Please note that this section is dedicated to the smart meter read hub. For other meter-related activity, please see the Strategic Meter Review.

Background

To help balance the supply and demand for water, companies are investing heavily in smart metering to provide the data needed for water companies and customers to improve their water efficiency.

Water companies are rollout out smart metering to more than 10 million customers in AMP8 (2025-30), including nearly 800,000 businesses. Unlike traditional meters, which need to be read manually every month or twice per year, a smart meter can take hourly meter readings and submit them remotely.

Smart meters provide a much more detailed picture of customers’ water usage, allowing leaks and wasted water to be found and fixed much more quickly. The data can also be used to develop new water efficiency products, services and tariffs.

Data sharing

To realise these benefits, water wholesalers need to share the data from smart meters with retailers so they can generate customers’ bills and submit the meter reads into the market’s central system (CMOS).

In its National Metering Strategy (March 2024) the Strategic Panel highlighted the lack of a consistent way in which wholesalers and retailers can share smart meter data.

The Strategic Panel asked MOSL, working with the Metering Committee, to consider options for a data sharing mechanism and develop proposals for its preferred solution.

In June 2025 the Panel approved the full business case for MOSL and a delivery partner to implement a smart meter read hub.

How the hub will work

• The smart meter read hub will enable read data from smart meters to be shared easily and consistently between wholesalers and retailers
• Wholesalers will submit hourly smart meter data into the hub each day via a range of methods and formats
• Retailers will be able to extract this data via a range of methods, for all or a selection of customers across multiple wholesalers
• The smart meter read hub will hold data for up to two years
• Retailers will be able to submit meter reads directly into CMOS for billing and settlement purposes, with functionality that enables MOSL to manage the flow of submissions in order to cope with the higher volumes of reads from smart meters (Phase 2)
• Key stakeholders (i.e. Defra, Ofwat, CCW) will have access to aggregated data within the hub, to the extent permitted by the Market Codes

Implementation

The Smart Meter Read Hub will be delivered in two phases:

Phase 1 (Spring 2026): Requirements gathering, system development, testing and implementation

Phase 2 (Summer 2026): Connection of the hub to the market’s central system to enable retailers to select and submit customers’ smart meter reads directly into CMOS for billing and settlement purposes.