Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council has appointed Switch2 Energy to provide metering and billing services for five communal heating schemes.

Switch2 will retrofit its award-winning pay-as-you-go G6 smart meters to 170 homes across five residential sites - all served by communal heat systems. The initial five-year contract will also include meter maintenance, a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) facility and customer service provision.

Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council is one of the first Councils in England to purchase metering equipment using the Fife heat network (metering and billing) procurement Framework. The framework enables an efficient delivery of heat metering projects to participating local authorities directly with approved suppliers. This provides assurance that a rigorous assessment and due-diligence process has already been completed via an OJEU compliant tender process.

The new metering at the five Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council heat networks will comply with the Government Heat Network (Metering & Billing) Regulations.
The metering technology incorporates a display unit that shows precisely how much energy has been consumed and costs incurred, together with the resident's credit status. An audio notification feature is included, which advises if credit is running low and an emergency credit facility is required. These features will help customers to improve budgeting and energy management, potentially leading to a reduction in their energy consumption and carbon footprint.

The G6 also uses smart wireless technology to replace the traditional corner shop/ token-based pre-payment system. Residents can instead 'top-up' by a smartphone app or online, landline phone, by direct debit, at a post office, or any Pay Point.

Dawn Dawson - Director - Housing, Communities & Economic Development said: "I am pleased to announce the Council's ongoing commitment to provide effective services for its tenants. Recent reports suggest that the introduction of smart metering and intelligent billing equipment will contribute to a 25% CO2 saving by 2035 and this technology is not only great for the environment, but will also help our tenants to have better control of their energy usage and bill management."

Switch2 Energy supplies 75,000 residents and 180 clients across 500 heat networks. Services include equipment design, manufacture and supply, metering, billing and pay-as-you-go, through to maintenance, energy centre management and customer services.