Thames’ smart meter undertakings lifted

Ofwat has released Thames Water from its formal undertakings concerning smart metering and data management in the non-household retail market. It is satisfied the company has complied with all actions and corrected the identified problems.

The problems related to: 

• A Competition Act investigation launched in 2019 on Thames’ approach to installing smart water meters for business customers and its provision of access to water usage data on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms. Thames offered, and Ofwat accepted, commitments to address this by the end of 2022, involving changing its approach to smart metering and providing retailers and business customers with a choice of means to access the water usage data they require.

• A Water Industry Act investigation in 2020 to consider whether Thames met its obligations relating to the accuracy of market data it made available to retailers at the time of the opening of the business retail market and since. Ofwat also investigated whether Thames had in place appropriate management resources to ensure that it was able to carry out its regulated activities. Thames was found to be in contravention in 2021. It was ordered to pay £11m in compensation to retailers and businesses for any over-charing, and adopted formal undertakings to revise the way it handles complaints, manages its data, and undertakes major, non-asset or infrastructure projects to ensure that similar issues do not arise in future.