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.