Toni M. Niemi, Global Business Line Manager, IEC Low Voltage Motors, ABB.
Water and wastewater services sit at the heart of modern infrastructure, but they also represent one of its greatest energy liabilities. Pumps, blowers, and aerators run constantly to ensure safe water supply and treatment, making utilities among the most intensive industrial users of electricity. Rising costs and tightening environmental requirements mean the focus on efficiency is sharper than ever.
Across Europe, utility bills increased by 64% between 2020 and 2025. Stockholm, Sweden, witnessed a record-breaking rise of 176%. On the other side of the world in Los Angeles County, United States, UCLA researchers found water bills had been climbing faster than inflation. This is because supply chain issues and higher energy prices affecting water processors and treatment plants are a global issue.
But regardless of volatile circumstances, what is clear and actionable for water industry operators is preparing for a future of greater transparency, scrutiny, and cost discipline. Practical action on energy efficiency will help insulate them against these shifting pressures while driving them toward Net Zero targets.
Why legacy equipment is holding utilities back
Despite sector-wide ambitions to cut emissions and costs, many treatment plants are still driven by decades-old equipment. Fixed-speed direct-on-line (DOL) induction motors remain commonplace, operating continuously at full capacity even when demand is partial. Flow regulation is usually managed with mechanical throttling, essentially running a tap at full power but restricting output with a valve.
This approach wastes energy, increases wear on pumps and pipework, and exposes utilities to costly unplanned maintenance. More efficient alternatives, such as pairing motors with Variable Speed Drives (VSDs), are proven to reduce energy use by matching motor output directly to demand. Yet adoption globally remains surprisingly low: fewer than a quarter of all motors operate with VSDs today.
The barriers are often practical. Traditional motor-drive setups require cabling, separate cabinets, dedicated control rooms and installation expertise. For water utilities operating in cramped pump stations or small treatment facilities, creating this additional footprint is often unfeasible.
Integrated variable-speed drive technology
Motor technology has advanced considerably in ways that directly address these constraints. A new generation of integrated motor and drive platforms combines both components into a single compact unit, meaning speed control is no longer an optional add-on requiring separate infrastructure. It becomes a standard feature of the motor itself. Often several frame sizes smaller than a separate motor-and-drive pairing, installation is simplified across limited-space environments, making energy efficiency more accessible. No external cabinets or specialist programming are required, and installation can usually be handled by a single person, minimising set-up costs and project risks.
Compared with conventional fixed-speed motors, variable speed motors can reduce energy consumption by up to 30% by simply not running at full speed constantly.
For a typical 15 kW centrifugal pump, the potential savings from this kind of upgrade can exceed €8,000 per year and around 12 tonnes of CO₂ annually. When applied across an asset fleet, the cumulative financial and environmental impact becomes significant – particularly given that pumping alone often accounts for the majority of a utility’s electricity bill. Return on investment is frequently achieved within months rather than years.
Reliability, resilience, and transparency
The benefits extend well beyond energy savings alone. Smooth ramp-up and ramp-down functions protect pumps and pipelines from hydraulic shocks, reducing downtime and extending asset life.
Data transparency is an equally important consideration. Integrated motor-drive solutions provide operators with energy and performance data directly at source. For utilities facing growing accountability – whether under stricter ESG disclosure or evolving regulatory contexts – this offers a practical pathway to meeting reporting obligations. Real-time visibility also empowers operators to fine-tune performance on an ongoing basis.
Lessons from other sectors
The water sector is not alone in facing mounting energy and regulatory pressures. Food and beverage manufacturers, for example, operate water-intensive processes where every stage from intake to effluent treatment carries both sustainability and cost implications. In these settings, precise speed control in pumps and mixers has proven invaluable in reducing energy use while safeguarding process integrity. The parallel is clear: smarter motor control is not only about lowering bills but making water handling more sustainable across industries.
A pump manufacturer in Turkey recently fitted a 7.5kW pump with an integrated variable speed motor, and early testing results are striking. The installation has shown a system efficiency improvement of 4% at full-load operation – rising to 10% at part-load conditions of 30% – compared to an IE3 motor and drive. Based on these initial results, the projected annual savings are substantial: 2,589 kWh of energy and 1,295 kg of CO2 emissions. With an estimated ROI of just 11 months.
A scalable route to sustainability
With pressures mounting from costs, carbon targets, and regulatory change, utilities need practical measures that deliver impact now and create long-term resilience. Motor-drive solutions that unite high-efficiency motor design with variable-speed control offer exactly that. By combining very high efficiency with ease of deployment, they offer a rare convergence of cost, carbon, and operational benefits.
For utilities operating an ageing asset base, the opportunity is clear: upgrades can be done incrementally, focusing on the most energy-intensive pumps or blowers first, and scaling across the network over time. Adopting streamlined technology that is ‘engineered to outrun’ delivers measurable reductions in emissions and operating expenditure – while laying the foundation for a modern, futureproof water infrastructure.
Toni M. Niemi is Global Business Line Manager at ABB, where he has spent nearly 18 years in roles spanning sales, customer support and project management. Toni’s focus is on how high‑efficiency, segment and application specific solutions like LV Titanium can improve plant performance, cut lifecycle costs and support customers’ decarbonisation goals.
