Water deregulation from April 1st and what it means for businesses

The water market in England is being deregulated from April 1^st and that should be good news for businesses.

The move means that all businesses, including charity, public sector and not-for-profit organisations are free to choose who supplies their water and sewerage or trade effluent services.

Up to the beginning of April, only large companies in England – those consuming more than 5 million litres of water annually – had the right to change suppliers.

This extension of the open water market means companies and organisations – but not households – can shop around for the best prices and services.

Official figures underline the business opportunity with £200 million worth of benefits to be gained in what will be the world’s largest competitive water market.

Source supply

As part of the deregulation, approved supplier companies will compete for business customers while the established water wholesalers – the licensed regional companies – will continue to provide the source supply and removal of wastewater to licensed retailers.

The wholesalers will also continue to be responsible for maintaining supply, wastewater treatment and the wastewater pipe networks.

The Government believes that deregulation will provide five key changes:

• better value for money
• lowering bills and charges
• improving the customer service
• tailored services for businesses like consolidated billing
• help organisations have a more water efficient business

Companies can also decide whether it makes business sense to become a self-supply licensee, supplying themselves with retail water services.

More significantly, the process has helped to start the transformation of water suppliers, who are seeking to add a wider dimension to their service offering in a bid to be more attractive to prospective customers.

The Government says that deregulation will result in more efficient water use that will cut business costs and reduce CO2 emissions. Importantly, it believes that the move will encourage innovation and better use of technology.

Companies like Anglian Water Business, who we have a long-term partnership with, have been at the forefront of this adaptation. AWB has built on the experience of the open market in Scotland to enhance service offerings.

Save millions

It’s about much more than supplying water and SaveMoneyCutCarbon is a strong element in that change, providing AWB customers old and new a full range of consultancy and installation services for energy and water saving solutions to help save millions of pounds on utility bills.

As Bob Wilson, Managing Director of Anglian Water Business explained at the time of our partnership launch: “We believe water efficiency is key to driving down utility costs and securing the future of any organisation but this shouldn’t be viewed in isolation.

“Saving water often means saving energy and carbon too and we want to highlight that intrinsic link and demonstrate the benefits of a holistic approach to managing utilities. That’s why we’re expanding our range of services.”

Companies and organisations benefit from energy saving audits that we can carry out separately or alongside a water saving audit. These audits identify how businesses can save money and be legally compliant.

We provide AWB customers with a comprehensive report, detailing specifications and ROI calculations, as well as a sound business case for investment in energy and water saving solutions.

Discounted prices

SaveMoneyCutCarbon also searches exhaustively for innovative solutions and provides AWB customers with an online portal offering discounted prices on a range of these proven products from trusted and award-winning manufacturers as well as a unique knowledge bank – Learn&Save.

AWB is showing that it has a long-term, leadership position in the marketplace by championing sustainability and value beyond water into energy efficiency and savings.

From our experience of working with AWB and other business customers, we know that many companies and organisations are unaware that they can cut annual costs by thousands of pounds through simple measures that reduce water and energy consumption and cut carbon emissions.

You can read more on our energy-saving work with AWB customers like East of England Co-op and a wide range of other businesses on our Projects section.

More information on the deregulation: Open Water website .