20 January 202621 January 20262026 trends for the UK’s commercial metering industry As the UK continues to push towards net-zero carbon goals and businesses are tackling rising energy costs, commercial metering is playing an ever-increasing role in businesses energy strategy. Sam Dean, Director of Direct Sales at Energy Assets, discusses her predictions for upcoming trends in the 2026 metering industry. Businesses across the UK are always looking for new ways to leverage metering and data analytics to help cut waste, control costs, and meet environmental targets. A recent study found that 59% of UK businesses have already introduced energy-efficiency measures, and 55% are looking to cut waste as part of their net-zero plans1, but are these businesses taking full advantage of their energy data to achieve these plans and measures? In 2026, businesses will need to build on their past successes and begin to focus on new emerging trends and technologies, such as AI-driven analytics, sub-metering, and energy industry reform. Innovation and change in the utilities industry shows no sign of slowing, best practice points to taking advantage of, and utilising, these changes to make sure they work for your business. The importance of data ownership and transparency This will be the year where businesses will make their data work for them and have control of that data. Large industrial and commercial sites have been using advanced half-hourly meters for many years, and now smaller businesses are adopting SMETS2 smart meters for electricity and gas. However, even with government support and exchange programs, only 64% of non-domestic properties have “smart meters” installed2. Businesses that install smart meters across all their utilities gain access to huge amounts of data and benefits, like automatic readings (no estimated bills) and a better picture of their carbon footprint. Having access to your energy data is crucial for cost planning, facilities management, and net zero ambitions, but is only the first step. Having ownership and full transparency of that data is key to successful energy management. Companies are now seeing the benefits of appointing a Meter Operator (MOP) and Data collector (DC) such as Energy Assets, separate from their energy supplier across their utilities. When this happens. all your energy data is collected and accessible from a single source, live and historical data can be accessed easily, and data flows can be set up around your processes. You’ll have a single source of data that all your teams can view, and data will continue to flow and be visible regardless of energy supplier. Taking advantage of sub-metering for granular energy monitoring To work alongside taking ownership of data, there will be a wider adoption of sub-metering in commercial buildings and across estates. Sub-metering involves installing secondary meters to measure consumption of specific areas (such as tenants in multi-occupancy buildings), or equipment separate from the main utility meter. This “micro” monitoring is essential for large buildings, multi-tenant properties, and industrial sites, as it helps get a better understanding of overall consumption. By utilising sub-metering businesses will gain a better understanding of how, where, and when energy is used across their operations. For example, an office could sub-meter individual floors, while a factory might sub-meter each production line or process. But why would you want this level of in-depth data? Attributing energy costs to specific tenants or processes improves transparency and accountability. For example, service charges can be based on actual use, thus incentivising tenants or departments to save energy. Real-time energy readings can also act as an early warning system. If energy usage suddenly increases from a specific piece of machinery, it may indicate a malfunction or inefficiency, or it could identify if a specific floor’s heating/cooling is running out of hours. Identifying these energy anomalies early helps prevent waste and downtime. Sub-meters also allow you to benchmark and compare performances internally or externally, identify best practices, and set targeted reduction goals for each unit or process. We’re anticipating more of our customers to invest in sub-metering installations as part of their energy strategy, which is why we offer turnkey sub-metering solutions with a central source for energy use and automated reporting. By improving data transparency at a micro level, you can identify energy waste everywhere and reduce costs and carbon in parallel. The rise of machine learning to optimise energy use This year machine learning (commonly referred to as AI) will play a bigger role than ever in managing commercial energy use. By utilising technologies such as our tool AMR DNA, you can sift through vast amounts of meter data, across all utilities to learn energy patterns and make real-time decisions to improve your energy efficiency. Algorithms can analyse historical and real-time data to be able to identify energy waste proactively. Problem areas and recommend corrective actions can also be identified, taking variables like weather conditions, Daylight Saving Time, and hours of operation into account. Over time, these tools will learn the optimum businesses energy efficiency model. Research from KPMG3 shows that AI-enabled energy management tools can improve a building’s energy efficiency by up to 20–30%, outperforming manual measures such as equipment upgrades, and we have seen these results from our customers who implemented AMR DNA. We see AI-based solutions emerging as some of the most effective tools for cutting consumption and emissions across organisations and will be essential for meeting long-term net-zero targets. Preparing for Market-Wide Half-Hourly Settlement (MHHS) One of the biggest industry changes affecting not only commercial metering is the implementation of Market-Wide Half-Hourly Settlement (MHHS). MHHS aims to reform the way electricity is accounted for and used at an industry-wide level, creating a more flexible and data driven energy sector that can help achieve Net Zero. From December 2026, the industry must submit half-hourly (HH) data for all metering types, to Ofgem. By leveraging the HH consumption data from smart meters, end users will be able to reconcile the amount of electricity supplied with the actual demand from customers, all on a HH basis4. What does this mean practically for your businesses? You’ll need to ensure your metering infrastructure and data systems are ready and providing HH readings. If any of your sites still use traditional meters, upgrading to smart or AMR meters will be crucial to gain the full benefits of MHHS. MHHS will bring more innovative and dynamic tariffs to the industry, with energy suppliers being able to offer off peak pricing, real-time pricing, or tariffs directly linked to renewable generation. You’ll need to look at your energy use and process flexibility to find tariffs that are right for you or shift high power demand processes at night or mid-day when prices might be lower. Understanding your energy use at a micro level and having access to all your energy data will be crucial to fully take advantage of the MHHS opportunity, and businesses that prepare early will be best-placed to capitalise on this transformation. 2026 is going to be the year of energy data moving from a basic utility function to a strategic tool your business needs for successful energy and facility management. The good news is that we have the technology and services to help you understand and take advantage of all your multi utility data. Come and speak to our expert team and begin making your energy data work for you. About Sam Dean Sam Dean has worked within the Metering and Data services sector in excess of 20 years – working for National Grid, Siemens and IMServ during this time span. Working within Strategy, Business Development and Sales Leadership roles. Sam has joined Energy Assets in the role of Sales Director, responsible for ensuring customers who want to contract direct for metering and data services are given the special focus and services they require. Follow Sam on LinkedIn. Sources: UK Net Zero Business Census (2025) – energy efficiency and waste reduction actions by businesses https://netzerocensus.co.uk https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/non-domestic-smart-meter-rollout-post-2025/non-domestic-smart-meter-rollout-post-2025-consultation-document-accessible-webpage https://technologymagazine.com/news/kpmg-ai-systems-can-cut-building-energy-waste-by-up-to-30 https://www.mhhsprogramme.co.uk Post navigation Article
