What does that mean for water utilities?
There are a number of different metering solutions out there and the rate of digital adoption varies greatly around the world. Some have been quick to adapt, others a little reticent. If you’ve been sitting back and waiting to see what unfolds, it’s worth being aware that the digital water utility does not belong to a theoretical future. It is very much here today.

What may have started out for some as a more accurate way of measuring consumption has evolved into an operations optimisation strategy that can have a quantifiable impact on your bottom line.

Making the shift to digital is about protecting revenue, asset management, customer relations and much more. It’s about making the right choices and the right investments.

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Smart metering has many benefits: Protecting revenue, asset management and customer relations are among those benefits. 

Benefit for you, your customers and the earth
As the pressure on the earth’s resources grows and the need to run, and be able to demonstrate, sustainable operations increases, digital water utilities have the ability to easily benchmark water loss.

With intelligent metering solutions, the exact consumption of every user and the precise volume supplied to different supply areas and sections are known factors. Working with water balances thus changes significantly. Instead of calculating the water balance of entire supply areas, daily calculations can be made for individual areas. This makes it easier for you to benchmark water loss and prioritise resources for leak detection.

But it’s not just about being reactive to leak detection, it’s about using meter data to take proactive steps to impact positive change. Being able to obtain factual and updated knowledge about the pressure in your distribution network means, amongst other things, you can optimise pressure and monitor areas where low pressure increases the risk of percolation of water or unregulated pumps increase the risk of damaging pressure surges. This prolongs the longevity of your network, reduces water loss due to leakage and minimises energy consumption – of benefit to both you and your customers.

And at a time when publics are coming to not just require but demand more transparency of organisations, digital utilities are able to provide the level of customer service they need to thrive.

When you’re operating a truly digital water utility, you’re able to provide your customers with online access to information about their hourly water consumption. Thus, increasing their awareness of their own consumption and empowering them to make changes which they can then see reflected in their next bill – as you’re able to charge for their actual consumption, not estimated usage.

Having that level of insight safeguards your customers against unexpected events and in the process fosters a relationship built on trust. You’ll likely find that this enhanced connection between consumption and settlement results in fewer service calls and disputes with your customers. 

Do you want to get ready for the future of meter reading?

Learn more about our smart metering solutions right here.