Through the supplier
The supplier passes on data it already holds for billing and settlement.
The customer’s contractSoftware · energy data, cited
Energy data software: from meter to record
Energy data software collects consumption from meters, smart meters, sub-meters and bills into one record that keeps each figure’s source, unit and period.
This page sets out who holds a business’s energy data, the routes and permissions to reach it, what half-hourly settlement changes from 2027, and the tests a pipeline should pass; it ranks no product.
What the software does
What does energy data software do? Six steps, meter to report
Energy data software is the pipeline that gets consumption from where it is measured into one store that every report can trust.
The dashboards on top are covered on energy monitoring software; this page is the layer beneath them.
The test of a pipeline is not how quickly it shows a chart but whether each figure can be traced to its meter or bill, its unit and its period.
SECR asks for energy in kWh covering all forms of energy, under Schedule 7, so the store must hold every source, not only electricity.
- 1
Connect
Supplier feeds, smart meters, own meters, bills.
- 2
Collect
Readings as received, half-hourly where available.
- 3
Validate
Gaps flagged, estimates labelled, units checked.
- 4
Store
Source, unit, period and conversion basis kept.
- 5
Convert
kWh, then emissions on the activity-year factor.
- 6
Serve
Dashboards, ESOS, SECR, carbon reports, APIs.
Where the data lives
Where does a business’s energy data come from? Five places, held by different people
A business’s supplier holds its settlement data, the smart meter communications network is run by the DCC, and any sub-meters belong to the business itself.
The DCC was licensed in 2013 and, by its own account, does not have access to individual meter readings, which are encrypted in transit.
Government’s 2018 review said smart meters can store at least thirteen months of half-hourly consumption data.
NESO’s Carbon Intensity API publishes half-hourly grid intensity, which is useful for timing demand but is not the factor used in a report.
Energy data sourcesExplore
Energy data sources
Smart meters
Reached through the DCC by suppliers, networks or consented Other Users.
Access and consent
How can software reach the data? Three routes, three permissions
A party that is not the supplier or network operator can become a DCC “Other User” under the Smart Energy Code and obtain consumption data only with the consumer’s consent, according to the code administrator’s guidance.
That consent must be Unambiguous Consent, and the Other User must tell the consumer the purpose and period of collection and the right to withdraw, under Section I.
The 2018 review says those controls apply to domestic, microbusiness and other non-domestic smart meters alike.
The code also has a separate Meter Data Retriever role for parties operating in the half-hourly settlement market, which is not the same as a business’s own access.
One site’s
consumption
consumption
Through the DCC
A registered Other User reads the smart meter with consent.
Smart Energy Code Section IFrom own meters
Sub-meters and loggers the business owns.
The business’s own dataHalf-hourly settlement
What changes with half-hourly settlement? Every meter point, by 2027
Market-wide half-hourly settlement moves every Great Britain electricity meter point to settlement in half-hour periods, with migration complete by 7 May 2027 under Ofgem’s P487 decision.
The cutover to a four-month settlement timetable, from 14 months, is 2 July 2027, according to the MHHS Programme.
Ofgem asked for a report at M14 on bringing the later milestones forward, so these dates may move.
MHHS changes how suppliers settle; it does not on its own deliver half-hourly data to a business, so a pipeline must still name its route for each meter.
- 22 October 202501
- 28 October 202602
- 7 May 202703
- 2 July 202704
From kWh to carbon
Which factor turns the data into emissions? The one for the year it was used
DESNZ publishes one set of conversion factors a year, for activity falling entirely or mostly within that year, so a pipeline must store the activity year with every reading.
The tool beside this shows the same electricity use against the 2025 and 2026 factor sets, which differ by about a quarter.
DESNZ’s methodology paper treats Gross CV as the default basis for fuels, so a gas reading converted to kWh should state its basis.
Live grid intensity belongs in a separate field from the reporting factor, so the two are never confused.
Same kWh, two factor sets
2025 factor set · 0.17700 kgCO2e/kWh17.7 tCO2e
2026 factor set · 0.13096 kgCO2e/kWh13.1 tCO2e
A company that changed nothing sees 26.0% less on this line because the factor moved.
DESNZ attributes most of the fall to grid decarbonisation and 6 to 7 percentage points to methodology.
