Strategy and press release available in the Strategic Panel area of the MOSL website. MOSL will be presenting the strategy, including Q&A, at a webinar on Thursday 18 April from 2-3:30pm (MSTeams link).
The Strategic Panel has today published the non-household (NHH) market’s first metering strategy.
Developed with MOSL, the Metering Committee and subject matter experts, the strategy aims to help wholesalers roll out smart metering as efficiently as possible by providing guidance and identifying areas that will benefit from greater coordination or a common approach.
The strategy establishes timescales for rolling out smart metering and standards for reading smart meters and how the data they produce should be formatted and shared. It also makes recommendations for managing meters that are not upgraded.
Meeting the demand for water is becoming increasingly difficult due to population growth and the impact of climate change. Defra has set wholesalers challenging demand reduction targets, including reducing overall NHH consumption by 9% by 2038 (increasing to 15% by 2050).
To help meet the challenge, water companies are proposing major investments in smart metering for households and business customers, which can take meter readings more often than traditional meters and transmit the data automatically.
The significant increase in consumption data has the potential to transform the understanding of where, when and how water is being used and, helping identify opportunities to save water and identify continuous flows, which may indicate customer-side leakage.
Smart metering promises to deliver a range of benefits, from faster, more accurate bills for customers to enabling wholesalers and retailers to develop more innovative water efficiency products, services and tariffs.
Wholesalers will know how much they will have to invest in AMP8 in December, when Ofwat publishes its final determinations for the 2024 Price Review (PR24).
Commenting on the strategy, Trisha McAuley, Chair of the Strategic Panel, said: “Water companies have recognised the critical role that smart metering will have in continuing to meet the country’s demand for water and have proposed significant investment programmes.
“Having encouraged companies to submit “ambitious” plans, the Strategic Panel urges Ofwat to allow the necessary investment to enable them to deliver the Panel’s Metering Strategy outcomes in the interests of current and future customers, while recognising the need to ensure companies’ proposals are properly evidenced and provide value for money.
Sarah McMath, MOSL’s CEO, added: “We are delighted to have supported the Panel to produce the metering strategy. We are grateful to the many trading parties that have provided input and hope the strategy proves helpful to wholesalers as they roll out smart metering. We are excited to see how retailers use the granular from smart metering to develop new products and services for their customers.”
