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22 | 7th - 13th February 2014 | utILIty WeeK Operations & Assets Sponsored report Source: Ofwat A smart move for water Smart water metering will get a big push with Thames Water's rollout, but the choice of communications technology is key to realising the full benefits on offer, says Karma Ockenden. T his week, Thames Water kicked off a 15-year programme to roll out smart meters across its area. It is starting in Bexley, southeast London, having com- pleted successful trial streets there over the past two weeks and successful pilots to prove the broader business case over the past couple of years. This is an industry first, for the Thames technology will surpass in functional- ity both traditional "dumb" manual-read meters and automated meter read (AMR) units. The latter have operational advan- tages in that they can be read more quickly and cheaply by opera- tives walking or driv- ing by but they do not offer the near real-time data capabilities of fully smart meters. Thames will roll out a fixed smart meter- ing network, through which meter data will be transmitted regularly direct to its IT systems. This will give the company a near-to real-time view of water consumption, underpinning a range of operational benefits, including better leak detection, demand management and net- work visibility. Customers will be able to access infor- mation on their consumption (hourly, daily or weekly as they wish) via an online portal, which Thames says could lead to a 12 per cent reduction in usage. The rollout will be accompanied by an extensive customer awareness programme and water efficiency device distribution. Steve Plumb, head of metering at Thames Water, says the impact for both company and customer will be enormous. "It's leading edge, it has to be said," he comments. "It's an industry first and the biggest customer- impacting project Thames has done." Plumb explains the move has been driven by a supply/demand imbalance that is "get- ting worse and worse". He continues: "On a peak day in London, demand outstrips supply. By 2040, there will be a gap equiv- alent to the consump- tion needs of two million people." Smart metering was found to be the most cost- beneficial means of tack- ling the problem – driving down demand 12 per cent, providing visibility on network and customer-side leakage, and enabling the company to target mains renovation/ replacement work where it is needed most. The programme is now a compulsory part of Thames' Water Resource Management Plan, approved by the secretary of state in 2012. A smart meter for every Thames customer will be delivered over three AMP periods and cost £300 million. Plumb notes the rollout "is not cost beneficial, but it is the least-cost option for tackling a water resource issue". So for Thames, smart meters are being driven by the need to solve a specific prob- lem. Meanwhile, the demography of its patch – densely populated, particularly across London – will mean it can get a lot of bang for its buck with a fixed network. But what of other companies? Is smart metering a real option for them? Beyond Thames? There is a mixed picture across the industry in terms of meter penetration, as the table shows. Understandably, the most concerted action has been taken by companies operat- ing in areas of tight supply/demand balance. Eric Woods, research director at Navigant Research, which late last year published a report on smart water networks, notes there is diversity in the industry, even within the ranks of the metered. "There have been mixed approaches," he says. "Some companies have got basic meter- ing in first. Those who have gone for AMR tend to have been driven by operating costs, because they are cheaper to read. Once you have got a certain volume of meters, that's just common sense." Woods adds that most new installations now tend to be of AMR units. Although these will not deliver the benefits Thames is seek- ing with near real-time data available to both customers and operational staff, they do offer operational advantages over traditional dumb models. Southern Water is a good example of a company that has opted for AMR metering. It is more than halfway through a programme spanning AMP5 to universally roll out AMR meters, on water stress grounds. It is replac- ing 100,000 existing dumb units and install- ing 487,000 first-time meters. Chief customer officer and metering programme director Darren Bentham says the scheme is on track, with just shy of 500,000 meters in place so far and 230,000 customers moved off rate- able value-based charges. "We are on the cusp of real AMI systems being deployed." DavID Green, arqIva Company Percentage of water customers metered Affinity Central 44 Affinity East 77 Affinity South East 93 Anglian 75 Bristol 42 Cambridge 67 Dee Valley 55 Essex and Suffolk 55 Northumbrian 29 Portsmouth 23 Sembcorp Bournemouth 64 Severn Trent 39 Company Percentage of water customers metered South East 59 South West 76 South Staffordshire 31 Southern 70 Sutton and East Surrey 43 Thames 33 United Utilities 36 Welsh Water 37 Wessex 56 Yorkshire 46 All companies 46 Metered wAter CustoMers, 2013/14