If you have a Half Hourly (HH) metered electricity supply it is a mandatory requirement to have a Meter Operator Agreement or contract commonly referred to as a MOP and a Data Collection Agreement (DC).
This blog focuses only on Meter Operator Contracts which cover the physical condition and operation of your meter
Your Meter operators responsibilities are as follows:
Meter Installation: Ensuring that an appropriate electricity meter is installed at your premises, whether a standard or smart meter.
Meter Maintenance: The MOP is responsible for maintaining the meter, ensuring it functions correctly, and that any faults or issues are quickly resolved.
Meter Replacement or Upgrades: If your meter becomes outdated or needs to be upgraded (for example, to comply with smart metering regulations), the MOP will handle this under the terms of the contract. Meters are typically replaced every 12 years or so and this is the MOP responsibility.
Meter Operator Services can be arranged by your supplier or ‘supplier appointed’. In this scenario, your supplier will buy in services from one of the MOP providers, mark them up and ‘pass’ them back through on your electricity bills. Alternatively, you can arrange a MOP yourself directly with a one of the providers. This is usually a less expensive option.
Your usual payment choice is an annual invoice from or direct debit to your MOP provider.
Your MOP does not need to be with your current energy provider.
Considerations
If you arrange your own MOP contract then there are a few things to be considered
- you can either rent or buy your meter and its worth looking at both options as they are priced very differently.
- MOP contracts are usually 3, 5 or 10 year terms. They are fixed price contracts so if you were, for example, to vacate the premises before the contract end date you would need to buy out the remaining years left to run on the contract. Therefore it may be sensible to align your MOP contract end date to your lease.
- Ask whether your MOP provider applies an RPI increase as this make a significant difference to what you are paying over 5 or 10 years.
- Each time you move supplier you will need to let them know that you have your own MOP contract and ask them to appoint them correctly.
At Here’s The Plan, we specialise in helping customers through situations like this. Get in touch for expert advice:
☎️ 01738 474630
✉️ theteam@herestheplan.co.uk
