Southern Water has awarded a 20 year contract beginning in AMP8 to deliver an industry-leading water meter upgrade programme, including the replacement of one million meters over the next five years.
With an estimated total value of £338.07 million (ex VAT), the contract has been awarded to Salisbury-headquartered firm Horizon Water Infrastructure Ltd. To deliver the ambitious programme, Horizon has formed the Horizon Water Infrastructure Southern Water Alliance (HWI SWS Alliance) – a collaborative partnership, led by Horizon, with SUEZ and M Group Water.
The Alliance brings together first-class delivery, technology and innovation experts with a proven track record in large-scale infrastructure and water metering programmes.
Daniel Reilly, Managing Director of Horizon Water Infrastructure, commented:
“We’re extremely proud to partner with Southern Water on this groundbreaking meter upgrade programme setting a new industry benchmark for efficiency, excellence, and impact. As the first provider of an alternative meter service appointed as a prime contractor, HWI, in collaboration with our Alliance partners, will deliver a future-ready model that redefines what’s possible in the water sector.”
The Alliance offers fully outsourced Metering-as-a-Service (MaaS) solutions for both new and existing smart water programmes, which include everything from solution design, initiation, funding, and deployment to meter provisioning and network management over a 20-year programme lifespan. It also manages repair, maintenance, and warranty concerns, ensuring a seamless operational deployment.
The Metering-as-a-Service (MaaS) model will see the Alliance own the meter assets and take on the asset risks, with Southern Water paying service fees over the term. for both new and existing smart water programmes. The company says on its website:
“We guarantee performance outcomes over a 20-year programme and offer the lowest total cost for rollout.”
The HWI SWS Alliance will operate across Southern Water's supply area, for household and non-household premises.Southern Water already has a high percentage of metered customers (88%) through its pioneering Universal Metering Programme - by 2030 the water company’s household meter estate of ~934,000 household meters, and 52,000 non-household meters,will be upgraded to Smart AMI enabled meters.In total, the number of Smart meter assets in the scope of the full service is 1.02 million.
Scope of services to be provided by the Alliance include:
- Supply of Smart AMI water meters warranted for 15 years
- Planning, pre-installation surveys and meter installation for standard works i.e. meters to 934k household properties where the meter is situated externally (86%), or internally (14%)
- Planning, pre-installation surveys and meter installation for non-standard works i.e. 45.2k meters to non-household properties where the meter is situated externally (80%), or internally (20%)
- Planning, pre-installation surveys and meter installation of meters for complex works i.e. 6.4k meters over 20mm in size, 34k new meter installations to unmetered sites, or boundary box replacements in the highway/verges (excavation, backfill and reinstatement, traffic management)
- Communications network (non-dedicated to Southern Water) recording 24 hourly reads per day and transmitting the data once per day
- Smart meter and network issue resolution
Horizon Water Infrastructure Ltd was one of four organisation in the bidding for the work.
In February 2025 Horizon Water Infrastructure Ltd. announced that it had become part of KKR and that together with Horizon Energy Infrastructure (HEI) and Smart Meter Assets (SMA), it had completed a combination with Smart Metering Systems (SMS). The new Group, backed by global investment firm KKR, is now one of the of the leading providers of UK smart metering assets.
KKR, a US private equity firm, was previously a potential investor in Thames Water – named as Thames Water’s preferred partner in March 2025, KKR ultimately pulled out of a rescue deal.
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