Introduction

In an era marked by the scarcity of natural resources and growing attention to sustainability, water plays a central role in environmental strategies. Thanks to digital innovation and advanced data use, it is now possible to turn water savings into a concrete, shared value. Water utilities can adopt intelligent billing systems that reward citizens’ virtuous behaviors through transparent and measurable mechanisms. An approach based on smart meters, contextual data, and advanced contractual models makes it possible to optimize consumption and trigger a virtuous cycle between technology, efficiency, and active participation.

The Data Foundation for Smart Billing

 The first step toward promoting conscious water use is building a reliable and integrated data infrastructure. Smart meters, now widely deployed, provide accurate and consistent daily water consumption readings. These are complemented by other key data sources: historical consumption records at individual and household levels, demographic and cadastral information, the geographic context of the user (plain, hillside, mountain), and weather conditions such as rainfall and seasonal temperatures.

This information base enables the creation of homogeneous user clusters and the application of comparison and incentive logic in an equitable, personalized, and data-driven way.

Outcome-Based Rewards: The Outcome-Based Model

To transform water savings into concrete incentives, utilities can adopt an Outcome-Based Contracting (OBC) model. This approach links remuneration to tangible results, measured through specific, shared KPIs. The process unfolds in three main phases:

1.      Defining Objectives and KPIs
 Each utility can define its own performance indicators based on territorial characteristics. KPIs may include daily per capita consumption, percentage variations over time, comparison with the cluster average, and adaptation to local weather conditions. This makes it possible to recognize and reward the most sustainable behaviors, enhancing both individual and collective responsibility.

2.      Selecting KPIs to Incentivize
 Once the most relevant indicators are identified, target thresholds and expected improvement percentages are set. Users who meet or exceed these objectives can receive incentives proportional to their performance level. The system is fully transparent and easily communicated to users.

3.      Structuring the Success Fee
 Every improvement is measured against an initial baseline. Progress tiers make it possible to reward improvements incrementally and proportionally. Incentives may take the form of bill discounts or other economic benefits, turning water efficiency into a tangible advantage for citizens.

Conclusions: Savings as a Collective Value

Implementing an advanced billing system based on bonus/malus logic not only improves water service management efficiency but also actively engages citizens in a path of environmental responsibility. Water is no longer just a resource to be managed but becomes a shared and participatory value in which everyone can make a difference. Savings translate into environmental, economic, and social benefits, strengthening the link between innovation, sustainability, and community.

Neta is Engineering’s digital platform that enables advanced water management models, making all of this possible. Thanks to its flexible, modular, and scalable architecture, Neta:

• integrates data from smart meters, cadastral sources, and weather systems,
• calculates customized KPIs in real time,
• manages incentive rules with precision,
• provides analytical dashboards for monitoring and auditing results.

With Neta, data becomes the engine of a new relationship between utilities and citizens, built on transparency, participation, and sustainability.