Anglian Water bestow award for going “above and beyond” in exceptional times

Sensus, a part of Xylem has been recognized in the prestigious Anglian Water Supplier Awards.

Sensus, a Xylem Brand, in partnership with Arqiva, the leading communications infrastructure and media services provider, was presented with the “performing in exceptional times” award for the delivery in 2020 of a smart water metering network for one of the UK’s largest water providers. 

In the height of the Covid challenges in June 2020, Sensus’ two-way FlexNet® communication solution and smart metrology was delivered to Anglian Water by Arqiva across its dedicated private network. This Smart Water Meter Programme will help tackle projected water shortages in the East of England, enabling Anglian to meet Ofwat’s increased water leakage targets for the next Asset Management Plan (AMP) seven-year period, as well as meeting the company’s consumption reduction targets.

Through upgraded water meters they can help customers understand and make smarter decisions around their water usage, as well as assisting the utility to pinpoint property-side leaks, which can lose hundreds of litres of water a day.

The value delivered by both parties, and recognised through the Award, was the upfront commitment to meet Anglian’s timescales as an imperative. In the early stages of the procurement process, Sensus and Arqiva invested significant resources at their own risk to be able to present a credible plan and to also commence work immediately. With the build of eight ‘quick start’ network sites, designed to provide coverage to 100,000 meters in the target areas, and the launch of the IT infrastructure build, communications Head-End system and Service Model developments, they could ensure that the meter data flowed successfully to Anglian IT systems from Day 1.

Sensus also committed to the manufacture of 20,000 meters and end-points, configured specifically for Anglian. The units were ready in the warehouse well in advance of the contract award in anticipation of receiving purchase orders when released. They also ensured that the appropriate installer tools were available in the required volumes ready to go. This ensured the delivery of a functioning network with meters and communications end-points in sufficient volumes to meet the challenging deployment objectives.

Vince Kerr, General Manager at Sensus, a Xylem Brand comments, “Xylem is known for its premium products and solutions but recognition for commitment ‘above and beyond’ is a real accolade in these exceptional times. We took a risk, in a time of risk, with confidence and commitment to deliver, to meet Anglian’s ambitious programme timescales and deployment objectives. The Xylem smart utility network will allow Anglian to secure its water supply, achieve sustainability goals and secure resiliency for the future.’

John Lillistone, Director of Utilities at Arqiva, comments, “Our heritage in managed networks and combining our expertise with Sensus in delivering smart meter networks has proven a successful outcome for all parties and we are delighted with this acknowledgment. We have swiftly installed and commissioned all eight of our planned quick start radio sites. The current network coverage means Arqiva’s network instantly communicates with 100% of the installed Sensus meters, transmitting hourly data back to Anglian.”

Doug Spencer, IMDS Head of Smart Metering at Anglian Water, said: “Sensus and Arqiva went above and beyond, absorbing risk to deliver a solution that met our demand of guaranteed coverage, network security and frequency of data from day one, ensuring sufficient volumes to meet deployment objectives. Such a performance in exceptional times warrants recognition.”

As a consequence of this pre-contract readiness commitment  and less than three months on in the programme, over 35,000 meters have been installed in target areas under the network and the programme has ramped up to an impressive install rate of 700 meters per day.