Saving Water Case Studies: Helping customers see the bigger picture

CASE STUDY:

Anglian Water and Advizzo reduce water consumption in the East of England through behavioral and data science.

We needed to change the way residents in the East of England think about their water use to help preserve the environment, and sustain resources in the long-term. With Advizzo it’s a win-win. Combining Advizzo with our smart metering program means households are inextricably connected to their water use. They can reduce their consumption and have peace of mind about the metered bill, while we help protect natural resources.

Doug Spencer, Head of Smart metering program, Anglian Water.

THE PROBLEM

Anglian Water wanted to reduce per property consumption (PPC) in the east of England to help preserve the environment, improve customer satisfaction, and go above and beyond OFWAT’s ongoing per capita consumption (PCC) guidelines. In 2014, it was keen to explore how the customer would play a significant role in that process, and appointed Paul Glass as Smart Metering Programme Manager.
Paul’s role was to find an effective way to communicate the quantifiable benefits of reducing water consumption to residents in the east of England. Work was already ongoing in this area. Between 2012-2016, Anglian Water commissioned a trial, allowing residents with internal meters in the east of England access to a Water Display, which is paired to their meter to measure their water use in real-time. From this trial, Anglian Water learnt from its customers that giving them an easy way to understand their habitual water use would help reduce PPC overall.
Prior to this trial, Anglian Water communicated with customers through the bill, or when a customer connected with the company to report a leak. It was clear a full customer engagement strategy was needed to help incentivise customers into reducing their water consumption, and increase their satisfaction with Anglian Water.

HOW THEY SOLVED IT

Encouraged by customer response, Anglian Water reviewed how they could provide customers with ongoing insights into their water consumption moving forwards.
They chose Advizzo to support its customer engagement strategy, as it was the most flexible and cost-effective provider. Now, using Advizzo and smart metering installations, residents in Newmarket are able to measure their water use in near real-time, comparing it to similar households in their area. The project remains ongoing, with activity ramping up in Norwich and Colchester.
Through a unique water consumption portal – developed jointly by Advizzo and Anglian Water – Newmarket residents receive ‘nudges’, informing them of how they are doing in terms of water consumption, rating their use against similar households. Advizzo provides these insights by analyzing the smart meter data and educating residents through behavioral science techniques, such as social norm messaging and incentives. Soon, the portal will deliver personalized tips on how to lower water use, using data from an on line consumer survey designed to “get to know” each individual household and its habitual consumption.
These insights give residents a heightened social awareness of what is average water consumption, as well as incentivizing them to reduce their bills.

THE BENEFITS

With the help of Advizzo’s behavioral science and data science platform, Anglian Water has reduced water consumption by 8% for Newmarket’s measured customers over 12 months. The use of behavioral science has delivered about a quarter of this saving which, from 4,500 or so properties, is around 18,500 litres per day. This saving is still only after the first year, so more savings are expected in the future as engagement increases.