Appendix A: Smart metering in revised draft water resources management plans
Updated 20 December 2024
Applies to England
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As set out in the main report, the revised draft plans have proposed smart metering programmes as part of wider demand management programmes. This includes both installing smart meters in homes that are not metered, new homes and upgrading existing basic meters to smart meters in metered households. The government and Ofwat announced accelerated installation of 462,000 smart meters as part of wider accelerated water infrastructure delivery. This supports immediate delivery to help increase the rate of smart metering.
Currently around 60% of households in England (including void properties) are metered but only an estimated 12% of households have smart meters. Most companies are planning a rollout out of smart meters, with current revised draft plans achieving around 51% smart metering of households by 2030, 75% by 2040 and 77% by 2050.
Figure A1: Percentages of total household metering and smart metering in the revised draft WRMPs across the planning period
Most businesses are already metered, however only an estimated 4% are currently smart metered. Water companies plan to increase smart metering in non-household properties to 55% by 2030, 73% by 2040 and 74% by 2050. This reflects a major increase in ambition across water companies, compared with their draft plans.
Figure A2: Percentages of total non-household metering and smart metering in the revised draft WRMPs across the planning period
