Failure to push smart water meters is lost opportunity

If you believe the headlines, the smart meter rollout has been beset by failure before it has even officially begun. It's been controversial from the off, with the questionable decision to put the suppliers in charge, unlike in any other country. Meanwhile, the Data and Communications Company and other appointments seem to have dragged on for months, and the whole project has been delayed for a year, causing red faces at Whitehall. That's hardly a start to fill you with confidence.

But there’s a different story to be told here. At a recent visit to a major energy supplier’s Nottingham office, I saw the early adoption of smart meters in practice, and listened in to the calls from customers who either had or wanted a smart meter. The calls were friendly, with the agents clearly relishing the opportunity to help customers understand their energy use and the benefits they could gain from smart meters. The customers seemed barely able to believe their luck – the energy supplier was offering them something for nothing, and something that would help them cut their energy use, at that. The supplier had invested considerable thought and care into making sure the installation of the smart meter was a painless experience for the customer, right down to having the installers wear overshoes and carry their own little vacuum cleaner.

This visit, which we’ll be writing more about soon, was exciting because it showed that with the right attitude, and with due thought and care, energy suppliers really do have an opportunity to transform their customer relationships through the smart meter rollout. It’s a chance

for a series of positive interactions, as opposed to the usual touchpoint of an unwelcome bill landing on the doormat. It also creates an ongoing ­relationship between supplier and customer, and visibility for the customer of what they’re paying for and the control they have over their consumption.

So it’s all the more shame that smart metering for water has dropped off the public agenda. While the installation of smart water meters would create winners and losers in terms of immediate cost, it would also facilitate a more transparent customer relationship that could only be good in the long term. Not to mention the sustainability benefits of reduced water use.

As WRc senior consultant Andy Godley points out on page 23, the Water Bill would have been an ideal opportunity for the government to mandate smart metering in the water industry, as it has done in energy. Its failure to do this is a sad indictment of the Bill’s lack of ambition.

Ellen Bennett

This article first appeared in Utility Week’s print edition of 6th September July 2013.

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