At the moment, only businesses that have at least one site and use more than 5 megalitres are able to change their water supplier in England. The water industry in England will be opened up to competition in April 2017. Therefore, from April 2017 Torse will be able to offer water supplies in addition to its gas and electricity services. Like England, Wales will also be part of the upcoming deregulation, however it is still going to be subjected to a minimum threshold. The requirement in Wales is that customer usage must exceed a minimum of 50 megalitres of water a year before they are eligible to switch supplier. Scotland was the first to have its non-domestic water deregulated in 2008.

Deregulation of water will give eligible businesses, charities and the public sector the opportunity to switch their water service provider in a similar way to gas and electricity – providing Torse with an opportunity to ‘shop around’ for the best available business contract as they currently do with gas and electricity for customers throughout the UK. After deregulation the market will be open to more competition and in theory, improved value for money. Torse Ltd is currently making a head start by researching the market and establishing relationships with water companies. This will provide both stability and reassurance for current and new energy customers when choosing their water suppliers.

Deregulation has been driven by a number of issues, such as a lack of technological innovation, account management and communication about the current water market – Pipefix

Before April 2017

The significant change to the water market means that water prices become more unsteady. This is because water companies cannot accurately predict prices for next year and the information necessary to do this is not currently available. It will be October 2016 before the water companies announce their plans for the upcoming deregulation.

It is important to note that some regional water suppliers will stop supplying water to business customers after the deregulation and another water and wastewater company will take over their services. Torse can help you establish whether there will be a change and how this change may affect your business –  call us on 0115 853 2120 to find out how we can assist you before deregulation occurs and beyond April 2017.

Potential Benefits for Customers

One benefit is from the potential savings business customers could have as there should be lower prices with more competition between service providers. Evidence that can be used to support this is from what happened with the Scottish water market deregulation. Another benefit is that there is the possibility that business could deal with just one supplier if they operate in England and Scotland across multiple sites. However, it should be noted that there are exceptions, such as if the type of water meters vary from each other in the different regions where the sites are located. It is hoped that deregulation will make the market place far more efficient by taking away the minimum threshold.

Since 2008, Scottish businesses have saved over £100 million. Not only this, but customer satisfaction has also been at record levels – Business Stream

Contacting Torse

Torse is following the market closely and conducting analysis so as to provide the most relevant information. The skills acquired from our long term success in the gas and electricity industries means that we can be trusted to be a reliable broker in water. The process of managing your water supplies can be generally divided into a few steps:

• Customers should firstly provide information about their water sites including their most recent bill, as this will enable Torse to present them with a range of options to choose from, simplify the whole process and help find the right package at the best price.
• Once customers have provided their site information, Torse can organise their portfolio and go to the market to look for the best available prices. If the client chooses to accept one of Torse’s offers, Torse will then offer water management services for their portfolio and deal with any issues that may arise.
• Torse will notify customers when the contract with their existing supplier is approaching its end date and can help customers prepare for the next round of procurement, as well as handling the change of tenancy process if customers obtain a new property, or leave a property mid contract.

Additional information

The Torse Water Deregulation Summary contains important details about the process. To discuss your water requirements please contact yannis.lee@torse.co.uk or dominique.rowan@torse.co.uk or phone 0115 853 2120.

The water management team of Torse Ltd attended The Water Event which was held at the Birmingham NEC on 13-14th of September. The Water Event is the UK’s only dedicated water efficiency, management and procurement exhibition, informing a unique audience of large-scale commercial and industrial end users about future proofing and resource management. During the event, Torse got the chance to research and further understand the potential benefits and issues related to water market deregulation. We met hundreds of industry professionals and businesses, attended industry-leading seminars and had face-to-face meetings with suppliers to secure the best deal for business customers.

The 2017 Water Deregulation

The Open Water programme is led by the Department for Food, the Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra), the water industry regulator (Ofwat) and the market regulator – the Market Operator Services Ltd (MOSL). The opening up of the water retail market is part of the wider water act reforms, which 1.2 million Business customers can potentially benefit. During the deregulation, the ‘wholesaler’ remains unchanged but contracts with different suppliers should be signed now. Ronan Palmer, the director of Strategy and Planning, Ofwat, said that “the main objective of coping with the water deregulation is that we need to find out from our clients if this is a priority they would consider as important as other things”.

Impact on different parties

On the one hand customers are able to negotiate better deals, get increased efficiency and reach an improved service level, while on the other, water companies are subject to improvement in billing and payment management services. Water companies are also obliged to improve their customer retail services in order to win the competition. According to Ronan Palmer, “The supply of water is a service, not a commodity, we should view the water procurement on a national scale”.

What customers want and what should suppliers do?

