Understanding MOP, DC, and DA. What these energy terms actually mean

If you’ve dealt with half-hourly electricity meters, you’ve probably come across terms like MOP, DC and DA. You might even have contracts in place for them.

But knowing what each of these roles does, and how they work together, isn’t always clear.

That’s about to become more important. A major industry change is on the way, and it’s going to make these services relevant to even more businesses, regardless of size.

Before that happens, now’s a good time to get to grips with what they are, how they impact your bills, and where to turn if something’s not working.

First, what’s a MOP?

MOP stands for Meter Operator. This is the company that installs and / or looks after your electricity meter.

Every half-hourly meter needs a MOP agreement. It’s a bit like having a mobile phone - you don’t just need a SIM card (your supplier), you also need a phone that works (your meter). And someone needs to keep that phone in good shape.

The MOP is responsible for:

• Installing your meter
• Making sure it’s working properly
• Maintaining it if something goes wrong

You can choose your own MOP, but most businesses don’t. They just let the supplier appoint one and often pay more than they need to without realising.

Then you’ve got the DC: Data Collector

Once your meter’s up and running, it needs to send your usage data somewhere. That’s the DC’s job.

They come in (virtually, not physically) and pull the data from your meter, usually every half hour for larger businesses, though that’s changing. The data shows how much energy you’re using and when.

The DC:

• Collects your meter readings
• Makes sure they’re accurate
• Passes them on to the next person in the chain

Again, you can choose your own DC, but many businesses don’t know that either.

And finally, the DA: Data Aggregator

The DA is the last stop in the data chain.

They take everything the DC has collected and double-check it. Is it complete? Does it make sense? Has anything gone missing?

Once that’s done, they hand it over to your supplier and the industry systems for billing and settlement.

You don’t interact with the DA much but if they don’t do their job properly, your bills could end up wrong, delayed, or based on estimates.

Why does any of this matter?

In the past, most businesses didn’t really need to know about this stuff. Your supplier handled it. You got your bills. End of story.

But things are changing.

There’s a major industry reform underway called Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement (MHHS). It's going to bring half-hourly data and everything that comes with it, to all businesses and eventually households too.

That means:

• More data being collected, more often
• More businesses needing MOP, DC, and DA contracts
• Greater pressure on suppliers and systems to keep everything running smoothly

And if you don’t know how your setup works, or who’s responsible for what, it’s much harder to spot if something’s wrong.

Here’s what we’d recommend

If you don’t already know who your MOP, DC and DA are, it’s worth finding out. You could be paying too much or stuck with a setup that doesn’t suit your business.

Start by asking:

• Has my MOP contract been arranged independently, or through my supplier?
• Is my meter capable of sending half-hourly data?
• Do I have access to that data to help manage usage?

And if the answer to most of those is “I’m not sure”, that’s completely normal. This isn’t something most businesses deal with day to day.

But it is something Troo can help with.

More helpful reads

If you're starting to dig into the details of your metering and data setup, these next articles can help you go further:

• Could you be paying up to 50% more on hidden energy charges?
  
  Many businesses are unknowingly paying more than they need to for MOP, DC and DA contracts. This article helps you spot default arrangements and shows you how to take back control.
• What is an MOA, SDS or ADS?
  
  As the market evolves, new roles are replacing or expanding on the traditional MOP, DC and DA setup. This guide breaks down the latest terminology so you know who does what and why it matters.
• Is your business ready for MHHS?
  
  With Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement on the horizon, this checklist covers what to review, what to change, and how to get ahead before the industry deadlines hit.