Yorkshire Water Celebrates 100,000 Smart Meter Exchanges As Roll-Out Gathers Pace

Yorkshire Water has reached a major milestone in its ambitious smart meter programme, with 100,000 water meters now successfully upgraded across the region.

The five-year roll-out, which began in Sheffield in January 2025, is transforming how customers manage their water usage and helping to create a smarter, more resilient water network.

The programme will see 1.4 million existing meters replaced with smart technology by 2030, giving customers real-time visibility of their water consumption and enabling Yorkshire Water to detect leaks earlier than ever before.

James Wilson, Manager of Smart Metering Delivery at Yorkshire Water, said: “Hitting the 100,000 mark is a fantastic achievement and testament to the collective hard work across the programme. From a standing start 18-months ago, we have worked collaboratively with our partners Netmore and MGroup, to mobilise the ambitious plan and we are now installing over 1,000 meters per day.

“Smart meters are already making a big difference – helping customers save money, helping us find and fix leaks faster, and helping us all to save water. This milestone shows we’re well on track to deliver a smarter, more sustainable water network for Yorkshire, what a great way to celebrate the first anniversary!”

The recent drought and hosepipe restrictions, rescinded on Wednesday 10 December, have really highlighted the importance of water saving, as well as spotting and fixing leaks as quickly as possible. Smart meters send over 20 readings per day, providing accurate billing and helping customers understand their own water usage.

Smart meters are delivering some positive results to Yorkshire Water and its customers over the last 12-months including:

• Over 100,000-meter exchanges across south Yorkshire since January 2025
• 204,000 smart meters now across the whole of the Yorkshire Water network
• 7,000 customers contacted to inform them of possible leaks at their homes via Smart technology
• 4,500 leaks fixed following Smart Meter detection
• 5.94 million litres of water saved and potential damage to properties avoided
• Sheffield and Rotherham roll out nearing completion with Barnsley, Pontefract and Wakefield the next areas for smart meter upgrades

Dominic Murphy, director of network delivery at Netmore, Yorkshire Water’s connectivity partner, said: “We’re proud to support Yorkshire Water in building a strong and reliable network for smart metering. This technology is a game-changer for resource management and will deliver long-term benefits for customers and the environment.”

Yorkshire Water is working towards halving leakage across its network by 2050. Smart metering is a key part of this strategy, providing hourly readings that allow early detection of leaks before they become bursts, reducing disruption and cost.

The meter upgrade is straightforward and shouldn’t take any longer than about 20 minutes. If the existing meter is outside, customers don’t have to do anything. The engineer will knock on the door just to let them know who they are and what they are doing and then just carry on and get the job done. Customers don’t have to be at home for engineers to swap the new meter if it is outdoors.

Customers with an existing meter indoors will receive a text to let them know our engineers are on their way over the next few weeks. The text will include a reference number and a link so that customers can access the booking page and make an appointment that is convenient for them for when the meter can be upgraded.

Water will be turned off very briefly as the meter is exchanged. We will make a convenient appointment for any of our customers with a medical need, regardless of whether the existing meter is indoors or outdoors.

For more information, visit www.yorkshirewater.com/smart-meters.

About Yorkshire Water
We’re Yorkshire Water. The people trusted to take care of Yorkshire’s most valuable natural resource. On the surface, we manage and look after the region’s water, coast and countryside. But our work means much more than just providing essential services to over 5 million customers in the region. We’re an integral part of Yorkshire life and millions of people who live and work here rely upon us, every single day.

Our vision is to create a thriving Yorkshire, which is right for customers and right for the environment. Over the next five years, from 2025-2030, we are investing £8.3B to improve performance and ensure we deliver for our customers and the environment. It is our largest ever environmental investment, which will provide benefits for decades to come and help Yorkshire’s economy by supporting up to 10,000 jobs. Our plan supports the changes we need to provide safe, clean, great tasting water; deliver value for money to our customers; build and operate efficient infrastructure; reduce pollution; improve river quality and reduce carbon emissions.