Utility Week

38 | JANUARY 2023 | UTILITY WEEK Technology Download report Intelligent solutions for legacy challenges A new Utility Week report – in association with OverIT – explores how utilities can help customers take control of their water and energy consumption. W ith climate change increasing the risk and severity of droughts in the UK and high energy costs forecast to continue into 2023 and beyond, the need for customers to understand and take control of their water and energy consumption has never been greater. Smart meters help homes and businesses track their usage and modify behaviours to cut consumption and costs. They are an inte- gral part of the UK's net-zero energy transi- tion and the foundation of digitalised water and power systems. However, the beleaguered rollout of smart gas and electricity meters provides some important lessons on how suppliers can bet- ter engage with customers and encourage them to sign up, as well as organise installa- tions without alienating them. Over a decade into the rollout and around half of homes still don't have a device – just over 26 million domestic smart meters have been installed, out of a total 53 million. A lack of consumer interest and logisti- cal issues encountered by suppliers have proved significant obstacles to uptake, forc- ing the government to shi† its deadline for nationwide coverage, from 2020 to 2024, and in the wake of the pandemic, again to 2025. Whether the latest deadline can be met is open to question given that many of the same challenges remain. Customer resistance to smart meters is partly the result of preconceptions around technical challenges, fuelled by reports of connection issues and older devices that stopped working a†er switching supplier. There is also concern that customer data is not secure and many still don't understand the potential energy and cost-saving benefits. Suppliers can help rebalance this equa- tion by clearly aligning their messaging to address consumer fears around escalating energy costs and the desire to tackle the climate emergency. Improved communica- tion about how smart meters help track con- sumption and then modify behaviour to save money is key. Furthermore, automatic readings, up to every half hour, make it possible to offer customers tariffs tailored to when they use energy, potentially saving them money. Even when a customer consents to hav- ing a smart meter, if they don't fully buy into the idea then appointment notice emails and texts can o†en go ignored or unnoticed. Field service teams find themselves calling at empty properties unable to make an instal- lation – a much more common problem than for average repair calls – at significant expense to the supplier. The problem is compounded by other logistical challenges, such as the need to check various details with customers prior to installation, then organise and coordinate engineer dispatch. Many of these issues are applicable to energy or water asset instal- lation and maintenance programmes in general. The onus is on utilities to make the pro- cess as painless as possible for customers, by ensuring that appointments cause as lit-

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