Yorkshire Water has launched a new pilot scheme to review the accounts of up to 100,000 customers who could save money by installing a water meter.

Customers will be offered to use a meter for two years and will be assessed on whether they have saved money, switching them back to the unmetered rate if no savings have been made.

Yorkshire Water’s analysis identified those customers living in a property with a high rateable value with a small number of occupants. The bills are therefore likely to be higher than they would be if they were billed according to the amount of water they use.

The firm provides water to around two million households, out of which 1.2 million are on a metered supply while the rest are billed based on the rateable value of their property.

Liz Barber, Director of Finance, Markets and Regulation said: “We are a monopoly so customers do not get a choice of who supplies their water – they cannot go on a price comparison website to find out if they could be better off. Because of this, we have an extra responsibility.

“It’s not enough for us to wait for them to contact us and request a meter, really looking after our customers means that we should proactively contact them and ensure that they are not paying more than they need to.”

The company is considering rolling out the scheme to all its unmetered customers if the pilot project is successful.