LONDON, UK –Utility Anglian Water has started a smart water metering fixed network trial as part of a plan for a long-term smart metering programme.
Communications company Arqiva together with Sensus have signed a four-year contract to build a fixed network infrastructure to facilitate the deployment and operation of 7,500 new smart water meters in and around Newmarket, Suffolk.
Newmarket is the site of a project that utility Anglian Water is calling its ‘Innovation Shop Window’ – a place where the company will test and showcase its latest innovation projects, as it seeks to create the water company of the future.
Three of the key objectives of the Shop Window are to achieve 100% customer satisfaction, ensure zero bursts or leakage and reduce water consumption to 80 litres per head, per day.
The trial has been set up to demonstrate the contribution that fixed network smart water metering can make towards these goals.
Throughout the trial, Sensus smart water meters covering both residential and non-residential properties will transmit hourly usage readings via the Arqiva network back to Anglian Water.
The aim is for the data to enable Anglian Water to better understand customer water consumption, and to quickly identify unusual patterns of use that might indicate a burst or a leak.
The two-way communications capability of the fixed network will also enable Anglian Water to remotely reconfigure meters to deliver more frequent meter readings (every 15 minutes) for even more accurate identification of system leakage.
It is intended that customers taking part in the trial will have online access to their consumption data, and will be given guidance and advice to minimise their water consumption.
Arqiva will commence the six month network build in June 2016, after which the fixed network trial will continue for the remaining contract length.
Paul Glass, Anglian Water’s programme manager for the smart metering initiative, said: “Smart metering has a key role to play in giving our customers access to information about their water use – helping them to understand how much water they are using, and therefore how to reduce their consumption and bills. In combination with our efforts on the wider network, this will help secure water supplies for the future.”
“We procured Arqiva (and Sensus as subcontractor) through an EU compliant tender process. We selected them because of the long-term commitment they made to the deployment and on-going monitoring of our fixed network trial, as well as their proven expertise in delivering large-scale network builds.”
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