Energy Monitoring Software: What Can Businesses Do With Half-Hourly Data?

Most businesses still find out about a spike in energy usage from their next bill, weeks after the waste occurred. A monthly invoice shows the total; a spreadsheet lets you compare one period with another. Neither shows what was running at 2 am, why demand suddenly rose, or which part of the site is driving the cost.

That’s where energy monitoring software can make the difference, turning granular consumption data into something a business can actually understand and act on.

That gap is exactly what Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement (MHHS) is designed to close at an industry level, and it’s the reason Tritility acquired the energy monitoring platform Envisij ahead of the rollout. Our previous guide to Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement (MHHS) explains what the reform means for businesses. This one covers what comes next: where your data actually lives, and what it does once it gets there.

A quick recap: what MHHS actually changes

Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement is the Ofgem-led reform that moves the entire UK electricity market, both domestic and business, onto settlement based on actual consumption recorded every 30 minutes, rather than estimates. Meter migrations started in October 2025, the bulk of the industry moves over between 2026 and May 2027, and full cutover is targeted for 2027. Here are the full upcoming milestones for MHHS.

For a business, the effect is straightforward. The estimates that you and suppliers have relied on for years are being replaced with a live, granular record of exactly when and how energy is used. That’s a genuine opportunity: half-hourly data supports smarter tariffs, more accurate budgeting and stronger evidence for ESOS, SECR and net zero reporting. But the opportunity only materialises if something is actually looking at the data.

Where does your data actually live?

Since the acquisition, every Tritility client has access to energy monitoring software through Envisij, Tritility’s energy monitoring and management platform, at no additional cost, with hardware-based circuit-level monitoring available for organisations that want to go further.

Envisij connects directly to any half-hourly metered electricity supply, with no hardware to install, no engineer visit, and no supplier change – bringing your energy data together in one cloud-based view of consumption, cost and carbon.

Once you have the data: three places to look first

The biggest benefit of MHHS isn’t more accurate billing; it’s visibility. If you’re new to the data itself, our guide to how half-hourly metering can help you cut your energy usage explains how understanding consumption patterns can help reduce costs.

For the first time, most businesses can see clearly how a site consumes energy throughout the day, and once that’s visible, it becomes possible to improve it. In practice, that means checking three things.

1. What happens outside normal working hours

Electricity use should drop away once a site empties, but in practice it often doesn’t. Heating and air conditioning continue running overnight, compressors keep cycling long after production has stopped, lighting is left on in empty areas, and equipment sits on standby all weekend. For energy-intensive sites, this can become a significant source of avoidable consumption. Our guide to out-of-hours energy waste in manufacturing explains how businesses can identify baseload issues and investigate what is driving consumption when production slows or stops.

Individually, these are small costs, but they add up, and they’ve historically been hard to see. Half-hourly detail makes them visible for the first time.

2. Patterns that don’t add up

Half-hourly visibility also surfaces inconsistencies that were previously invisible: one site consistently using more energy than a comparable one, demand spiking every Monday morning, or one part of the business drawing far more electricity than expected. These patterns are much easier to investigate and explain once consumption throughout the day is visible rather than buried in a monthly total.

3. Whether the bill matches actual consumption

Billing errors are not uncommon, particularly across larger or more complex portfolios, and a mismatch between recorded consumption and an invoice is worth investigating rather than assuming away. With accurate half-hourly data to check against, rather than supplier estimates, discrepancies become far easier to identify.

What that takes: a platform, not just a meter

Spotting these three things needs more than a half-hourly reading; it needs somewhere for that data to live and be acted on. That’s the role of energy management software, and a good one should do four things well.

Drill down beyond the main meter. Half-hourly data shows that a site used 180kWh overnight; circuit-level monitoring shows whether that was HVAC, production equipment, compressors or lighting. Knowing where the energy went lets you make informed decisions about reducing it, whether that means comparing individual buildings, departments, production lines, or assets, rather than working from a site total.

Make comparison effortless. Multiple sites should be monitorable in one place, with comparable performance across them so that an outlier can be identified in minutes rather than after an afternoon spent reorganising spreadsheets.

Alert before the bill does. Utility managers can’t watch a dashboard all day, and shouldn’t have to. Configurable, automated alerts should flag an unexpected demand spike, equipment running out of hours, or a sudden rise in water use that could indicate a leak, as soon as it happens.

Prove whether a change worked. Every view should switch between kWh, £ and CO2, so operations, finance and sustainability teams are working from the same numbers, with performance comparable before and after a change, whether that’s a new heating schedule, an LED upgrade or more efficient machinery, so the saving is evidenced rather than assumed.

This is exactly what Envisij brings together: consumption data in one place, helping identify unusual patterns, investigate energy waste and pinpoint where improvements could be made. It provides portfolio-wide visibility, circuit-level monitoring, configurable alerts and reporting across consumption, cost and carbon, accessible from the office, at home or on the road, backed by a named account manager. Documented client outcomes include a 40% energy cost reduction, a 4% consumption cut that also saved over nine tonnes of CO2, and the £230,000 refund described above.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to do anything to prepare for MHHS?
Most businesses don’t need to take any action, as suppliers and meter operators manage the migration. The opportunity sits on the business side of the meter: once usage is being measured half-hourly, energy monitoring software can read and act on that data, turning a compliance change into a cost-saving one.

What is Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement (MHHS)?
MHHS is an Ofgem-led reform requiring the whole UK electricity market to be settled using actual consumption recorded every 30 minutes, replacing estimated readings. Meter migration is running from 2025 through to a targeted completion in 2027.

What can a business actually do with half-hourly data?
Used well, it identifies peak and overnight consumption, isolates waste from lighting, heating and ventilation, supports shifting high-consumption processes to cheaper periods, and provides verifiable evidence for ESOS, SECR and sustainability reporting.

How can a business tell if it’s being overcharged for electricity?
By comparing half-hourly consumption data against what appears on the invoice. Billing errors are not uncommon, especially across larger or more complex portfolios, and a mismatch between accurate consumption data and a bill is often the first sign something is wrong, as in the Envisij case where this comparison uncovered a 38% overcharge and a £230,000 refund.

Why does energy use spike at certain times, such as Monday mornings?
Recurring spikes are usually tied to a specific process, restart routine or piece of equipment coming back online, but identifying which one requires visibility of consumption in half-hourly detail across the day, rather than as a single monthly total.

Is energy monitoring software different from a smart meter?
A smart meter records the data. Energy monitoring software is what turns that record into something usable: visualising it, comparing it, alerting to anomalies and helping prove the impact of changes made.

You can learn more about how smart meters can help businesses understand energy consumption and identify savings in our dedicated guide.

Is new hardware required to get started?
No. Envisij connects directly to any half-hourly metered electricity supply with no hardware installation, engineer visit or supplier change required. Hardware-based circuit-level monitoring is available for businesses that want asset-level detail beyond the main meter.

How much can real-time energy monitoring software save a business?
Outcomes vary by site and sector, but Envisij’s documented client results include consumption reductions of 5–25%, energy cost reductions of up to 40%, and one case where monitoring uncovered a 38% billing error worth a £230,000 refund. Quoted results reflect existing client experience and are not guaranteed.

See what your own data could tell you

A bill that surprises you, or a site that never quite explains itself, is usually worth investigating with the right platform behind it. Good energy management isn’t about collecting more information; it’s about seeing what’s happening, understanding why, and knowing where to act.

Book an Envisij demo to see it against your own sites and meter portfolio, or feel free to contact our team for further help.