Ask most social landlords for a complete, accurate list of every meter across their portfolio —
supply numbers, current supplier, meter type, prepayment status — and you’ll usually get an
awkward silence. Not because anyone’s been careless, but because meter data is genuinely
hard to keep clean. It changes constantly, it’s spread across suppliers and systems, and nobody
owns it end to end.
Yet clean meter data — what the industry calls asset intelligence — is the foundation everything
else in void energy is built on. Here’s why it matters, and how to build it from a standing start.
The building blocks: MPAN and MPRN
Two reference numbers sit at the heart of meter data. The MPAN (Meter Point Administration
Number) identifies an electricity supply point. The MPRN (Meter Point Reference Number) does
the same for gas. These numbers identify the supply point itself, not the meter or the supplier
— so they stay constant even when the meter is swapped or the supplier changes.
If you know a property’s MPAN and MPRN, you have the anchor for everything else: you can
identify who supplies it, what meter is fitted, what tariff applies, and whether there’s debt or a
prepayment setting. Without them, every enquiry starts with detective work. Getting these right
for every property is the single most valuable thing you can do for your meter data.
What a complete meter record contains
A genuinely useful asset intelligence record for each property captures:
• MPAN (electricity supply point number) and MPRN (gas supply point number, where
there’s a gas supply).
• Current supplier for each fuel — who you’d actually contact about this supply today.
• Meter type — traditional, SMETS1 or SMET2, and whether it’s credit or prepayment.
• Meter serial number, so the physical meter can be matched to the records.
• Known issues — debt on the meter, prepayment status, supply problems.
Why it’s so often missing or wrong
Meter data degrades for understandable reasons. Suppliers change through switching. Meters
get swapped during upgrades. Properties are acquired through stock transfers with incomplete
records. Data sits in spreadsheets that aren't updated, or in supplier portals that each show only
their own supplies. The result is a patchwork: some properties well documented, many not, and
no single source of truth.
The cost of bad data shows up everywhere downstream. A void can’t be progressed because
nobody knows who supplies it. A bill can’t be validated because the supply point isn’t recorded.
A meter upgrade can’t be planned because the current meter type is unknown. Every one of
these is a delay or a cost traceable back to missing asset intelligence.
Building it from scratch
The good news is that meter data can be rebuilt systematically. The process looks like this:
1. Start from the address. For any property, the MPAN and MPRN can be traced from the
address through industry data services, even when your own records have lost them.
2. Identify the current supplier. Once you have the supply point numbers, the current
registered supplier for each fuel can be confirmed.
3. Establish the meter type. Confirm what’s physically fitted — traditional, SMETS1 or
SMET2 — and whether it’s set to credit or prepayment.
4. Flag the exceptions. Identify supplies with debt, prepayment settings, or problems that
will need attention when the property next goes void.
5. Keep it live. The hardest part isn’t building the data — it's keeping it current. Every void
is an opportunity to verify and update the record for that property.
The void cycle as a data-cleaning engine
That last point is the key insight. You don’t have to clean an entire portfolio’s meter data in one
enormous project. Every time a property goes void, you’re already engaging with its supply —
clearing debt, taking readings, liaising with the supplier. That’s the perfect moment to verify and
lock down the asset intelligence for that property. Over time, the void cycle steadily cleans the
whole estate’s data as a by-product of work you’re doing anyway.
This turns an intimidating data project into a steady, low-effort improvement. Properties that
cycle through voids get clean records; over a couple of years, that’s most of the portfolio.
Why it’s worth it
Clean meter data is unglamorous, but it’s the difference between a void energy process that
runs smoothly and one that starts every task with a question mark. Accurate MPANs and
MPRNs, known suppliers, known meter types — get these right and bill validation, meter upgrades, debt clearance and void turnaround all get faster and cheaper. It’s the foundation the
whole thing stands on.
You don’t have to clean a whole portfolio’s meter data in one project. Every void is a chance to verify one property — and over time the void cycle cleans the lot.
TSM builds and maintains asset intelligence for housing providers, identifying MPAN, MPRN,
supplier and meter type across whole portfolios. To find out what's actually in your estate,
request a callback.