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.