With the recent changes to the water market, which came in to effect on 1 April 2017, most businesses and organisations in England can now choose which company they want to supply their retail water services. In reality, this option is now open to any property that is classed as ‘non-household’. If you are unsure as to whether your property is eligible to benefit from the open market, please go to:
www.open-water.org.uk/for-customers/eligibility-guide(opens in a new tab)
Eligible businesses, charities, public sector customers and other non-household customers are no longer restricted to buying retail water services from their regional water company. Instead, they are now free to choose their water retailer. If your property is eligible, you can choose to have one retailer for your water supply and another for wastewater services, or just have one for both. Your wholesaler (the company supplying your water) is South East Water and this will not change. The change relates only to your retailer (the company billing you for your water use).
You can talk to the retailers to see which will offer you the best deal when it comes to:
- your bills and payments
- reading your meter
- customer service and water saving advice
If you are unsure who you would like your new retailer to be, there is a guide to retailers and wholesalers in the open water market which might help. This can be found on the Open Water website at:
www.open-water.org.uk/for-customers/find-a-retailer(opens in a new tab)