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Anglian Water customers who switched on to smart meters saved hundreds of pounds last year.
In total, Anglian’s smart meter rollout saved customers £15 million. That works out at £252 per billpayer.
The company has already installed more than half a million smart meters and intends to roll out 1.1 million of the devices by 2025.
The smart meter rollout is estimated to save seven megalitres between 2020-25 by identifying customer-side leaks.
The installation programme to upgrade metering devices will focus on the most water-stressed parts of Anglian’s region. The east of England receives on average one-third lower rainfall than the rest of the country, making it a particularly dry region.
Demand reduction forms part of Anglian’s water resource management plan (WRMP) and the smart meter programme is intended to help consumers understand their usage and recognise more quickly if there is a problem.
Anglian said since 2020 it has helped householders find and fix more than 100,000 leaks on their properties thanks to the data from smart meters.
“Through our smart meter programme, we’re helping our customers to understand their water usage and help spot when pipes or appliances in their home may be costing them and the environment unnecessarily,” Ian Rule, director of water for Anglian said.
He said as well as the company investing in resilient infrastructure, customers are being encouraged to use water more sustainably to keep as much in the environment as possible.
“So far, we’ve fitted more than half a million smart meters in customers’ homes and we’re already starting to see significant reductions in the amount of water we need to abstract from the environment as our customers use their smart meter data to reduce their water usage,” Rule said. “. This is really helping to protect our regions precious rivers and the ecosystems that depend upon them.”
As well as metering, the company has proposed creating two new reservoirs and is installing a 70km strategic water main to move water from wetter parts of its region in Lincolnshire, south towards Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.
Thames Water recently said its smart meter programme helped 80% of households with a meter use under 110litres per capita consumption.
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