The Society of British Water and Wastewater Industries, one of the UK’s leading water sector trade bodies, is calling for urgent action to ensure the UK water sector speaks with a strong single voice in the fast-developing energy smart metering agenda.
The call comes in a Position Paper launched by the SBWWI at a meetig of the UK All Party Parliamentary Water Group last week.
The SBWWI says the sector needs to establish inter-operability protocols for the energy and water sectors to ensure that smart meter infrastructure can service the needs of electricity, gas and water customers.
The SBWWI is warning that without urgent representation from the water sector, the infrastructure networks currently being put in place for energy smart metering will not be able to cater for future water sector needs. The Position Paper makes the key point that separate provisions would be both resource-inefficient and significantly more costly to customers in the long-term.
It also highlights that the fact that despite the existence of a European Standards group which is currently developing a water smart metering standard specification, at present there is no coordinated UK water industry presence on the group.
The SBWWI also says that domestic water metering in the UK is “progressing in a piece meal fashion” – with individual water companies adopting different policies, approaches and metering coverage. According to the Paper, the utilities struggle to make the economic case for smart meters to industry regulator Ofwat and there is no clear policy and planning for the future of smart metering in the UK water sector.
The SBWWI is warning that without a clear mandate for smart water metering – in sharp contrast with the energy sector – there is no shared vision of smart metering solutions and no agreement of a common specification for a smart metering system.
The Society is now calling for the re-establishment of a National Smart Metering Forum to be led either by the Government or one of the UK water sector regulators to provide a “much-needed platform” to discuss policy and future direction for water smart meters, allowing the water industry to plan ahead. Crucially, agreement on a common specification for smart water meters would also enable the supply chain to innovate and develop the appropriate technology.
SBBWI said a Forum would also provide “much needed leadership” to ensure the industry’s interests are adequately represented on both national and European forums.
Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to obtain a copy of the Position Paper
Barhale has completed work on two separate Rapid Action Taskforce Spills projects it is carrying out for Severn Trent.
Börger UK, which has firmly established itself as a leading pump brand since it was set up in Staffordshire in 2004, has moved into bigger, brand-new premises in Shrewsbury.
HUBER Technology UK & Ireland are inviting people to register for their March webinar where they will be providing information about HUBER water intake screens for municipal and industrial applications.
Sulzer has launched a new global Center of Excellence (CoE) for Water Treatment Solutions - the CoE consolidates Sulzer’s wastewater treatment expertise in a unified and global manner.
Hear how Scottish Water has completed its £235 million Ayrshire Glasgow Resilience Project - customers across Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire will now benefit from a more secure and resilient water supply.
Hear how United Utilities is accelerating its investment to reduce spills from storm overflows across the Northwest.
Find out more about the remarkable career opportunities on offer at WSP - scroll down to watch the inspirational video.