Smart metering and billing

摘要: Until now householders have received limited information on their water consumption patterns. Smart water metering presents far more detailed information resources and the opportunity to transform the existing flow of information to consumers for improved efficiencies in water usage. However, a balance is needed between delivering current minimal information and the full detail smart metering can provide on time of use and end uses. It is critical to understand what information is of value to householders. This paper presents results from a recent householder survey at MidCoast Water (NSW), which improves our understanding of the customer perspective on water consumption information. inTRoduCTionUntil recently, householders have had limited knowledge of water consumption beyond their quarterly paper bill, which has traditionally displayed little more than the total volume of water consumed over the period, pricing information and the total amount due. More recently many water utilities have begun to introduce additional information in their water bills. This new information typically includes bar charts depicting past consumption in monthly or quarterly blocks for the previous year. Other utilities have gone further to include some means of comparison with other households according to size, eg the number of occupants or the dwelling size.