Energy Prices

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.

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Overview

The water management team have been busy preparing clients for the upcoming water deregulation which will occur less than a month from now in April 2017. One of the ways we have been informing clients is by producing a short water deregulation video. It provides an overview of water deregulation and the activity your business can undertake to get the process started as well as what you can expect in return. Torse will be able to provide gas, electricity and water, all three utilities all in one package deal, making it as easier for clients to see the best option for each of their utilities.

What stage is the market at?

We are currently in the shadow market phase (until the end of March). This is a six month period that happens before water deregulation occurs and gives market participants the chance to address any issues. This is because the environment is similar to the one there will be post deregulation. One thing that is worth noting is that Torse has previously experienced the problems that occured in gas and electricity industries when they opened for the first time and places us in a very good position to help you navigate through any problems that may occur in the water process.

What can customers do?

The most important thing customers can do now is to send us their water bills from the previous year up to and including their most recent one. We are already analysing our clients billing information so the sooner you send us these, the better. This is all the information we need at this stage. Once the pricing information from CMOS becomes available, we will later ask for a letter of authority. This will allow us to more accurately calculate your average water usage when dealing with different water suppliers.

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 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. continue

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. continue