Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement Update: What it Means for Businesses

The UK energy market is undergoing one of its most significant transformations since privatisation and the introduction of the competitive market in 1998. The Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement (MHHS) programme, led by Ofgem, aims to modernise electricity settlement processes and unlock benefits for consumers and businesses alike.

What is MHHS?

MHHS is an industry-wide initiative that will move all electricity meters – commercial and residential – from traditional meter reading-based processes to one that uses half-hourly data where available. This means, where possible, energy consumption will be settled using 30-minute interval data, reducing reliance on estimates and helping to speed up reconciliation. Reconciliation is the process of checking and correcting energy consumption and billing data so that what customers are charged matches their actual usage.

Historically, only the largest industrial consumers were settled half-hourly because of the cost of advanced metering. With the rollout of smart meters, this capability is now available for homes and smaller businesses, paving the way for a smarter, more flexible energy system. 

Why is this change happening?

There are several anticipated benefits to the shift to half-hourly settlement:

• Faster, more accurate billing: With half-hourly data, the industry can check and confirm energy use much faster. This reduces the current 14-month process to around 4 months improving accuracy for customers and reducing reliance on estimates.
• Support for innovation: Enables innovations such as time-of-use tariffs (where customers can save money by shifting usage away from peak times), smart appliances, and electric vehicle integration. 
• Alignment with net zero: It supports net zero goals by encouraging flexible energy use, reducing peak demand and minimising waste.
• Customer Savings: Ofgem’s draft MHHS Impact Assessment identifies total net benefits of MHHS for UK customers of £1.6bn to £4.6bn over the programme’s life to 2045. 

Timeline:

The programme is already underway, with major milestones approaching. Implementation of the programme will be in stages, with suppliers completing the different times.

What does this mean for SEFE Energy customers?

You won’t notice any difference in your service or contract. In the long term, you may see a small change to your invoice format and have the opportunity to benefit from smarter tariffs. While the majority of changes will happen behind the scenes, we will contact affected customers with more information closer to the time.

As this is a complex industry-wide change, timelines may shift. Rest assured, SEFE Energy is committed to keeping customers informed every step of the way. Updates will be published on our website as the programme develops – check out our dedicated MHHS page here – and if you have any questions, please get in touch via your account manager or through our customer support team here.