Factors: DESNZ 2026 methodology paper, Table 9 · 2026 major changes report.
Generated electricity is Scope 2; transmission and distribution losses are Scope 3.
With losses selected, the illustration uses the printed consumed total in DESNZ Table 9, spanning both scopes. It is not your SECR figure; nothing is stored or sent.
Open energy data
Which energy data is open? Licensees’ data, presumed so
Ofgem’s Data Best Practice Guidance obliges the licensees it covers to treat their data assets as Presumed Open, made available for all to use unless they evidence a reason to withhold it.
The reasons are limited to privacy, security, legal or regulatory obligations and commercial sensitivity, assessed in an Open Data Triage.
The rule binds licensees such as network operators, not an energy-using business, so a company’s own meter data stays its own.
For a pipeline, open network and grid data is a useful context layer beside the business’s private consumption data.
Presumed OpenExplore
Presumed Open
Who it binds
Ofgem licensees covered by the guidance, not energy users.
Presumed Open
Open Data Triage
Privacy, security, legal and commercial sensitivities checked.
Presumed Open
Licences
Shared under Creative Commons Attribution or the Open Government Licence.
Platforms, in their own words
Which platforms describe meter-level data? One in the registry
This site’s vendor registry is built around carbon and ESG platforms, and one of them describes meter-level data in its own words, as an input to its emissions tracking.
Specialist energy data providers and metering companies are not in the registry, which says nothing about them.
The full registry, with each vendor’s own claims on ESOS and SECR, is on carbon reporting software.
| Platform | What its own site says |
|---|---|
| Measurabl | Enable Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions tracking derived from meter to space assignments for accurate, decision-ready reporting. |
Data quality
What must the pipeline keep? Four things on every reading
ESOS reference period
12 monthsRegulation 22ESOS units
kWh or £Environment Agency guidanceSECR scope
All forms of energySchedule 7Settlement timetable
4 monthsFrom 2 July 2027ESOS totals energy over a 12-month reference period under regulation 22, and the Environment Agency’s guidance accepts kWh or pounds, so the same readings must total to different periods without re-keying.
The GHG Protocol’s completeness principle is why a missing month must stay visibly missing rather than silently become zero.
An energy management system under ISO 50001 builds its baselines on the same data, so errors here travel into every indicator.
Read the settlement caveat
Settlement data is revised as the timetable runs, from 14 months today to four months after 2 July 2027; a pipeline should keep each revision with its date rather than overwrite the figure already reported.
Every readingExplore
The tests before you sign
How do you test an energy data product? Eight questions, each tied to a source
Each question beside this names the rule or source it comes from and what a passing answer looks like.
Run them on your own meters, because a demonstration never has a broken feed, a cubic-metre gas bill or a site where you are not the customer of record.
This site has tested no products
Nothing on this page is a rating, ranking or recommendation of any product.
Energy data demo questions · tick the ones you need
The pass tests are our reading of the cited provisions.
Nothing you tick is stored or sent.
Energy data software, in one sentence
Every figure in an energy report is only as good as the reading behind it, so keep the source, the unit, the period and the gaps.
Takeaways
What to take from this page
| The fact | What to do |
|---|---|
| Every GB meter point moves to half-hourly settlement by May 2027 | Ask each data provider which route it uses for each meter |
| Smart meter data through the DCC needs consent | Keep a dated consent record per meter, with a withdrawal route |
| Reporting factors are set per activity year | Store the activity year and keep live intensity separate |
| ESOS and SECR total different periods from the same data | Hold readings by period, with gaps shown, not zeroed |
Start with the routes to your data, then take the demo questions to vendors.
Frequently asked
Energy data software, answered
What is energy data software?
Software that collects energy consumption data from meters, smart meters, sub-meters and bills, checks it and stores it with its source, unit and period, so monitoring, ESOS, SECR and carbon reporting all draw on the same record. It is the data pipeline beneath energy monitoring dashboards.
How can a business get its smart meter data?
From its energy supplier, or through a party registered as a DCC “Other User” under the Smart Energy Code, which may obtain consumption data only with the consumer’s Unambiguous Consent.
Government guidance says those controls apply to domestic, microbusiness and other non-domestic smart meters alike.
Can an energy software company read my meters without asking?
