Smart metering transformation fuels UK energy and water utilities
Overview
As part of the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure (CNI), a leading communications infrastructure provider embarked on one of the most ambitious smart metering programs globally. Supporting millions of energy and water meters, the client plays a vital role in enabling sustainable resource usage, leak detection and digital transformation across the utilities ecosystem.
We partnered with the client to deliver end-to-end system integration, application development and operational support for this smart metering initiative enabling energy and water providers to reduce emissions, streamline service delivery and improve consumer engagement at scale.
The Challenge
The client’s mission was to improve energy productivity, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enable consumers to better control usage. But delivering on this goal required a reliable and secure data infrastructure capable of supporting millions of smart meters across the UK.
For water utilities, early detection of leaks and usage insights were equally urgent. Building and integrating this ecosystem at national scale demanded a robust, scalable and highly secure solution, aligned with evolving smart energy codes and industry regulations.
The Objective
Our mandate was to modernize and scale the client’s smart metering infrastructure while ensuring continuous innovation and operational resilience. This included building secure, real-time data platforms for enhanced visibility, aligning with enterprise architecture and managing fully integrated test and production environments for consistent delivery.
The Solution
We executed a full-scale smart utilities transformation encompassing smart meter development, infrastructure integration, testing and operational support.
- Deployed millions of smart meters connected through a secure communications hub
- Designed a secure network with business and operations support systems and a comms hub manager per smart energy code
- Conducted system integration testing to ensure smooth interoperability
- Implemented ServiceNow for fast incident management and resolution
- Enhanced energy and water metering apps to support national scale
The Impact
The program delivered measurable results across smart metering infrastructure, systems testing and operations supporting both energy and water utilities on their digital transformation journeys.
- 3.5M+ smart comms hubs now active across energy networks; 2M+ water service points connected
- 50% reduction in comms hub and application regression testing time
- 30% faster defect triage through automation and toolchain enhancements
- 70% reduction in application deployment time and effort
- 30% cost savings per release through a risk-based quality approach
- 100% SLA and KPI adherence in third-line support
- 40% improvement in mean time to repair (MTTR) for incidents
- 90% of defects detected early in pre-integration testing (PIT)
- Achieved top-tier customer satisfaction index through consistent delivery and innovation
Beyond the Numbers
This transformation not only enabled the client to scale operations securely and reliablyThis transformation not only enabled the client to scale operations securely and reliably, it positioned the UK utilities sector for a greener, more data-driven future. Through smarter resource management, real-time insights and automation, we helped utilities reduce operational waste and environmental impact while improving transparency and user satisfaction.
Celebrating Success
Our work on this landmark smart metering initiative highlights the critical role of integration and automation in driving sustainability and Total Experience in utilities. Our sustainability report highlights this impact, noting a 25% reduction in combined Scope 1 and 2 emissions and a 29% decrease in Scope 3 emissions since FY20, demonstrating the company’s commitment to building greener and smarter infrastructure. By creating a unified platform that supports both smart energy and water metering, we’re enabling the next generation of sustainable, connected ecosystems while accelerating the UK’s journey toward net zero.
