MPAN Explained: Your Electricity Meter Number and Why It Matters for Solar

What is an MPAN?

MPAN stands for Meter Point Administration Number. It's a 13-digit reference number that uniquely identifies your electricity supply point — in other words, the point at which electricity enters your home from the grid.

Think of it as the address for your electricity connection. Every domestic property connected to the grid has one. It doesn't identify you as a customer, and it doesn't identify the physical meter sitting on your wall. It identifies the supply point — the location and the connection.

Because it's tied to the supply point rather than the meter or the customer, your MPAN stays the same if:

• You switch electricity supplier
• Your meter is replaced or upgraded
• You move onto a time-of-use tariff

If you move house, you'll get a different MPAN — because you're at a different supply point.

How to find your MPAN

The most reliable place to find your import MPAN is your electricity bill. It's usually printed near the top of the bill, sometimes labelled "Supply Number" or "Meter Point Administration Number". It's a 13-digit number, and on paper bills it often appears in a distinctive S-shaped box layout showing its different components.

Other places you might find it:

• On your electricity meter — not always present, but some meters display or have it printed on the case
• In your online account — most supplier apps and portals list it under account or meter details
• Via the Ecoes database — the electricity central data service that holds MPAN records. Suppliers and DNOs use this internally; you can ask your supplier to confirm your MPAN if you can't locate it

The structure of an MPAN

An MPAN isn't a random 13-digit number — it has a defined structure that tells you something about your supply. You don't need to memorise this, but it helps when dealing with installers and DNOs.

The full MPAN is split across two lines:

Top line (check digits / profile class / meter timeswitch code / line loss factor class):

• Profile class (PC) — a 2-digit code describing your consumption pattern:
  • 01 — domestic unrestricted (standard single-rate)
  • 02 — domestic Economy 7 or other time-of-use supply
  • 04 — domestic with time-of-use metering (smart meter with ToU)
  • 00 — non-half-hourly export supply (used for export MPANs)
• Meter timeswitch code (MTC) — describes the switching pattern of your meter
• Line loss factor class (LLFC) — indicates the voltage level and loss factors applied by your DNO

Bottom line (the core MPAN — 13 digits total):

• Distributor ID — a 2-digit code identifying your Distribution Network Operator (DNO), e.g., Western Power Distribution, UK Power Networks, and so on
• Unique reference — the remaining digits that uniquely identify your supply point within that DNO's network

For most day-to-day purposes, you only need the 13-digit core MPAN. The full S-format is mainly used by suppliers and DNOs when managing registrations.

Import MPAN vs export MPAN

Here's where solar owners often hit a stumbling block: there are two different types of MPAN, and they have two different numbers.

Your import MPAN is the one on your electricity bill. It identifies the supply point through which you draw electricity from the grid.

Your export MPAN is a completely separate number that identifies the supply point through which you push electricity back to the grid. It's created when your solar system is registered with the DNO.

These are not the same number. You cannot use your import MPAN for SEG registration or for export tariff applications.

Why you need an export MPAN

For solar owners, the export MPAN matters in two situations:

1. Registering for SEG payments

The Smart Export Guarantee requires a metered export. When you apply to a supplier for a SEG tariff, they will ask for your export MPAN as part of the registration process. Without it, they cannot set up the export supply point in the central data system, and the application cannot proceed.

2. Time-of-use export tariffs

Tariffs like Octopus Flux — which pay different rates for export at different times of day — require the system to track your export at half-hourly intervals. This only works if your export supply point is properly registered in the half-hourly settlement system, which requires a valid export MPAN.

How to get an export MPAN

In most cases, you don't need to do anything yourself. When your solar installer notifies the DNO of your installation (via a G98 form for systems up to 3.68kW per phase, or G99 for larger systems), the DNO should automatically create an export MPAN for your property and register it in the central data system.

Your installer should provide you with a copy of the G98 or G99 notification, along with confirmation that the DNO has accepted it. This is also when the export MPAN is typically assigned.

If your export MPAN was never created — which does happen, particularly for older installations or where the DNO notification was incomplete — you'll need to contact your DNO directly to request one. You can find your DNO using the Energy Networks Association's postcode lookup. Explain that you have a solar installation and need an export MPAN assigned.

How to find your export MPAN

Because the export MPAN isn't on your electricity bill (unless you're already on a SEG tariff that shows it), tracking it down requires a bit of detective work:

1. Check your installer's handover pack — it should be in the G98/G99 acceptance documentation
2. Ask your current supplier — if you're already receiving SEG payments, your supplier holds your export MPAN
3. Contact your DNO directly — they hold the authoritative record of all MPANs at your address, both import and export
4. Check the Ecoes database — your supplier or DNO can search by postcode and address to locate export supply points registered at your property

Export MPANs typically have a profile class of 00, which distinguishes them from your import MPAN at a glance.

MPAN vs MPRN — don't confuse them

If you have gas as well as electricity, you'll also have an MPRN — a Meter Point Reference Number. This is the gas equivalent of an MPAN: a unique identifier for your gas supply point.

The two systems are separate:

When filling in forms for solar or SEG registration, make sure you're providing your MPAN, not your MPRN. They're different lengths, which helps — but it's easy to paste the wrong one if you're looking at both at the same time.

MPAN vs meter serial number

One more common source of confusion: the MPAN is not the same as your meter serial number (sometimes called MSN).

• MPAN — identifies the supply point (the address and grid connection). It stays the same forever, regardless of what meter is fitted.
• Meter serial number — identifies the physical meter device. It changes every time your meter is replaced or upgraded.

When a supplier sends an engineer to install a smart meter, the meter serial number changes, but your MPAN stays the same. Some forms ask for both — for example, when registering a new smart meter for SEG purposes.

Common MPAN problems for solar owners

A few issues come up regularly when solar owners try to register for SEG or export tariffs:

No export MPAN created This is the most common issue. If your installer submitted a G98 or G99 notification but the export MPAN wasn't assigned — or if the notification was submitted incorrectly — you'll hit a wall when applying for SEG. Contact your DNO to have one created retroactively.

Wrong profile class on the export MPAN Export MPANs should have profile class 00. If yours was set up incorrectly, the supplier's system may reject the registration. Your DNO can correct this.

Supplier can't locate the export MPAN Sometimes the export MPAN exists in the DNO's records but hasn't been propagated to the central Ecoes database correctly. In this case, both your supplier and your DNO need to be involved to resolve the mismatch. It can take a few weeks to sort out.

Two export MPANs at the same address If you've had separate solar installations over the years (for example, panels added at different times), there may be more than one export MPAN at your property. Your supplier will need to know which one to use for SEG registration.

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