Affinity ramps up home efficiency checks

Affinity Water has increased its home water efficiency checks with virtual visits during lockdown and saved 350,000l in the past six months with remote calls.

The company will continue remote checks after lockdown after continued success that has seen 2,000 completed since the start of this year.

Concerns were raised across the sector during the first lockdown that maintaining per capita consumption (PCC) reduction targets set in PR19 would be challenging with drastic lifestyle changes for many customers.

Affinity committed to lowering PCC by 12.5 per cent between 2020-25. For 2019-20 consumption in the region was above national average at 155 litres per person per day.

The company swiftly adapted to home checks using video or phone calls instead of face-to-face visits.

Steve Johnston, Affinity’s home water saving manager said the remobilising was a challenge but enabled a new way of working. He said: “We had to review our expected targeted outputs and uptake rates to maintain performance as we have very ambitious PCC reduction targets which we want to achieve. But we all had a can-do attitude to change.”

He said the experience taught the team there can be very different approaches to delivering water efficiency messages without entering homes.

“Throughout the water industry the Water Efficiency Network has been engaging on new methods, outputs and feedback for some time now and this is something we will be discussing with them,” Johnston said.

Ofwat consulted on appropriate adjustments to outcome delivery incentives, including PCC targets, which may have been impacted by the pandemic.

Last week David Black, director and soon-to-be chief executive at Ofwat, said the regulator will make an end-of-period rather than in-period adjustment to such targets.

This, Black said, would give the regulator more time to understand the impact of the pandemic on PCC regarding weather-driven or lifestyle changes.