Utility Week

2 5 0 , 0 0 0 l i t r e s p e r d a y at's how much water is being saved in Newmarket as part of smart water meter trials by Anglian Water – equal to leaving the average household tap running for the whole month of February systematic rollout of smart meters by 2030," a Commission spokesperson tells Flex. " is should be the first step in a concerted campaign to improve our country's water efficiency." And the Consumer Council for Water's senior policy manager, Karen Gibbs, says it is "clear" that some of the more sophisticated smart meters being developed have the "potential to deliver additional benefits for consumers and companies". "However, the potential benefits of smart meters can only ever be fully realised if customers are given clear, useful and accessible billing information and support," says Gibbs. " at must include helping customers to understand the 'bigger picture' and why their water use matters. We are not experts on the technology behind smart meters, but we do know that some people have reservations about metering in general, which need to be understood and sympathetically addressed. at's why we will continue to press companies to consult their customers at every stage and make sure they provide all the support they need during any transition to metering." Another issue is the amount of variation among the various smart water meters currently being tested. " ere is no uniform standard of meter being rolled out across the industry," explains Terry Noble, a consultant in the energy and utilities practice at Odgers Interim. "Many so-called smart water meters offer data transfer rates on a daily basis, which is a far cry from the real-time data transfer speeds required to be a truly smart device," he adds. It means that many early stage projects require upgrades to their two-way communication so that they can deliver more frequent readings. Increased collaboration between water companies and the introduction of an industry standard will go a long way to remedying the current disparities in smart networks. "However, the potential of these devices is huge," says Noble. "Improvements to data networks and data transfer capacity, coupled with AI and machine learning technologies, means that smart water meters will become a critical component in ensuring the long-term resilience of the nation's water usage. "For this to happen, water companies will need to overcome the same technological hurdles the energy sector has battled for the past ten years." e expectation that more advanced meters will come along is one of the reasons why companies where water is in more abundant supply are biding their time. In terms of how smart water meters may develop in the future, Andy Rowland, the technical lead in flooding and drainage at the engineering firm WSP, predicts they could be integrated with other sensors to measure pressure, water quality or acoustic leakage detection. "Combining remote data collection technology with domestic customer metering would be hugely helpful in understanding and reporting network incidents, network performance and advising network improvement investment," adds Rowland. Going forward, the importance of data, particularly with the Internet of ings, cannot be underestimated. Jo Lamont, a senior analyst at AI specialist Cambridge Consultants, says the smart meters of the future will carry out more analysis before data is sent to their respective utility firms. "As we potentially move towards retail competition for all water users, it will be more important for this analysis to offer added value above what is currently done, as customer expectation of service will increase and water retailers will need to be able to react to this," she says. "You can learn a lot about a person from how they use their water and protection of personal data will be a big driver for how this technology and the related services evolve in the future. rough the use of artificial intelligence, smart meters will allow a higher level of granular data to be captured, making it much clearer to the consumer as to where water is being used." It is still early days for smart water metering. Clearly, a lot of work will have to be done to improve the technology and create a more uniform system. e water industry will also have to tread carefully to avoid some of the mistakes made in the rollout of energy smart meters – but, if successful, these devices could play an important role in improving leakage and restoring the trust of customers. 33 17% the amount by which smart meters could reduce water consumption, according to the NIC

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