Smart metering journeys for household customers

Water companies in England and Wales are expanding the rollout of smart water meters, with plans to have them installed in around half of all homes by 2030.

This forms part of wider efforts to reduce demand on water resources and improve long-term water resilience in the face of climate pressures.

CCW commissioned research to better understand household customers’ views and experiences of smart metering, and to explore how water companies can better support them throughout their smart meter journey.

This consisted of focus groups and a representative survey of 2,153 customers across England and Wales.

Key findings

• Awareness of smart metering remains low, with almost two-thirds of households (64%) unable to recall seeing any information from their water company about having a smart meter installed in their property.
• Despite this, over six in ten households (62%) support the smart meter rollout, compared to 12% who are opposed.
• Many customers are unclear on why smart metering is needed, with low awareness of water stress and the role smart meters play in reducing demand on water resources.
• Around half of households want more information from their water company on how smart metering works (45%), how it could impact their bills (52%) and the wider benefits it can deliver (49%).
• Customers have mixed expectations about bill impacts, with 35% expecting their bills to decrease while 27% anticipate an increase.
• 4 in 10 customers say they do not trust their water company to take a balanced approach to the rollout of smart meters.

Water companies should be seizing more opportunities to raise awareness of smart meters among household customers.

CCW will use these findings to support companies to improve their communication and engagement with customers on smart metering and the potential benefits it can deliver for people and the environment.