Q&A: npower's Ben Whitelam on How to Save Money on Energy

Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement (MHHS) is a UK-led initiative which records and charges electricity consumption every 30 minutes for all customers across the British mainland, encompassing England, Scotland and Wales.

So, how exactly does it function? Essentially, smart meters automatically transmit electricity usage data to suppliers every half hour, replacing the current system where most customers' usage is estimated based on average profiles or the occasional meter reading.

This transition promises more accurate billing, potential cost savings, enhanced energy management, and positive environmental impacts. It also enables the development of new products and services, such as time-of-use tariffs, which often help customers save money.

While not exactly the same as MHHS, lots of countries have implemented or are considering similar systems for more detailed energy metering and settlement. Australia, for instance, uses 30-minute settlement periods in its National Electricity Market, New Zealand employs half-hourly metering for larger commercial and industrial customers and Singapore has established a half-hourly electricity market for wholesale electricity.

Ben Whitelam, Director of Commercial at npower Business Solutions—one of the UK's largest business energy suppliers serving approximately 24,000 industrial and commercial customers with over 237,000 sites—is a big advocate for MHHS and the benefits it can have for customer and provider.

In his role, Ben assists businesses in understanding the impact of energy policy and preparing them for significant market changes. One such change is the introduction of MHHS, which he describes as "a revolutionary project initiated by the UK government-appointed energy market regulator, Ofgem."

He says that it represents one of the most significant transformations in the British electricity market since privatisation. "We are helping businesses understand this change to ensure they know how it impacts them, as well as the opportunities it presents," he explains.

In this exclusive Q&A with Sustainability Magazine, Ben highlights the advantages of MHHS, particularly regarding improved flexibility, progress toward net-zero goals, and—most importantly—the cost-saving opportunities it offers.

Can you outline the key opportunities that MHHS presents for businesses, particularly in terms of cost savings and operational efficiency?

MHHS will unlock more granular and timely data to understand how and when all consumers use electricity.

It will provide an incredible level of visibility into how much electricity is being consumed for every 30-minute period throughout the day and night — that’s 48 data points for every UK meter in every 24-hour period.

Having access to all this additional insight will help to support an energy system that can forecast, generate and distribute electricity far more efficiently than ever before.

This means there are several benefits for business energy users.

As well as more granular cost allocation, they will have access to new products, more innovation, new technologies and flexibility services from their energy suppliers — and ultimately a more cost-efficient energy system.

How do you see MHHS contributing to improved flexibility for businesses and what role do you believe it will play in helping companies drive towards their net zero goals?

For businesses to benefit from a secure, responsive, low-carbon energy system that also supports net zero goals there must be a full-scale reform of the energy sector.

This includes the ability to better manage all aspects of electricity more efficiently, particularly with the decrease in 24/7 fossil fuel generation, as businesses move to more intermittent renewable power sources.

Importantly, MHHS will support the more flexible use of electricity, which we’re already starting to see with ‘time of use’ tariffs emerging to incentivise the use of energy at times of abundant supply and away from peak-demand periods.

Encouragingly, according to our latest Business Energy Tracker, many businesses are already actively monitoring their consumption data and using it to facilitate change in their organisations, so this will need to be a business priority in a post-MHHS world.

What strategic advice would you offer to businesses looking to optimise their operations and benefit from the new MHHS reform?

The industry timeline for delivering MHHS starts in 2025 and runs throughout 2026. However, according to our latest Business Energy Tracker, there is a lack of awareness of MHHS — 53% of the businesses we spoke to said they weren’t aware of the reform and the impact it could have.

Businesses who engage with MHHS will benefit the most. The greater data insight it will bring could result in potential energy saving and carbon reduction opportunities. In addition, MHHS also provides the option for businesses to choose a metering agent and services that suit their specific needs.

So, our advice to businesses is that it will pay to get ahead of the game by taking the time to understand your energy data. By working with your meter operator, data collection and data aggregator service provider, you can ensure you are prepared for this important change.

While it is not a mandated requirement, under this reform for energy meters to be changed to advanced meters that can collect data on a half-hourly basis.

For many organisations, there are real benefits to doing so, as they provide a highly detailed and dynamic picture of your energy use.

We are keen to work closely with businesses to help them through this period of transition and understand their pain points so we can smooth the way as the reforms come into effect.

While bringing a major shift in how the energy sector works, MHHS will also bring significant opportunities, particularly in terms of improved flexibility and the drive to net zero.

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