How to Find Your Gas Supplier and MPRN

The short answer: search the property, then verify the meter

If the property is in England, Scotland or Wales, use the official Find My Supplier service. Search the full address rather than guessing from an old letter. The result can show the registered gas supplier, the Meter Point Reference Number (MPRN) and the gas transporter for that supply point.

Write down the result, then compare it with the address and meter details at the property. An MPRN identifies the gas supply point. The meter serial number identifies the physical meter, while the meter reading records how much gas has passed through it. These are different numbers and each answers a different question.

Northern Ireland uses a separate gas market. The Great Britain lookup should not be treated as the route for an NI address; use the Utility Regulator’s supplier information and the area guidance later in this article.

MPRN, meter serial number and meter reading are not interchangeable

The MPRN is the registration number for the point where gas is supplied to the property. It is often printed on a gas bill and may be described as a meter point reference, supply number or MPRN. Citizens Advice says a domestic gas MPRN can contain between 6 and 11 digits. It stays with the supply point rather than following you when you move.

The meter serial number is printed on the meter itself and should also appear on the bill. A meter can be replaced while the supply point keeps the same MPRN, so the two identifiers are not expected to match. The meter reading is the changing number you submit for billing. It should rise as gas is used.

This distinction matters in converted houses, blocks of flats and communal meter rooms. A bill can name the correct postal address but be linked to the wrong physical meter. Match both the registered supply point and the serial number before relying on its readings.

Do not use an electricity MPAN or a Northern Ireland electricity MPRN in place of a Great Britain gas MPRN.

How to find the gas supplier in Great Britain

Start with a recent bill or online account if one is available. Check that it names the current property and covers a recent period; a letter left by a previous occupier may be useful evidence but does not prove that the named company is still registered as supplier.

Without a reliable bill, enter the property postcode into Find My Supplier and select the exact address. The Meter Point Administration Service operates this search. Ofgem also directs households to it when they need the gas supplier or MPRN. If the address is missing, duplicated or unclear, use the contact option provided by the service rather than choosing the closest-looking entry.

The search can also identify the gas transporter, which operates the local pipes. That company is not necessarily the business that sends the bill. Contact the supplier for accounts, tariffs, readings and payments; contact the network or emergency service for network problems and gas emergencies. If you smell gas in Great Britain, call 0800 111 999 rather than using a billing contact route.

• Use the full address: a postcode can contain several flats, converted units or similarly named properties.
• Save the result: note the supplier, MPRN and date checked before making an account change.
• Check the meter: compare the serial number on the bill with the fixed meter at the property.
• Keep the roles separate: the supplier bills you; the transporter maintains the local gas network.

What to do when you have just moved in

The gas supply at a new home normally already has a registered supplier. Contact that supplier as soon as you become responsible for the property. Give the move-in date, your details and a dated opening meter reading. You will usually be on a deemed contract with the existing supplier until you choose another tariff or complete a switch.

Do not assume your previous supplier moved with you, even if it offers to transfer your tariff. The new address has its own supply record. The moving-home gas checklist explains final and opening readings, while the gas meter guide shows which digits to record.

If the home has a prepayment meter, contact the registered supplier before using an old key, card or account left behind. This helps prevent a previous occupier’s debt recovery from being taken from your top-ups. If you must top up first, keep the receipt and tell the supplier the exact date you moved in.

Check a bill that appears to belong to the wrong meter

Compare four things: the complete address, the MPRN registered to that address, the meter serial number and a current reading. Take clear dated photographs of the meter face, serial number and reading. Keep the lookup result and the tenancy-completion or purchase date as well.

For example, suppose a bill for Flat 4 shows the serial number on Flat 3’s meter. Even if the postcode and supplier are right, the usage may not be yours. Contact the supplier and state exactly which identifier does not match. Ask it to check the meter-to-address mapping before changing the account or collecting a disputed amount.

Do not remove seals, labels or covers, and do not try to test the pipework. If the serial numbers match but the usage still looks wrong, compare the readings and billing period using the high gas bill checks. A communication fault on a smart meter is a different issue; the smart gas meter guide explains how to provide a manual reading safely.

Use the result to set up the account and check the first bill

When the supplier confirms the correct supply point, ask for written confirmation of the account start date and opening reading. Check the tariff name, gas unit rate, daily standing charge and payment method. The first bill should begin when you became responsible for the property, not when the previous occupier moved out unless those dates are the same.

Use the opening reading and a later reading from the same meter in the gas bill calculator. The result is an estimate, but it makes an obvious address, reading or tariff mismatch easier to spot. Keep the photographs and confirmation until at least the first accurate bill has arrived.

If the supplier will not correct an account that is mapped to the wrong meter or address, make a formal complaint and attach the evidence. The gas bill complaint guide covers the Great Britain escalation route and the separate Consumer Council route in Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland has a different supplier route

Find My Supplier is the Great Britain gas lookup. In Northern Ireland, the Utility Regulator says the household gas supplier depends on the network area. In Greater Belfast, a home may be supplied by SSE Airtricity Gas Supply or firmus energy. In the Ten Towns area the household supplier is firmus energy, while the West network is supplied by SSE Airtricity Gas Supply.

Check a recent gas bill first. If that is unavailable, use the Utility Regulator’s current supplier contact page and give the exact address when asking which company holds the account. Northern Ireland also uses different network and emergency arrangements: if you smell gas there, call the Northern Ireland Gas Emergency Service on 0800 002 001.

Do not confuse the gas supply-point reference with Northern Ireland’s electricity MPRN. The Utility Regulator describes the electricity MPRN as a 17-digit number; it is not the identifier to use for a household gas account.