What Are MPAN & MPRN Numbers?
Whether you are a home energy or business energy customer, when switching energy suppliers, you may be asked for your Meter Point Administration Number (MPAN) and Meter Point Reference Number (MPRN) numbers.
If you’re wondering what these terms actually mean, you’re not alone. The energy industry is notorious for its acronyms. We’ve created this guide to explain these numbers and how they relate to your energy contracts.
What Is A Meter Point Administration Number (MPAN)?
An MPAN number is a unique number used to identify your electricity supply point. This is a 13-digit reference number unique to your home or business premises. This helps ensure your energy supplier charges the right person for the home electricity or commercial electricity being used.
You can usually find your MPAN number on your electricity bill, or sometimes it can be found on your actual electric meter.
You do not need to know your MPAN or MPRN to find a new tariff. Our comparison service will find your meter from your postcode.
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Here’s an example of an MPAN number:
What Is A Meter Point Reference Number (MPRN)?
An MPRN number is a unique number used to identify your gas supply point. This number helps your energy supplier identify your gas meter to ensure they’re charging the right person for the amount of gas used.
You can find your MPRN number on your gas bill, or sometimes it can be found on your actual gas meter. You can also call your energy supplier to ask for your MPRN number.
Why Do I Need These Numbers?
Your MPAN and MPRN numbers are important to ensure your energy supplier bills you accurately for the gas and electricity you’re using. These numbers are important to your energy account like your bank account number is important. If you have any issues with your energy, meters or billing; this number can come in handy. It is also used when you’re switching energy suppliers.
What Are The Energy Meter Numbers?
You may have noticed the other numbers in our example above do not relate to the MPAN number. These numbers are the profile type, code and LLF identifier.
The number that is crucial is your profile type.
Depending on whether you are a household or a commercial property you will have a different meter. Home businesses will run on a domestic meter.
There are two profile classes available to domestic properties:
- 01 ‘Domestic Unrestricted’, where you are charged a standard rate based on your consumption.
- 02 ‘Domestic Economy 7’ which includes off-peak pricing during certain hours of the night.
A table of all profile classes (including the classes Commercial properties) is shown below:
| 00 | Half-hourly supply |
| 01 | Domestic Unrestricted |
| 02 | Domestic Economy 7 |
| 03 | Non-Domestic Unrestricted |
| 04 | Non-Domestic Economy 7 |
| 05-08 | Non-Domestic Maximum Demand |
Customers in Profile Classes 05 to 08 are known as Maximum Demand (MD) customers, meaning that they require the highest amount for a certain period of time.
MD customers have registers attached to their Meter Systems in order to supply the maximum demand of energy for a given period.
A Peak Load Factor (LF) is the ratio of consumption during a given period compared to the number of kWh that would have been supplied if the maximum demand had been maintained throughout that period.
Put simply, the Peak Load Factor informs the customer on how much energy they could have used at maximum capacity.
What Is An LLF Identifier?
LLF is an acronym for Line Loss Factor. The Line Loss Factor relates to the expected cost the distribution company will charge your supplier for using the network and cables in your area. It also includes information regarding the charges incurred due to the loss of energy in getting the electricity supplier to your meter.
Line Loss is energy lost in the system as it is supplied to your meter. It is estimated that 7% of all electricity generated is lost through transmission.
It can occur for reasons such as the inaccuracy of revenue meters, energy thefts, or unmetered errors (such as street lights).
Line loss is also due to resistance in the wires transferring the electricity, which is why the further your property is from a distribution centre, the more expensive your electricity is likely to be. Longer distance means longer wires, which means more resistance.
What Is A Distributor Identifier Code?
The Distributor Identifier Code (or Distributor ID) is a unique number assigned to a local distribution company. The distribution company is responsible for the distribution system, wiring and infrastructure which supplies the electricity to your meter. Below is a list of Distributor ID’s and the companies they represent.
| ID | Name | Operator |
| 10 | Eastern England | UK Power Networks |
| 11 | East Midlands | Western Power Distribution |
| 12 | London | UK Power Networks |
| 13 | Merseyside and Northern Wales | ScottishPower |
| 14 | West Midlands | Western Power Distribution |
| 15 | North Eastern England | Northern Power Grid |
| 16 | North Western England | Electricity North West |
| 17 | Northern Scotland | SSE Power Distribution |
| 18 | Southern Scotland | ScottishPower |
| 19 | South Eastern England | UK Power Networks |
| 20 | Southern England | SSE Power Distribution |
| 21 | Southern Wales | Western Power Distribution |
| 22 | South Western England | Western Power Distribution |
| 23 | Yorkshire | Northern Power Grid |
| 27 | Unmetered Supply | Unmetered Supply |
Switch & Save with Love Energy Savings
If you’re looking for a cheaper energy deal, Love Energy Savings can help you compare electricity and gas from a huge range of energy suppliers and tariffs without the hassle.
Whether your searching for home energy deals, a high energy usage business, or comparing small business electricity prices, we can help you.
Having your MPAN and MPRN number to hand will make sure the process of switching your supplier runs even more smoothly.
To find out how much you could save on your energy bills with Love Energy Savings, simply complete our energy comparison tool.
Or, you can find more tips on switching energy suppliers by taking a look at the rest of our energy guides and advice.