MID FAQ – United Kingdom
Questions answered by: Office for Product Safety and Standards
About: The Office for Product Safety and Standards was created in January 2018 by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, to enhance protections for consumers and the environment and drive increased productivity, growth and business confidence.
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Q: Do colocation providers have to use MID certified energy meters when billing customers for their electricity usage?
A: Schedule 7 of the Electricity Act requires any customer being billed for a quantity of electricity supplied to be billed through a meter of an approved pattern or construction and installed in an approved manner. Until the 30th October 2006, all meters were approved under GB national legislation. Since this date meters can also be approved under the MID. From 30 October 2016, all new meters placed on the market must be MID approved. However nationally approved meters can continue in use, and can continue to be repaired or refurbished, for as long as they conform to the legal requirements.
Q: Are ‘Billing grade’ or ‘ANSI’ approved meters approved for the billing of electricity?
A: No, all meters must be approved either under GB national legislation, or under the MID.
Q: Are there any special requirements when billing colocation customers with a power usage in the range of 0-99kW and +100kW?
A: There is no minimum requirement for billing. However in Great Britain the MID only applies to electricity meters where the maximum quantity supplied does not exceed 100 kilowatts per hour. Meters used for supplies greater than this will continue to be approved under GB national legislation.
Q: Is a periodical verification required once the MID meter is installed?
A: MID meters have no defined in-service life or verification period. However there is a requirement in the Electricity Act for meters to be kept in proper order for correctly registering the quantity of electricity supplied and the performance of MID meters is monitored through a process of in-service testing.
Q: We just charge a flat rate per contracted Amp or kW and not per kWh, must we use MID?
A: If a customer is being billed for the quantity of electricity supplied, they must be billed through an approved electricity meter.
Q: Is there a fine for non-compliance with the MID legislation?
A: Where a customer is being charged for a quantity of electricity supplied, it is an offence under the Electricity Act to supply the electricity through a meter that is not of an approved pattern or construction, or is not installed in an approved manner.
Q: How can one tell if the meter is MID certified?
A: MID meters are required to carry the CE and metrology “M” markings as shown below:
CE and “M” mark followed by last two digits of the year in which the CE marking was affixed (i.e. 16 = 2016)
XXXX denotes the number of the notified body that is involved in the production control phase.
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