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Date Published: 10/12/2021
ARCHIVED - Spain reveals plan to digitise water meters in private homes
The ultimate goal is to extend the program to include the agricultural, industrial and tourism sectors in Spain
Spain is breaking new ground as part of its strategic project for economic recovery and transformation (Perte) by aiming to fully digitise water service meters in private homes. This collaborative initiative aims to streamline water management in order to guarantee transparency, improve efficiency and ultimately bring the country a step towards its Sustainable Development Goals, 2030.
Once the plan has been finalised, costs will have to be negotiated with the Ministry of Finance before the Perte is set to the EC for approval.
The initial plan involves the installation of 13.5 million smart water meters by 2025 with an estimated investment of 1.35 billion euros.
The proposal was originally suggested earlier this year by the main public water operators: Canal de Isabel II (Community of Madrid) and Emasesa (Andalucia), and private: Suez, owner of firms such as Agbar, Aqualia, owned by FCC and the Australian fund IFM, and Global Omnium. Also on board are data operator giants Telefónica, Orange and Vodafone, and meter manufacturing companies Contazara, Hidroconta and Indra.
The water companies plan to assume between 70% and 80% of the cost, that is, between 945 and 1,080 million euros. The rest, between 270 and 405 million, would be financed by Next Generation funds.
The current estimates are limited to the digitisation of water meters in private homes but the idea of the Ministry of Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge is to expand the coverage of the programme to industry, agriculture and tourism.
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