What Is An MPAN?

If you've ever asked for an energy quote or tried to switch electricity supplier, you'll have been asked for your MPAN. It's one of those pieces of information that everyone seems to need but nobody ever explains.

Here's what it is, where to find it, and why it matters.

MPAN stands for Meter Point Administration Number. It's a unique 21-digit reference number that identifies your electricity supply point — not your meter, not your account, but the specific point at which electricity is delivered to your premises.

Every electricity supply in the UK has its own MPAN. It stays with the supply point permanently, regardless of who the occupier is, who the supplier is, or whether the meter has been changed. If you move into a building that's been there for 20 years, the MPAN for that building's electricity supply has been the same for all 20 of those years.

Your MPAN is printed on your electricity bill. It's usually shown in a distinctive format — a grid of numbers, sometimes called the "S number" or displayed with a small lightning bolt symbol nearby.

The full 21-digit MPAN is made up of two parts:

The top line (8 digits) contains profile class, meter time switch code and line loss factor information — technical data about how your supply is categorised.

The bottom line (13 digits) is the core MPAN, sometimes called the "S number." This is the number most suppliers and brokers will ask for.

If you can't find it on your bill, look for a section labelled "supply details," "meter details," or "site information." It may also be on your contract documents.

If you genuinely can't find it, your current supplier can tell you. You can also find it by contacting the Meter Point Administration Service (MPAS) for your region.

When you ask for an electricity quote or initiate a switch, the new supplier needs your MPAN to:

Identify your supply point. The MPAN tells the supplier exactly which supply they're quoting for. Without it, they can't be certain they're pricing the right premises.

Access your consumption data. Your MPAN is linked to your historical consumption data held by the industry. Suppliers use this data to calculate an accurate quote based on your actual usage patterns.

Initiate the switch. The switching process is managed through industry systems that use the MPAN as the primary identifier. Without it, the switch can't be processed.

Check for objections. Your current supplier is notified of a switch request via the MPAN. If there are any objections — for example, if you're in a fixed contract with exit fees — the MPAN is how the current supplier identifies the account.

These two numbers are often confused, but they refer to different things.

Your MPAN identifies the supply point — the location where electricity enters your premises. It's a permanent reference number for that location.

Your meter serial number (sometimes called the MSN) identifies the physical meter installed at your premises. It's printed on the meter itself, usually on a label on the front. If your meter is replaced, the serial number changes — but the MPAN stays the same.

When a supplier asks for your MPAN, they want the 21-digit number from your bill, not the serial number from the meter. When a meter engineer asks for the serial number, they want the number from the meter, not the MPAN.

It's entirely possible — and quite common — for a single premises to have more than one MPAN. This happens when there are multiple electricity supply points serving the same site.

A large office building might have separate supplies for different floors or tenants. A factory might have separate supplies for the production area and the offices. A farm might have supplies for the farmhouse, the dairy, the grain store and the holiday cottages — each with its own MPAN.

If you have multiple MPANs on one site, each supply needs to be managed and contracted separately. It's worth reviewing all of them together, because the rates and contract end dates may differ significantly between supplies.

Farms in particular often have a large number of separate electricity supplies, accumulated over decades as buildings were added and extended. It's not unusual for a medium-sized farm to have four, five or six separate MPANs — and in some cases many more.

Each of those supplies has its own standing charge running every day, its own contract (or lack of one), and its own unit rate. A farm that hasn't reviewed all of its supplies recently may be paying out-of-contract rates on some of them without realising it.

If you're not sure how many electricity supplies your farm or site has, your current supplier can tell you. Alternatively, send us your bills and we'll identify all the MPANs associated with your premises and review each one.

If you can't find your MPAN on your bill, the easiest thing to do is upload a copy of your bill to our website. We'll identify the MPAN for you and use it to get you accurate quotes.

You can also call us on 01256 844048 or email a photo of your bill to [email protected]. We'll take it from there.

Related guides: What Is An MPRN? · How To Read A Business Energy Bill · Business Energy Dictionary