Affinity Water has announced it will meet its Universal Metering target of installing 25,000 new meters in this financial year by close of play today.

Despite three national lockdowns and working to new safety guidelines in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, teams from Affinity Water and its delivery partner utility and infrastructure supplier Network Plus have effectively done 12 months’ work in 6 months.

Affinity Water’s Director of Customer Operations Joe Brownless said:

“I am delighted to announce that Affinity Water is now on track to achieve our full year delivery programme of installing 25,000 new water meters by 29th March 2021.

“At the start of the financial year in March 2020 the delivery of our metering programme was threatened by the Covid-19 pandemic and we had to appoint a new delivery partner Network Plus on a six-month contract. We’ve effectively done 12 months’ work in 6 months and we’ve installed more Universal Meters under our compulsory metering programme in this timeframe than ever before.”

The roll out of the Metering Programme together with practical help and advice to customers to save water, will help Affinity Water to meet its per capita consumption targets set by the Regulator Ofwat.

Network Plus joint-CEO Dan Holland commented:

“The Network Plus and Affinity water teams have worked well together in the face of a global pandemic to install 25,000 meters in just six months. We all rose to the challenge and it has been a very successful collaboration.”

Over the next four years Network Plus will work with Affinity Water to install up to 200,000 meters in designated areas of the Affinity Water central region. Affinity Water’s Universal Metering Programme has a target to install approx. 200,00 meters over the next five years in AMP 7 2020-2025 and is aiming to achieve ninety-per cent penetration by 2045.