The Strategic Panel which provides strategic direction and overseeing programmes of work to improve non-household customer outcomes, has given the go-ahead for a new ‘hub’ to enable wholesalers to share non-household customers’ smart meter reads with retailers easily and efficiently.

Wholesalers are rolling out smart metering to more than 10 million customers in AMP8 (2025-30), including nearly 800,000 non-household customers.

Unlike traditional water meters, which are typically read twice a year, smart meters can take hourly meter readings, providing a much more detailed view of customers’ water usage.

The data has potentially enormous benefits for customers, companies and the environment, from ensuring customers’ bills are timely and accurate, to identifying and tackling leakage and waste.

To realise the benefits, the data needs to be shared between water wholesalers, which own the smart meters and collect the data they generate, and retailers.

In its National Metering Strategy the Panel noted the lack of an agreed method of sharing meter reads and asked MOSL to work with members of the Metering Committee to consider how meter reads should be shared, and develop a business case for the preferred option.

MOSL considered three options: allowing wholesalers to continue developing their own bespoke processes and procedures; a ‘trust framework’ similar to that used in the banking sector, and a central data sharing ‘hub’.

The Panel’s approval of the Full Business Case marks the end to a multi-stage planning process, extensive engagement and consultation with stakeholders and a detailed RFI process with nine potential delivery partners.

Commenting on the decision, the Chair of the Strategic Panel, Trisha McAuley, said:

“The Panel is keen to support the rollout of smart metering and help ensure it realises its full potential.

“For the non-household market, that means ensuring smart meter reads can flow between wholesalers and retailers as easily and efficiently as possible and avoiding creating unnecessary market frictions.

“Having a central hub for this information will provide a consistent approach to sharing smart meter reads, while allowing trading parties to submit or extract data in different ways and formats, depending on their needs, capability and budget.

“The hub will also help retailers select and submit reads into the market’s central systems efficiently and provide the controls necessary to manage the high volume of submissions entering CMOS.”

The hub is budgeted to cost £1.1 million to build, which will be funded from market performance charges. Ongoing running costs will be funded through MOSL’s Market Operator charges.

The first phase of the smart meter read hub is due to be delivered by the end of March 2026, followed by a second phase to connect the hub to CMOS to allow retailers to submit reads directly into the market’s central system for billing and settlement purposes.

The delivery phase will include further engagement with trading parties to confirm detailed requirements. The delivery partner for the programme will be announced separately.