No. A non-licensed party reaching smart meter data through the DCC needs the consumer’s Unambiguous Consent, and must tell the consumer the purpose and period of collection and their right to withdraw.
The DCC itself does not have access to individual meter readings.
What is market-wide half-hourly settlement?
The move of every Great Britain electricity meter point to settlement in half-hour periods.
Suppliers must qualify by 28 October 2026 and migrate all meter points by 7 May 2027, and the market cuts over from a 14-month to a four-month settlement timetable on 2 July 2027, according to Ofgem and the MHHS Programme.
Does half-hourly settlement give me half-hourly data?
Not by itself.
MHHS changes how suppliers settle; whether a business sees half-hourly data depends on its meter and how its supplier or data provider passes the data on.
Ask any data provider which route it uses.
Is energy data open data?
Some of it.
Ofgem’s Data Best Practice Guidance obliges the licensees it covers to treat their data as Presumed Open, subject to an Open Data Triage for privacy, security, legal and commercial sensitivities.
A business’s own consumption data is not made public by that rule.
Can I use live grid carbon intensity for my reported emissions?
Not for SECR or location-based figures in the ordinary way.
NESO publishes half-hourly Great Britain grid intensity by API, which is useful for operational decisions, but reported emissions use the DESNZ conversion factor for the year in which the energy was used.
What should energy data software store for each reading?
The source (meter, bill or estimate), the unit and conversion basis, the period it covers, and any estimate flag with its method.
A gap must stay a gap, not become a zero, because ESOS and SECR totals depend on complete periods.
Is energy data software the same as energy monitoring software?
They overlap.
Monitoring software is the dashboard and analysis layer; energy data software is the collection and storage layer underneath it.
Many products do both, but the data layer is what an auditor or ESOS assessor will test.
Do small businesses need energy data software?
Often not.
A business with a few sites can download data from its supplier and keep monthly totals in a spreadsheet.
Software earns its place with many meters, half-hourly data, sub-metering or several reporting duties drawing on the same numbers.
Has this site tested any energy data software?
No. The page is built from Ofgem, Elexon, Smart Energy Code and government sources cited, and quotes vendors only in their own words.
Sources
Primary sources
Every rule and date on this page traces to the regulator, code or guidance listed here.
Checked against 17 sources fromOfgemMHHS ProgrammeElexonSmart Energy Code AdministratorDESNZ (then BEIS)Smart DCC
- OfgemDecision to approve BSC P487 (30 April 2026)
Suppliers qualified by 28 October 2026; all meter points migrated by 7 May 2027.
- MHHS ProgrammeKey programme milestones
M16, 2 July 2027: from the 14-month to the four-month settlement timetable.
- ElexonMarket-wide Half Hourly Settlement and the BSC
Migration began 22 October 2025.
- Smart Energy Code AdministratorUser Entry Process guidance notes (v4.0)
Other Users obtain consumption data only with the consumer’s consent.
- Smart Energy Code AdministratorSEC Section I guidance: data privacy
Appropriate Permission and Unambiguous Consent.
- DESNZ (then BEIS)Review of the smart metering Data Access and Privacy Framework (2018)
Controls apply to domestic, microbusiness and other non-domestic meters.
- Smart DCCDCC Annual Service Review 2025 (PDF)
Licensed in 2013; does not have access to individual meter readings.
- OfgemData Best Practice Guidance (PDF)
Licensees treat their data as Presumed Open, subject to Open Data Triage.
- OfgemData Best Practice guidance (17 November 2025)
The rules around data in energy licences.
- NESOCarbon Intensity API
Half-hourly GB grid intensity: operational, not the reporting factor.
- Department for Energy Security and Net ZeroGreenhouse gas reporting: conversion factors 2026
One factor set a year.
- Department for Energy Security and Net Zero2026 conversion factors methodology paper
The activity-year rule; Gross CV as the default basis.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2008/410, Schedule 7 (SECR)
Energy in kWh and “all forms of energy”.
- legislation.gov.ukESOS Regulations 2014, regulation 22
Total energy consumption over a 12-month reference period.
- Environment AgencyHow to comply with ESOS phase 4
Total energy consumption in kWh or in pounds.
- ISOISO 50001:2018 Energy management systems
Energy performance indicators and baselines.
- GHG Protocol (WRI, WBCSD)Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard
Completeness and transparency: a gap is not a zero.