Have you just upgraded to HH due to P272? You now need a MOP!
If you have an 05, 06, 07 or 08 Meter you should already know about Ofgem’s P272 mandate, which requires all suppliers to upgrade these meters from Non Half Hourly to Half Hourly status. The deadline for this conversion is 31-Mar-17, and the aim is to improve billing and settlement issues. Official information provided from Ofgem can be found here. You can also learn all about P272 on our other page here.
MOP:
One of the implications of this mandatory upgrade is that your newly minted Half Hourly supply now requires a Meter Operator service, aka MOP. To learn all about MOPS visit our page here. All Half Hourly Meters are subject to MOP costs, which cover the maintenance of the meter and repairs or replacement in the event of a meter fault. You will be charged for MOP services whether you contract the service or not. Note, a MOP contract is separate to your supply contract which covers your monthly bills. Failure to contract a MOP will result in MOP charges being passed through to you on your monthly bills, this scenario can be more expensive, and you will run into problems if you try to switch supplier at a future date. Suppliers require a valid MOP contract in place when they gain your supply, without a MOP they cannot receive the consumption data they require to bill you.
A MOP agreement is typically paid for on an annual basis. Whilst offered in 1 to 10 year durations, a 5 year term is most typical for P272 clients, but a 10 year term would be the most economical. It is common for customers to forget all about their MOPS given the number of years that lapse between renewal cycles.
Advice to first time MOP Buyers:
Don’t be bullied into accepting the first MOP contract that is offered to you by your current supplier. Unfortunately, it seems some suppliers are taking advantage of your MOP inexperience. At Direct Power, we are currently able to offer special cut price MOP contracts to P272 clients at £38/year and MOP DC/DA contracts for P272 clients for £100/yr. I have seen other P272 MOPs as high as £270/yr. an 86% increase over our P272 MOP, and MOP DC/DA at £585/yr., an 83% increase over what we can offer.
So don’t sign the first MOP you see, CONTACT Direct Power for a MOP quote and see if we can help you to secure a highly competitive MOP. We will also liaise with your current supplier to request they send the relevant flows to appoint the new MOP. This process should only take a couple minutes of your time, we do all the administration work so you don’t have to.
