Units/Volume Sold: Lost/Leaked (PI1509)

This metric is intended to capture the number of units or volume provided for sale—for example, of piped water or energy—that were lost, leaked, or for which no payment was received ("non-revenue") during the reporting period.

These are administrative data and should come from the service provider (for example, the utility company).

This metric, in combination with Water Provided for Sale: Total (PI9468), aligns with the IBNET indicator Non-Revenue Water (IBNET 6.1), which represents water that has been produced but is “lost” before it reaches the customer (whether through leaks, theft, or legal usage for which no payment is made). Some non-revenue water can be saved through appropriate technical and managerial actions. Water saved can then be used to meet currently unsatisfied demand (and hence to increase revenues to the utility) or to defer future capital expenditures in additional supply (and hence to reduce costs to the utility). For further detail, see IBNET (https://www.ib-net.org/toolkit/ibnet-indicators/non-revenue-water/).

This metric also aligns with HIPSO (Harmonized Indicators for Private Sector Operations) indicators for water and energy. To meet HIPSO specifications for water, users should disaggregate this metric by commercial and technical losses.

This metric may help describe the HOW MUCH Scale dimension, which helps estimate the number of the targeted stakeholders experiencing the outcome. For more on the alignment of IRIS metrics to the five dimensions of impact, see IRIS+ and the Five Dimensions of Impact (https://iris.thegiin.org/document/iris-and-the-five-dimensions/). No single metric is sufficient to understand an impact; rather, metrics are selected as a set across all dimensions of impact. The selection of metrics to measure and describe the five dimensions should be based on best practice and evidence.