Posted by: @majordennisbloodnok

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if we ever got into any situation that overwhelmed those plans metered and unmetered properties would be rationed to the same degree.

I don't disagree with that.

But water companies are incentivised to fit Smart Meters which incorporate remote control commands.
It's a lot cheaper and quicker than sending staff down the roads to manually turn off stop-cocks.

When we next have a region which is predicted to run out of water, I doubt that legislation is going to deter the urgent need to restrict supplies.

Parliament would be more than willing to pass an emergency Bill in those circumstances.

Unlike electricity, we can't simply draw water from France or Norway via an interconnector!

In areas which exhibit surplus generation from solar, we are turning to desalination.
It uses lots of Joules, but if that energy was going to be discarded anyway, then it doesn't matter.

Both Cornwall and the Western half of Devon have surplus generation from solar and wind.

Whereas Devon also enjoys lots of rainfall from the SW slopes of Dartmoor and Exmoor, Cornwall has fewer water resources.
Moreover, the population of Cornwall doubles during the summer tourist season.

SouthWest Water is therefore investing in desalination projects for Cornwall.

That isn't an available option in the South East quarter of England.

Worse still, that's where government is giving planning permission for the construction of massive data centres.
Their water-consumption requirements are extremely high.

My present view is that water resources should be brought into the oversight of the new Regional Energy Strategic Plan organisations (RESPs).
Local knowledge is required...
... and Ofwat has let us down badly over the last 36-years of its existence.

Guess why most of Arqiva's water meter networks are in the South East?

PS. I have a Well 😎 

Posted by: @transparent

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When we next have a region which is predicted to run out of water, I doubt that legislation is going to deter the urgent need to restrict supplies.

Parliament would be more than willing to pass an emergency Bill in those circumstances.

That's exactly the bit I disagree with, though.

A drought doesn't suddenly pounce on you; there's a whole load that will have gone on in the run-up. As I said before, the water companies are required to have and disclose drought plans that are regularly maintained and updated. By talking about the scenario you describe, you're implying those plans are not followed by the water company and are not overseen by either Ofwat or their successor. You're also conflating restriction of supplies with shutting off of services, and even if stopping piped supply of water became necessary it's far easier to turn off way further back in the infrastructure than individual houses, smart meter or no.

All that said, I'm going to repeat what I wrote earlier in that this is still not helping work out whether smart meters are accurate enough or not. All the side issues raised are definitely interesting and worthy of discussion in their own right but I'd prefer this thread not be sidetracked from a pretty straightforward query.

Posted by: @majordennisbloodnok

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... helping work out whether smart meters are accurate enough or not.

Fortuitously I have a copy of a letter from the relevant Minister of State to my MP:

I would like to reassure you that all smart metering equipment used in Great Britain for
billing must be accurate. Accuracy levels for both smart and traditional meters must
comply with relevant legislation on measurement, which is the Measuring Instruments
Regulations (SI 2016/1153).

Of course, the Minister didn't actually write that all by himself.

But I was later able to correspond directly with the senior civil servant who provided the technical details in that letter.
He is suitably qualified and does understand the issues.