• Severn Trent is expanding its smart metering rollout by starting work in Birmingham and Leicester.
• By having a comprehensive smart metering network, Severn Trent can identify leaks faster.
• Smart meters allow customers to take control of their water – controlling their bills and monitoring their water consumption.

Severn Trent has launched the rollout of its smart metering programme in Birmingham and Leicester – allowing the company to identify leaks faster, and customers to control their bills and water consumption. 

By having a smart meter fitted as part of this rollout, customers will be able to access a digital platform where they will be able to see exactly how much water their household uses hourly, and also get a personalised monthly report showing how their household uses water, with handy tips and tricks to reduce water consumption and drive down water bills. 

As well as saving money and avoiding estimated bills, the smart technology installed with each meter will allow Severn Trent teams to record near to real time data, helping to find and fix leaks faster than ever.

Severn Trent is installing a total of 250,000 smart water meters across Birmingham, Leicestershire and parts of Shropshire before March 2025 - this will see 125,000 existing metered customers being upgraded to a new smart meter and a further 125,000 customers have a brand-new meter installed. 

This means that with every smart meter installed, Severn Trent is one step closer to making its region a smart water hub. The work also compliments the company’s smart meter install across Coventry and Warwickshire as part of its £566m Green Recovery programme. 

Thomas Puddefoot, Subject Matter Expert at Severn Trent, said: “By spotting leaks quickly, it means more of our water goes to the places it’s meant to go - to our homes, to our schools, our hospitals, the businesses that need it most. Our smart meters will help us plan and manage demand meaning our customers get the water they need, when they need it.  

“It’s no secret that people generally save water when they switch to a meter, and we believe as well you should only pay for what you use, and smart meters are a great way of making sure that’s the case. With climate change, and the drier summers we’re seeing, it really is important we’re conserving water as best we can.” 

Severn Trent teams have already been out in areas such as the city centre, Oadby and Glenfield fitting smart meters. Engineers install the devices in boundary boxes outside a customer’s property boundary, where Severn Trent’s water supply pipe meets the supply pipe to the customer’s home.  

This is done either by screw-in installations which take around 20 minutes or dig installations, if there isn’t a boundary box, which take around two hours. 

Thomas added: “We’re looking forward to making great progress with our Leicester smart metering rollout in the months to come, as we know how helpful they can be to spot leaks and bring bills down for our customers.  

“We aren’t charging our customers to have these smart pieces of equipment installed, and we look forward to the insights they can give both ourselves at Severn Trent, and our customers about water use and leaks on our network.”