Sue Amies-King, the chief executive of Water Plus, pointed out a few points that customers want from suppliers in one of the seminars. First of all, the customer cares about accurate and timely billing, they also hope that suppliers can understand their business in order to help them save money and make everything easier. More importantly, customers want suppliers to provide them with great service and support them should anything go wrong. To achieve this in the coming opening retail market, business clients should start the conversation with their supplier sooner rather than later. According to Sue Amies-King, 99% of organisations in the UK are small to medium enterprises that have less than 250 people, which means that customer protection in the business retail market in England and Wales in extremely crucial.

As a respond to customers’ needs, retailers are obliged to provide appropriate and timely information, ensure a clear billing procedure and accurate meter reading. Retailers also have a duty to respond to customers in a timely manner.

Options for customers

Collectively, customers have three options for them to cope with the water deregulation.

• Stay with your current supplier, but you will need to negotiate a better deal or wait until the market is mature before deciding.
• Switch all/ some of your sites and find the best deal. In these two cases [this and the above], it is better for customers to have a relationship with TPI (i.e. brokerage), all of which will be active in the water market already.
• The third option for your business is self-supply, which means that you can buy water from wholesalers directly, but they need a retail license to become eligible..

The difference in price between retailers is around 0.5%, and the difference a retailer makes in saving water is 10%-15% – Karma Ockenden from the Water Report

With more information released, customers should consider what they really want (e.g. cheap price or good service). Customers should also think about how much risk they expect to take before making a decision eventually.

What customers could do next?

In order to be well prepared for the upcoming water deregulation. Here are some further instructions for business customers.

1. Talk to Torse as soon as possible so that we can investigate the water market for your business specifically
2. Provide Torse with information about your water sites and your most recent bill
3. Communicate with us on a regular basis and let us know your expectations. This will allow us to organise your own portfolio with the best prices available.

Additional information

For more information please refer to Torse Water Deregulation Summary and see the Water Deregulation Banner design created for display at public events. To discuss your water requirements please contact yannis.lee@torse.co.uk or dominique.rowan@torse.co.uk or call Torse on0115 853 2120.

The water management team at Torse Ltd attended an ‘Open Water’ customer stakeholder workshop on the 15th of March held in Birmingham. ‘Open Water’ is the programme that has been made to form the new market. It is jointly run by OFWAT, Defra and MOSL. The programme is a positive opportunity including for businesses across all sectors.

At the event, there were important speakers who are heavily involved in the water deregulation. Below we have combined the main points from each speaker and what we found out from the question and answer session. The most important thing that we learnt from the event is that the market is still on track to open for the 1st of April where more than 1.2 million small to medium-sized businesses in England will be able to choose their water and wastewater retailer.

What can customers expect?

The aim is to drive a better consumer experience. Part of this will be by making switching simple. It should take only 6-22 days to change contracts. Once your business has switched then they still have 7 days to change their mind. It was reassuring to find out that the regulator will be able to check if a retailer is blocking the switching process.

How am I protected in the new market?

90% of the price of water will be regulated but 10% will be unregulated.

The ‘Consumer Council for Water’ was set up in 2005. It is a trusted voice for consumers. Each year, it receives 10,000 customer complaints with 100 being from business customers. It was encouraging to find out that it supports the changes to the water market. This should make businesses feel at ease that the market deregulating is a good thing. One of the main responsibilities it has is to monitor the market as well as helping to improve the market using evidence.

What if I don’t switch?

Schemes of terms exist if your business doesn’t have a contract. These are default terms and conditions that your business will fall onto if you don’t do anything. Your business will not be worse off however it will be missing out on a lot of benefits it could have if it were to sign a contract with a water supplier. Even if you decide that you want to stay with the same supplier, Torse will try to negotiate a better deal for you.

I work from home, does my site count as a business?

This depends on what your primarily use your site for. If it is mainly used as a business, then it will count as a business and not a home. In which case, you can choose your water retailer. An easy way to find out is to see if you have to pay council tax or not on your site. If you are not, then your site is counted primarily as a business. In which case, you will be able to choose your water retailer.

Can I self-supply?

Yes you can. However, there are a lot of obligations that need to be fulfilled that could make this very time consuming. You will also miss out on a lot of the services water retailers are offering as part of their package deals. These services could help your business save money indirectly and not just on your water rates.

What will happen to my data?

There is just one central market operating system. Therefore all data is held centrally and you will get billed from there. It is important to note that transparency in data quality won’t be completed by the 1st of April. The main message we took away from the event is that at the moment, the market is very competitive and it is also less risky. This is good news for our clients. Now is the right time to prepare your business so that we can provide you with the best options to meet your business needs so that you can start getting a better service as soon as the market deregulates.

Additional information

For more information please refer to Torse Water Deregulation Summary and see the Water Deregulation Banner design created for display at public events. To discuss your water requirements please contact yannis.lee@torse.co.uk or dominique.rowan@torse.co.uk or call Torse on0115 853 2120.