MOSL rates wholesalers on smart and demand reduction commitment

MOSL has given a green traffic light (RAG) rating to four water firms – Anglian, SES, Thames and United Utilities – for committing clearly to roll out smart meters to non-household (NHH) customers promptly in their revised draft Water Resources Management Plans (WRMPs).

It identified Affinity as the only company to show low commitment in this area, given it will not be until 2040 that all business customers in its area are upgraded to smart. All other firms (except Bristol, Severn Trent, Southern and Yorkshire Water who will be rated when their revised draft WRMPs are published) secured amber ratings, for targeting full NHH smart metering by 2035.

The ratings came as part of a MOSL assessment of wholesaler commitments to smart metering, water efficiency and Defra’s 2038 9% NHH demand reduction target (see table).

Water efficiency commitments were assessed qualitatively, so were not RAG rated. Regarding demand reduction, MOSL gave four firms amber for anticipating missing the 9% target: Anglian, Northumbrian, Cambridge and South West.

It said: “While we expect plans to meet Defra’s 9% target, we note some companies anticipate missing it due to anticipated economic growth in their regions. Clarity is needed from the Environment Agency, Defra and Ofwat on:

• how growth will be factored in to measuring progress towards the target so companies can allow for the sustainable growth the government wants and aren’t penalised for operating in high growth areas;

• the progress expected towards the target by 2030 to stay on track and;

• the level of ML/day reductions needed and whether this is a uniform reduction across regions.”

MOSL added: “Reviewing the plans highlighted that there is no common format for NHH related aspects which are sometimes found in appendices or supporting documents, so clear commitments can be difficult to find. We believe developing a common format for this information to be provided would help identify and compare final and future WRMPs.”