Most organisations find reporting their MPRNs and GPRNs straightforward. However, others have role combinations that they must understand in order to report.

Steps for validation

MPRNs and GPRNs must be validated for each year. There are two key steps in validating each MPRN or GPRN: setting a validation status and setting an attributable consumption. To choose the right option for each step, remember that who actually consumes the energy is as important as who ‘owns’ the meter (MPRN or GPRN), and who pays the bill.

If there have been no changes since last year, you can select the 'Apply last year's validation status and / or % attributable to all MPRN(s) / GPRNs' to copy last year's values for the current reporting year. There is also an 'Upload' facility to upload a comma separated variable (csv) file containing the relevant meter details. Note that you only need to upload details of meters you wish to add or edit; other meters will remain unchanged on the system.

Set validation status

The first step in validating an MPRN or GPRN involves setting a validation status. You have four options - one of three valid statuses or a fourth ‘not validated’ status. When you select any one of the three valid statuses, you are declaring that:

  • The number entered is a valid MPRN or GPRN
  • Some or all of the energy consumption was attributable to your organisation in the year
  • You have consent for the electricity/natural gas meter operator to disclose to your organisation and to SEAI the consumption data for the MPRN/GPRN for the year

If all three of the above statements do not apply for an MPRN or GPRN in a specific year, you should select ‘not validated’. The M&R system does not count consumption for MPRNs & GPRNs classified as ‘not validated’. Consumption is counted for MPRNs & GPRNs with any valid status.

Choosing a status

If you pay the bill, your organisation is the listed end-user and you consume all or part of the energy, you should choose ‘valid; owned; listed end-user’. This option applies to the most common circumstances.

If you pay the bill and you consume all or part of the energy but your organisation is not the listed end-user (i.e. another organisation or a named individual is the listed end-user), you should choose ‘valid; owned; listed end-user consent received’.

If your landlord or another organisation pays the energy bill, but your organisation consumes all or part of the energy, you should choose ‘valid; not-owned; listed end-user consent received’. You should also choose this status if any of the following less common circumstances apply:

  • Your PPP partner pays the energy bill and consumes the energy, e.g. at a facility it operates
  • Your O&M contractor pays the energy bill and consumes the energy at a facility it operates on your behalf
  • An independent contractor that provides services on your behalf pays the energy bill and consumes the energy providing those services on your behalf
  • An energy services company pays the bill on your behalf and supplies energy to your organisation via facilities that it operates

The meaning of each of the three different valid statuses is explained below.

Valid; owned; listed end-user

Selecting this status means you confirm that your organisation was the listed end-user of the MPRN/GPRN in the year(s) indicated, and had a direct contractual arrangement with one or more electricity/natural gas supplier(s) for the supply of electricity/natural gas through the MPRN/GPRN in the year(s) specified.

Your organisation is also consenting for the electricity/natural gas meter operator to disclose to your organisation and to SEAI the historic electricity/natural gas account data for the MPRN/GPRN for the years specified – for the purpose of the SEAI public sector M&R project.

Valid; owned; listed end-user consent received

Selecting this status means you confirm that although your organisation was not the listed end-user of the MPRN/GPRN in the year(s) indicated, your organisation had a direct contractual arrangement in place with one or more electricity/natural gas supplier(s) for the supply of electricity/natural gas through the MPRN/GPRN in the year(s) specified.

You are also confirming that you have received consent from the listed end-user for the electricity/natural gas meter operator to disclose to your organisation and to SEAI the historic electricity/natural gas account data for the MPRN/GPRN for the years specified – for the purpose of the SEAI public sector M&R project.

Valid; not-owned; listed end-user consent received

Selecting this status means you confirm that although your organisation was not the listed end-user of the MPRN/GPRN in the year(s) indicated, your organisation was an attributed consumer.

You are also confirming that you have received consent from the listed end-user for the electricity/natural gas meter operator to disclose to your organisation and to SEAI the historic electricity/natural gas account data for the MPRN/GPRN for the year(s) specified – for the purpose of the SEAI public sector M&R project.

Validation status can change from year to year as organisations move into and out of facilities.

Attributable consumption

The second step in validating an MPRN or GPRN involves assigning a value for attributable consumption for each year. Attributable consumption accounts for the fact that MPRNs and GPRNs can be shared by more than one organisation (e.g. co-tenants in a building). If your organisation consumed energy through the meter in the relevant year and the MPRN or GPRN was not shared with another organisation, you should enter 100% for attributable consumption.

If your organisation consumed energy through the meter in the year and the connection was shared with another organisation that year, then not all of the energy consumed was attributable to your organisation. You should enter the percentage of the consumption through the meter that you believe was attributable to your organisation.

If your organisation did not consume any energy through the meter in the year (e.g. because you did not occupy the building that year), you should set the validation status to 'not validated' for that year and enter 0% for the attributable consumption.

Further information

If your landlord or another organisation pays your energy bill, you will need consent from them to access the MPRN or GPRN consumption data. You should explain that, as a public body, your organisation is legally obliged to report annually on your energy consumption, in accordance with Regulation 5(3) of SI 426 of 2014. The reportable consumption includes energy used in leased buildings that may be paid for by another party e.g. a landlord.

To facilitate good energy management practices in the longer run, you could consider the installation of sub-meters on your organisation’s share of the energy supplies.

If you are not in a position to classify an MPRN or GPRN with one of the ‘valid’ statuses but you consumed energy through the meter in the relevant year, you should classify the meter as ‘not validated’. Then self-report the relevant electricity or natural gas consumption.

You can do this on the basis of your organisation’s share of the floor area served by the meter or by the ratio of staff or activity in the area served by the meter. Your landlord or bill payer probably has a mechanism for allocating the bill between tenants.

The listed end-user is the legal entity or individual that is named under the supply address on your electricity gas bill. There can be several reasons why it may not match the current name of your organisation.

It is particularly important to update this record if the current listed end-user is a named individual. In these cases, SEAI cannot access consumption data for the MPRN, regardless of the validation status. To update the listed end-user for an MPRN, you should contact your energy supplier and request the update.