Collaboration is key to future-proofing smart water meter systems in the UK

Can you tell me briefly about your current career path and your current role at Capgemini?

I’ve spent the last 35 years in the utilities industry, working predominantly within the gas and water sectors. My career has focused on enabling change through technology, across investment, asset management, and operations.

Most recently, prior to my role at Capgemini, I was CIO at Anglian Water from 2017 to 2023, and I now work in an advisory role to Capgemini’s Energy Transition & Utilities business, supporting on strategic water opportunities as the industry approaches AMP8 in England & Wales. We are working on defining how Capgemini supports clients as the industry looks to redevelop strategies and operating models to meet the evolving environmental, affordability and societal demands it faces.

Can you elaborate on the key factors that companies should consider when creating an ecosystem of partners for a smart meter program?

There’s no one-stop shop for partner ecosystems across smart water metering. It takes the collaborative efforts of multiple parties working in unison to achieve the outcomes customers want, and that society needs: reduced leakage and lower usage, leading to a more environmentally focused operation and lower customer bills. Some key guidance to consider when selecting partners, creating your ecosystem, and managing it effectively includes:

Partner stability and longevity are crucial since these are not in-year purchases. Your smart metering partners need to have the stamina to go the distance.

Continuous improvement and innovation are essential because the average life expectancy of an S&P 500 company is 15 years, and technology is constantly changing and evolving. Ensure you choose partners with a proven track record in innovation.

Collaborative approaches are vital for success. Effective collaboration between partners is crucial, so make sure your partners are willing to work together, share knowledge, and align goals.

Accountability is necessary for smooth operations. Establish clear accountabilities and lines of communication across and between all partners, and jointly define and agree upon roles, responsibilities, and expectations upfront.

What are some of the most common challenges water companies face when managing the data influx from smart meters, and how can they overcome these challenges?

Effective collaboration between partners is crucial, so make sure your partners are willing to work together, share knowledge, and align goals

Water companies will be faced with an unprecedented volume of data from smart meters. This will be intimidating for those who are not prepared, with pressure to ensure the maximum insight is extracted. It’s essential to have developed a clear strategy ahead of time for managing the information.

Alongside this, it’s important to be clear on the value that this data can bring, and the opportunities it can unlock at every level of the business. These opportunities need to be balanced against the cost implications of the new datasets, and so there needs to be effective communication about the “big picture” goal. We work with companies to help them facilitate the augmentation of datasets; both those that are known from day one, and to future-proof those insights which will emerge over time.

How can water companies effectively integrate machine learning and generative AI to enhance the value derived from smart meter data?

Water companies should strive to significantly enhance and optimise intelligence from their operations. There are significant opportunities to derive value by integrating smart meter data with machine learning and generative AI. Examples include predictive maintenance (machine learning algorithms for leak detection); supply management and control (using flow and balance analysis); performance and trend analysis to predict the failure of infrastructure components; demand forecasting of usage pattern analysis, seasonal trends and anomalies, as well as customer insights and engagement.

Unsurprisingly, data sets are likely to be far from perfect. This will include instances of missing reads, flatlines, unexplained peaks and spurious readings. This is where advanced analytical techniques can help. Generative AI can be used to help improve and smooth time series datasets, dramatically improving the quality of analysis. Employing appropriate techniques can support a culture of continuous learning and improvement for the field force to better understand the next best action to take. Other techniques can be used to determine the root cause of issues around meter performance and connectivity.

How can water companies ensure that their smart meter programs are adaptable to future technological advancements and regulatory changes?

It’s essential to choose the right partners, to establish the optimal eco-system. Collaboration is everything in this industry, and so building strong foundations will go a long way to future-proofing smart meter systems.

In addition, companies should build review checkpoints into both the commercial frameworks and the Key Performance Indicator (KPI) mechanisms.

Innovation must play a central role across the accountabilities of the partner eco-system, and organisations need to ensure innovation is linked to commercial performance and opportunity.

How can water companies overcome the challenges of managing diverse IT systems and organizational silos while keeping up with evolving regulatory demands?

One of the ways to do this is to establish your smart metering environment with “greenfield” thinking – approaching the projects starting from a clean slate – and creating new footprints as far as possible.

Data and operating models, along with technical repositories that reflect the core objectives of smart metering, will allow cleaner and more controlled interfaces and augmentation at an enterprise level.

Water companies should look to create product-centric operating models, underpinned by cross-functional delivery teams with a clear focus on releasing prioritised value to the business and in turn customers.

They should establish strategic integration tooling – not just across the smart metering landscape – and leverage hyperscaler opportunities alongside native tooling, to provide platform engineering and FinOps capabilities that will maximise the business value of the cloud.

In what ways can water companies leverage digital solutions to not only meet regulatory demands but also exceed them, set new industry standards and ensure that digitalization efforts lead to short-term and long-term cost savings?

Digital disruption across the operating model of water companies is now more relevant than ever before. The sheer size and scale of investment required to meet enhanced AMP8 regulatory targets alongside environmental and customer demand place huge delivery challenges on supply chains, along with extreme affordability hurdles for the companies themselves. The industry must come together to collaboratively innovate and implement approaches to disruptive thinking that create new supply chains with the capability and capacity to deliver outcomes via alternative solutions.