Intelligent Water Metering The Industry View Phillip Mills Water UK 27 April 2006

22 April 2006 Intelligent Water Metering The Industry View 1.Metering – the state of play 2.Water UK position 3.Charging for water - role of metering 4.Customer expectations ? 5.Energy sector 6.Conclusions

33 April 2006 Metering – the state of play Metering increasing – up to 26% coverage across E&W regional variations – 6% - 60% Accepted – one of best ways of reducing demand Quantification of changes in consumption? Trials suggest up to 10% -15%, but not full agreement Impact on summer peak demand ? Anecdotal evidence of increase in demand  Real implications for water suppliers

44 April 2006 Water UK position Support company-specific approach to metering Consider capex and opex impacts – assess benefits v costs Drivers and benefits will vary regionally Support further research on impacts of metering  Believe in sustainable metering policy – flexible enough to reflect local circumstances

55 April 2006 Charging for water - Role of metering Data? [define Policy] [define Technology] Consumption Measurement Tariff application Charging - Bill

66 April 2006 Charging for water Meters – purely a measuring device Questions -What do we want to measure and when? Enter Tariffs Current single rate tariffs - £ per m3 (+ S/C) Alternatives are Seasonal Rising Block (IBT) Peak / Time of day Further research about to start

77 April 2006 Customer expectations ? Questions What do / will customers need and expect? What will influence customers’ behaviour? One answer could be – Provision of better and more timely information A Vision for the future?  Real time displays in the kitchen?  Wifi links to the home pc? The here and now >>>

88 April 2006 Customer expectations ? From customers’ perspective … ………not so intelligent metering.

99 April 2006 Customer expectations – provision of information Customer bill Yarra Valley Water Victoria,

10 April 2006 Customer expectations – provision of information (Front – centre)  Rising Blocks  Year on year comparison (Back)  Usage by block  Cost by block

11 April 2006 Energy sector Smart metering trial proposed in Energy sector Sustainability First report - scope for savings “would only be established by better understanding how consumers respond to improved consumption feedback – be it from smart meters, electronic displays or simply improved presentation and feedback on bills”  We agree In many countries main driver for smart metering is to enable time of day / use tariffs - to reduce peak demands to save costs and improve security of supply  Relevance for water sector – benefits beyond basic metering

12 April 2006 Intelligent water metering - conclusions Obvious role for metering – with a ‘hierarchy’ of appropriate applications, inc “intelligent metering” Additional costs associated with all forms of metering – relate to benefits Tariffs are key to influencing demand Need to design tariffs and know impacts to define data needs before specifying technology solutions What are customer needs and expectations - and what will influence behaviour? - Need to consider What can be done now? – e.g. improving information + best use of existing technology