Powering the water sector

We help water companies drive efficiency, satisfy regulatory requirements such as PR19 and AMP7, and deliver the optimal experience for their customers, whilst enabling them to unleash the innovation that will drive a more sustainable future.

Meeting the many demands of water regulators, consumers, environmental groups and shareholders is undeniably challenging. We work with many leading UK water companies and deliver a combination of innovative energy technology and end-to-end energy solutions required to deliver increased efficiency, reliable supply and reduced carbon emissions.

Vivaqua, has been able to reduce power demand by up to 5MW during demand response events, saving 4,000 tonnes of carbon emissions every year.

"Water operators can fully concentrate on the core business, as the Demand Side Response process is entirely automated.”
Pierre Granville, Technical Director, Vivaqua

Read our Vivaqua case study

Our energy solutions

Our innovative, flexible energy solutions include insights and analytics, on-site generation, renewable energy technologies and flexible funding.
With our end-to-end delivery capability and fully-managed service options, we can help you address regulation needs such as PR19 and AMP7.

Combined Heat and Power (CHP)

Reduce energy costs and carbon emissions in facilities where there are combined heat, power and cooling requirements

Renewable generation and storage

Take advantage of unused real estate to reduce carbon emissions, reduce costs and improve site resilience

Demand Side Response (DSR)

Create new revenues from your on-site generation assets that you can invest in patient care

Icon of wireless monitoring system Pan Power

Energy Insight

Identify operational inefficiencies and risks across your infrastructure, informing a data-driven approach to running a water operation

Flexible funding models

Enable deployment of new, more efficient technologies, while feeing up capital to invest in new health systems

End-to-end delivery model

Reduce dependence on limited, in-house operational resources, and ensure the security and resilience of your ongoing energy supply

See how we are helping the water industry today

The pressures on water companies leading into AMP7

Ofwat has made clear its focus on reducing prices as part of PR19, the current Price Review consultation. For customer bills to be reduced while investors continue to see a healthy return, there is no choice but to improve efficiency. Pressures from regulators and consumers to maintain a secure and consistent supply are increasingly determining financial return; and regulators and consumers are no less demanding when it comes to visibility of environmental sustainability. Innovation will be key if the water industry is to meet the many demands placed upon it.

What role does energy have to play?

New approaches to generating and managing energy have an important role to play in enabling the water industry to respond to the challenges it faces.

Energy Insight solutions can help to identify current operational inefficiencies and risks, informing a data-driven approach to running a water operation
On-site generation and storage technologies improve operational resilience and reduce the costs of consuming energy from the grid
Renewable energy technologies, such as solar, reduce carbon emissions and lower costs
Demand Side Response schemes enable water firms to generate new revenue streams from on-site assets and access incentives for managing grid consumption
Flexible funding models and innovative commercial contracts help water companies overcome the capex constraints that often prevent them from deploying more efficient energy technology and also provide certainty over future returns
Working with the right partners will be key to enabling water companies to unlock the opportunities presented by energy

20%

Operating costs accounted for by energy in water companies – second only to staff costs

% of UK electricity consumption accounted for by water and sewage treatment

4Mt

Estimated annual carbon footprint of the UK water industry – 0.7% of total UK emissions

Energy enables the water industry of the future

New approaches to generating and managing energy have an important role to play in enabling the water industry to respond to the challenges it faces. There are four key areas water companies need to focus on.

Innovate for improved performance

Innovation is key to ensuring a profitable and sustainable future. Ofwat wants to see the sector start driving innovation through better use of data. Through improved big data and analytics, firms can get a better understanding of their systems, manage risk proactively, drive increased operational efficiency and extract greater value from existing assets. Energy insights enable a data driven approach to running a water operation, and demand side response schemes can help water firms to generate new revenue streams from on-site assets.

Read how energy insights can benefit your business

Energy efficiency to satisfy stakeholder

Given that investors need to see a healthy return, and environmental regulations allow for no compromise on quality standards, the only way to achieve lower customer bills is by driving greater efficiency . Newer energy technologies such as CHP, solar and demand side response offer significant opportunities to reduce energy costs and generate revenue to offset energy costs.

Find out how you can generate revenue to offset energy costs

Improve resilience to ensure supply

Water and sewage facilities are a part of the critical national infrastructure and failures in supply are unacceptable to consumers and regulators. The importance of resilience is reinforced by the increasing focus on outcomes and customer satisfaction within the mechanisms used to determine financial returns. On-site generation and storage solutions reduce reliance on the grid, and energy insights provide early warning of potential equipment failures.

Download our guide on how to achieve energy resilience

Build a sustainable future

As part of the regulatory framework, water companies need to report on, and take action to reduce, their greenhouse gas emissions including carbon. Many have made public commitments to significantly reduce their carbon footprint as part of their corporate social responsibility goals. Renewable energy technologies, such as solar, reduce carbon emissions as well as lowering costs.

Read how solar can support carbon reduction initiatives