How do you compare business water prices?
So are you looking to compare business water prices and switching water supplier?
The Open Water Market as its known was established in April 2017 allowing businesses like yours to switch business water supplier, which will result in lower water bills as opposed to being charged on a default retail basis.
So why pay more?
Well many business do as they are simply unaware they can switch water supplier.
There are many water retail companies that hold a water retail licence, they buy water and wastewater services from wholesaler water supply companies and resell these services to you the customer, plus of course adding a margin of profit to cover overheads of the retailer. These margins in any market are different from one retailer to the next. Their service levels, bills, also charges and tariffs are different dependent on the geographical locations of your sites.
So it really does pay to shop around and compare business water prices and tariffs.
Switching water supplier will reduce your water bills but you probably know that already, there are 3 options open to you in order to compare business water prices.
The first option is D.I.Y, yep you do it yourself.
You obtain a list of all water retail companies serving England and Scotland which can be found on the Open Water website “Water and wastewater retailers serving England” and for Scotland via WICS (Water Industry Commission Scotland). There you will find a comprehensive list of the water retailers and make contact with one or more and discuss your requirements in more detail.
Whether you have a small, medium or large portfolio this way can be quite tedious, especially if your not fully up to speed with how the water retail market works, the D.I.Y approach is quite high risk.
There are numerous different charges and tariffs and a seemingly small mistake can lead to higher charges as a unit rate can be lower but considering a higher fixed charge on a high usage charge can often cost more in the long run.
Then there is a water retail contract, there are examples for instance of the standing charges being incorrectly quoted resulting in overpayments of £30,000 over a 3 year contract term. What sometimes on the face of it seems a good deal may well not be.
Other areas that often get overlooked are rollover contracts, for example the contract may stipulate a minimum of 30 days notice of termination is required as the contract approaches anniversary date, one day over and you could fall into another years contract.
Then there is the payment clause, 3/6 months payments in advance in some situations, this is often overlooked and can be a significant sum of money which catches businesses out, and with payments terms often at 14 days, if you are one day late in comes a late payment fee and interest!
The second option is to appoint an energy broker / energy consultant.
There are a vast array in the market and plenty to choose from, you may already have appointed an energy consultant to deal with your energy procurement?
The challenge using an energy broker is that they are unlikely to have the expertise or focus that is needed when trading within the water retail market, it can be complex.
Then there is the issue of independence and impartiality and they will not have a platform in place to tender to the whole market to over 20 suppliers, so their ability is limited to using a few chosen water retailers, which is not a truly competitive tender.
Their commercial strength and focus is in the energy market not water, however they may have a strategic partnership agreement with SwitchWaterSupplier.com which gives them access to the only business water switching platform that tenders water supply contracts to the whole market. The platform is independent, transparent and free at the point of use. More specific details of this option further on in this post.
The third and final option which ticks all the boxes as far as the best overall option is to run your own tender to the whole market on the UK’s one and only business water switching site, SwitchWaterSupplier.com
The platform was developed and launched to address the many pitfalls in the water retail market, and to bring customers and water retailers together on an independent, impartial and simple to use platform.
It was designed and developed and now managed by some of the UK’s leading water industry experts.
The service is free at the point of use and gives the customer the ability to tender their water supply contract to the whole market, giving all water retailers the opportunity to pitch for your business.
The platform is governed by OFWAT’s Voluntary Code of Conduct which is a high quality standard that SwitchWaterSupplier.com work to.
Customers are appointed an account Director with a minimum of 20 years water industry experience, so customers are fully aware they have engaged with industry experts, and they manage everything from the initial water billing data upload to the market, running the tender, setting up of the customer contractual requirements, liaison with the water retailers and customer care, so you know you will be in good hands.
The whole process is simple and straightforward.
Unlike a broker SwitchWaterSupplier.com is not tied to any particular retailer.
At the end of the 60 minute live tender auction process the customer receives the results of the retailers that have pitched for your business, together with a water audit report which indicates any savings or refunds due to historical overcharges by the previous retailer ensuring the bills are correct going forwards with the new retailer.
A short consultancy call follows to discuss the offers and clarify any issues, the new retailer is appointed and the entire switching process is managed through to setting up of the new account.
The customer has access to their account Director on any water and wastewater matter for the total duration of the contract and beyond.
Many customers engaging and signing up to water and wastewater cost reduction projects are focused on reducing water consumption and wastewater volumes to meet their sustainability and carbon reduction targets which is great for the business and the environment.