If you run a self-catering property in Scotland, you’ll know how many moving parts there are to keep things running smoothly. Energy is often one of the bigger costs, and when half-hourly electricity meters are involved, you may have 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 affect your bills, isn’t always clear.
This is about to matter more than ever. A major industry change is on the way, and it’s going to bring these services into play for even more businesses, including smaller holiday lets and cottages.
Before that happens, now’s a good time to get to grips with what they are, how they impact your energy costs, and where to turn if something’s not right.
MOP stands for Meter Operator. This is the company that installs and 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 has to keep that phone in good shape.
The MOP is responsible for:
You can choose your own MOP, but many self-catering owners don’t realise this. Most let the supplier appoint one and end up paying more than necessary.
Once your meter’s up and running, it needs to send your usage data somewhere. That’s the DC’s job.
They collect the data from your meter, usually every half hour for larger setups. The data shows how much energy your property is using and when.
The DC:
Again, you can choose your own DC, but many property owners don’t know that either.
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 won’t have much direct contact with the DA, but if they don’t do their job properly, your bills could end up wrong, delayed, or based on estimates.
In the past, most businesses didn’t need to know about this. Your supplier handled it, you got your bills, and that was that.
But things are changing.
There’s a major industry reform underway called Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement (MHHS). This will bring half-hourly data and everything that comes with it, to all businesses, including smaller self-catering properties.
That means:
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.
If you don’t already know who your MOP, DC and DA are, it’s worth finding out. You could be paying more than you need to or stuck with a setup that doesn’t suit your property.
Start by asking:
If the answer to most of those is “I’m not sure”, that’s completely normal. Most self-catering owners don’t deal with this day to day.
But understanding it now could help protect your running costs and give you more control over how energy is managed across your property.
And if you need any help, Troo can assist you with this.
Author of guidance: Troo
Date of guidance: September 2025
Website: www.assc.co.uk / www.troocost.com
Contact details: communications@assc.co.uk
Disclaimer – Guidance Sheets are written by experienced Members of the ASSC and other experts. The information in the ‘Guidance Sheet’ is provided by the ASSC for use by Members in support of their own independent business decisions. It does not constitute advice or instruction for which the ASSC can be held liable in any way whatsoever. All Members and other readers remain responsible for the consequences of any decisions taken whether in the light of information gained from this Guidance Sheet or not.