As data is transferred across Elexon’s platforms to facilitate market-wide half-hourly settlement (MHHS), ElectraLink will ensure consistent data access.
The two groups have announced a collaboration to ensure that half-hourly (HH) consumption data for large-scale meters will continue to be available when it begins to be transferred across Elexon’s data integration platform (DIP).
Over 90% of the large scale industrial and commercial (I&C) supplier market relies on accessing this data, through ElectraLink for quoting, demand forecasting and accurate onboarding.
ElectraLink operates the independent network and service that transfers data between energy companies in the UK electricity market – also known as the Data Transfer Service (DTS). Elexon is the parent company that manages the Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) for the UK.
At the beginning of Q3 2025, HH consumption data for large-scale meters will begin to transfer across Elexon’s DIP. ElextraLink has established technology, governance and contractual agreements to ensure energy participants have access to the necessary data.
If ElectraLink established no relationship with Elexon, there would be a period of transition where neither company, as a single party, would have all the data required to provide existing users with a single source of data, causing market uncertainty.
As such, the two are working together to provide certainty that the data will remain available in a single contiguous stream until the transfer is complete. ElectraLink will continue to access data from large scale meters to provide its application programming interface (API) service to its customers, using a mechanism derived from Elexon’s platforms.
All parties that rely on this data will maintain access to the services they need and access will remain in the same format and governance arrangements throughout to minimise additional disruption.
Elexon and ElectraLink “fully anticipate” the service to be operational before the first half-hourly flow is transferred over the DIP and will remain as such until the service becomes available in its new format after the full MHHS migration.
MHHS to support flexibility
The MHHS is set to be implemented in 2026. By switching all customers to be settled half hourly – rather than relying on estimates and periodic meter readings – the move to MHHS is set to be one of the biggest transformations to the British electricity market to date.
Transitioning to a billing system that reflects consumers’ actual electricity consumption is expected to save consumers money, support energy flexibility and facilitate the balance of demand and supply.
MHHS will accelerate the deployment of products that encourage energy users to load shift by consuming less electricity during peak times. In preparation, suppliers can encourage load shifting by increasing and diversifying their time-of-use (ToU) tariffs, which encourage consumers to use energy at off-peak times.
Other rule changes Elexon is implementing to support flexibility, which is a critical component of achieving the government’s Clean Power 2030 plan, include allowing independent aggregators of electricity to register to participate in the wholesale electricity market.
