Explainer
AMR and smart meters both send readings automatically, but they are different technologies with different rules. Here is how they compare, where each is used, and what market wide half hourly settlement means for both.
By Christopher Fagan, Managing Partner, PEF Consulting Partners
An AMR meter, short for automated meter reading and usually called an advanced meter in the industry, stores consumption data, at least half hourly for electricity, and sends it remotely to the supplier, typically over a mobile data connection. Advanced meters are mainly used by business customers.
A smart meter in Great Britain meets the government’s SMETS specification, and SMETS2 is the current version. Smart meters communicate through the national network run by the DCC, the Data Communications Company, so they are designed to keep working for any supplier after a switch, and they support time of use tariffs and in home displays.
| AMR (advanced) meter | Smart meter (SMETS2) | |
|---|---|---|
| Specification | Industry rules for advanced meters, not SMETS | The SMETS2 government specification |
| Communications | Usually the supplier’s own mobile data link | The DCC national network |
| Typical use | Business sites | Homes and smaller businesses |
| After a switch | Depends on the meter and the new supplier’s data arrangements | Designed to keep working for any supplier |
| Half hourly data | Yes, for electricity | Yes, subject to data access rules for households |
By the end of June 2026 there were 42 million smart and advanced meters in Great Britain, 72% of all meters, and 92% of smart meters were operating in smart mode. Among business meters at large suppliers, 65% were smart or advanced, including around 0.7 million advanced meters.
Market wide half hourly settlement moves every electricity meter in Great Britain to settlement on half hourly data. Both advanced and smart meters can provide it, but the data has to flow through the new arrangements. Migration began in October 2025, all suppliers are due to be qualified by 28 October 2026, migration is due to finish by 7 May 2027, and settlement moves from 14 months to four months from 2 July 2027.
Related reading: MHHS readiness, what MHHS means for suppliers, smart metering and DCC delivery, the free MHHS readiness check.
Automated meter reading. In the GB energy industry, AMR meters are usually called advanced meters.
No. Both send readings automatically, but a smart meter meets the government SMETS specification and uses the DCC network, while an advanced meter does not.
Yes. Advanced meters already record half hourly data, which is what market wide half hourly settlement needs, as long as the data flows through the new settlement arrangements.
Usually yes, but the new supplier needs to be able to collect the data, which depends on the meter and its communications. Smart meters on the DCC network are designed to avoid that issue.
If your meter estate is mixed and MHHS is close, a quick check of which meters will deliver clean half hourly data is time well spent.
AMR metering, or automatic meter reading, uses meters that send readings automatically over a mobile or other communications link, so nobody has to visit to read them. It is common at business sites settled half hourly; see half hourly meters explained.