Handily, as the name implies, Half Hourly electricity meters record your electricity use at Half Hourly intervals. Your electricity supplier will have this data, and we can analyse it for you.
If you would like us to check your Half Hourly data and advise the best rates for your business, please call us on 020 3372 6517.
Look out for hidden charges in your Half Hourly bills
If you have a much higher standing charge, or even price per kWh, please check your MOP contract. If you have allowed your electricity supplier to choose and manage the MOP contract for you, they will often include this charge in other costs on your bill. So you have no way of knowing the actual cost.
From experience, even the major energy suppliers can charge a lot more for a MOP contract. More than double the cost, in fact.
Half Hourly meter prices – pass-through contract
If your business has a high electricity consumption, you may save money by choosing a pass-through contract for your Half Hourly meter prices.
The wholesale price of electricity only accounts for around 50% of the kWh price of electricity. The other 50% consists of transmission and distribution charges from the network, and government levies and taxes.
In a fixed price contract, these are all bundled into the price per kWh and standing charge.
In a pass-through contract, the charges are separated out. The electricity charge is shown without the network and government charges, so this could be around 7p or 8p for the day rate and 5p or 6p for the night rate (depending on a wide range of factors).
The network and government charges are then billed separately, on a ‘pass-through’ basis, i.e. they are passed on at cost.
On the face of it, this sounds very transparent and a good idea. However, these pass-through charges can change once or twice a year, and go up or down. At the time of writing, the pass-through charges are expected to rise, eventually accounting for close to 60% of the overall cost of electricity.
Therefore the cost of a pass-through contract can actually increase during the course of your contract.
When is a pass through contract useful?
The real saving with a pass-through contract is for businesses that can be flexible with the times they use electricity. One of the pass-through charges is DUoS, or Distribution Use of System to give it the full title.
DUoS charges are separated into Red, Amber and Green time bands, depending on the time of day. Amber and Green bands have a lower rate, but the Red bank signifies the times of day that your electricity prices are substantially higher.
As these charges are set by the Distribution Network Operator (DNO), they vary in both cost and time of day they apply. However, it is generally between 4pm and 7pm. You could be looking at an extra 4p or 5p per kWh on electricity used during these peak periods.
Therefore, if your business is able to shift a sizeable amount of electricity use out of the Red band and into Amber or Green, you will make a significant saving.
This is something we can analyse for you, by looking at the data captured by your Half Hourly meter.
For any further advice or for Half Hourly meter prices, please call our small and friendly team on 020 3372 6517.
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