Market Meters

Almost 90 per cent of non-household supply points are metered, but not all meters are the same. As of 01/08/2024, the total number of meters in the market are 1,278,565, with 6.66% being smart meters. This section shines a light on the different approaches taken by wholesalers and retailers with metering, demonstrating the variety of meter assets and meter reading across the Non-household (NHH) market.

NHH meters are installed and owned by the wholesaler as per Code Subsidiary Document CSD 0104: Maintain SPID data. Historically, wholesalers have different meter installation policies, which means that meter coverage, meter type and meter functionality (i.e. smart meters) varies regionally.

Meter reading is defined in CSD 0202: Meter Read Submission: Process. Wholesalers must provide a meter read when a meter is installed, removed, temporarily disconnected and reconnected.

Retailers are responsible for providing cyclical and transfer meter reads to the market. Minimum cyclical meter read frequency is either monthly or bi-annually depending on meter size.

Ofwat’s Customer Protection Code of Practice (CPCoP) states customers must receive at least one accurate bill or invoice each year, based on an actual meter reading, where there is a water meter.

If a meter is faulty or can’t be located the retailer can raise a bilateral request to the wholesaler for a site visit. Common bilateral processes are defined in CSD 0701: Bilateral Common Processes.

Metering dashboard

Metering Maps

The interactive maps below give an insight into the proportion of supply points that are metered within each wholesaler region, the density of non-household meters within each postal sector and the percentage of those meters which are considered to be Long Unread (not read in over 365 days).