Thames Water has gone out to tender with a contract for the supply of smart water meters, goods & services worth up to an estimated £181.8 million in total over an eight year term.

Scope of the contract covers the supply of Smart Water Meters (SWM) including Local Communication Equipment (LCE) and Head End Systems (HES) to support collection of measurement data and meter events over LPWA networks employing NB-IoT (Narrow Band Internet of Things) for eventual submission to Thames Water applications.

The contract is being tendered in 2 separate Lots:

Lot 1a - Supply of Concentric Smart Meters, NB-Iot Radio Modules (LCE) and associated Head End System (£133.3 million)

It is estimated that during the initial term up to 177,500 concentric meters of various sizes with an associated LCE (NB-IoT) and Head End service may be purchased at an estimated contract value of £18.5 million over the initial three-year term and over the maximum term of the framework this could exceed £133.3 million.

The business objective of this agreement during the initial term is defined by Green Economic Recovery (GER) funding made available to the Purchaser by Ofwat whose scope is for supply of 204,700 meters that are capable of connecting via Vodafone UK NB-IoT Network. All meters have to be installed and operational by March 2025. Additional meters may be funded through other Purchaser programs and asset management plans (AMP)

Lot 1b Supply of In-Line Meters, NB-Iot Radio Modules (LCE) and associated Head End System (£48.5 million)

The supply of In-Line Smart Water Meters (SWM) including Local Communication Equipment (LCE) and Head End System (HES) to support collection of meter data information (AMR/AMI) into Thames Waters Meter Data Management System (MDMS) enabling on going operational management of meters and LCE deployed over a LPWA network employing NB-IoT.

It is estimated that during the initial term up to 26,500 in-line meters of various sizes with an associated LCE (NB-IoT) Head End service may be purchased at an estimated contract value of £6.7 million over the initial contract term and over the maximum term of the framework this could exceed £48.5 million.

Contracts will be awarded for an initial term of 3 years with options to extend up to a maximum duration of 8 years.

The life time of the Smart Water Meters is estimated at between 10 and 12 years - call off contracts may be required for the lifetime duration of assets following installation of the last SWM at the end of the 8-year framework term.

The business objective of this agreement during the initial term is defined by Green Economic Recovery (GER) funding made available to the Purchaser by Ofwat whose scope is for supply of 204,700 meters that are capable of connecting via Vodafone UK NB-IoT Network. All meters have to be installed and operational by March 2025. Additional meters may be funded through other Purchaser programs and Asset Management Plans.

Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate is 28 July 2023 – click here to access the tender documentation.