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by Karma Loveday

Restrictions on customer-supplied meter reads in the business market to be lifted

All restrictions on the number of customer-supplied reads that can be put into the non household market’s central system CMOS will be lifted on 9 July, following an Ofwat decision.


The regulator has approved changes proposed under CPW109 by the metering huddle – three wholesalers and three retailers that advise the Code Panel on the Strategic Metering Review MOSL is conducting – to remove restrictions on customer-supplied reads completely.


At present, the rules say only one of the two reads prescribed for the 98.9% of meters in the market that are designated for twice-yearly reads can be customer supplied. The remaining 1.1% of meters qualify for monthly reads (any meter which carries an 80mm or above tariff or supplies a supply point that takes more than 100,000m3 of water a year). Currently ten of the 12 reads can be customer reads. Despite these restrictions, retailers can use any number of customer reads as the basis for billing.


MOSL proposed a change that would allow two customer reads for twice-yearly read meters only. The metering huddle put forward an alternative proposal to remove all restrictions. Both were on the basis that the existing rules potentially deprive the market of more accurate reads, particularly in light of Covid-19 restrictions. Ofwat has approved the alternative solution.

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