Portsmouth Water has become the first water utility to join the Kraken platform, a move they state will allow them to start their smart meter rollout.
Portsmouth Water, which oversees Portsmouth and its surrounding area, has adopted Kraken, a tech platform and subsidiary of UK renewables major Octopus Energy, to oversee all of its 324,000 customers.
The partnership marks Kraken’s first deal outside of energy and a move towards digitising the UK’s water sector.
According to the partners, Portsmouth’s use of the Kraken Tech platform will allow the company to start its smart meter rollout and drive down per capita consumption within the water-stressed region, an important regulatory target for the water industry.
According to Kraken, there are three ways in which the platform will enable this:
- Roll-out sequencing – Kraken’s ability to store and interrogate customer data (such as on engagement, consumption and priority services) and property data (occupancy, size and third party attributes like valuation) will enable Portsmouth Water to define their optimal smart meter roll-out sequence
- Smart meter journey – Customers will be able to opt-in for a smart meter via mobile app and a consumer portal, allowing them to book and manage installation appointments themselves
- Consumption rates and leakages down – The platform, according to Kraken, will unlock the benefits of a smart meter for both customers and the water system by enabling consumption awareness and nudging reductions in consumption by exporting smart meter data to customers
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Commenting on the partnership, Bob Taylor, CEO of Portsmouth Water, said: “We are thrilled to be the first non-energy utility to license the Kraken platform, which we believe will provide our customers with a more efficient and transparent service, meanwhile ensuring our systems are safe and secure.
“Most vitally, Kraken will allow us to supercharge the smart meter rollout in the water industry and will help our customers understand their consumption and identify leaks quickly and easily.”
According to Kraken, when it comes to managing supply, their platform provides an operating system extending to meter data management, a customer information system, billing, customer relationship management, customer interaction and AI-powered communication and automation.
Deepak Ravindran, CEO of Kraken for Utilities, added how, through the partnership, “Portsmouth Water will be able to unlock new levels of efficiency and benefit from a formula that has seen countless energy companies improve their relationships with customers and regulators.”
Portsmouth Water expects to install an additional 43,300 smart meters in the 2025-30 period, which should deliver water savings of 2.5Ml/d by March 2030.
Earlier this year in June, the UK’s water services authority Ofwat granted funding for an acceleration of smart water schemes. One such includes 500 smart meters to trial as part of Portsmouth Water’s programme alongside the supporting infrastructure for a wider rollout, including a meter data management system, cloud storage infrastructure, software and system implementation and integration.
