The Challenge
Southern Water is carrying out a major programme of environmental and service improvements during the current regulatory period.The Universal Metering Programme (UMP) includes the management of an intensive meter installation process and the subsequent collection and management of the meter readings to ensure accurate and timely billing of customers. To meet the ambitious targets, some 400 meters must be installed each day for the five year period.
The UMP programme puts Southern Water at the forefront of domestic metering work in the UK, and the adoption of Automated Meter Reading (AMR) technology allows the “drive by” capture of information from moving vans providing a much more efficient solution than reading from a meter.
In addition, Southern Water has identified a number of key areas to help improve the quality and completeness of asset data during this regulatory period.
The Solution
We have been working closely with Southern Water in both of these areas. Our Ellipse, Field Data Collection System and Data Transfer Solution are enabling Southern Water to ensure that accurate information is gathered for the meter installation processes.
Once the meters are in operation, readings of water use can be captured and passed to the billing system quickly and accurately. The linking of AMR technology with our proven solutions for data handling and management has enabled Southern Water to rise to the challenge of universal metering.
