Small Business Water Switching in England Starts Slowly

Water and sewerage companies in England have organised 36,000 switches of supply for small businesses since new rules came into effect this year.

Image source: Switch Water Supplier

Big companies using more than five million litres a year have been able to switch supplier since 2011.

That power was given to the remaining 1.1 million small and medium sized businesses in April this year.

The aim was to encourage competition and bring pressure on suppliers to lower prices and improve services.

However, fewer than 36,000 firms have actually switched supplier.

Businesses with large premises may have more than one supply point for water or sewage, and the industry counts the number of supply points that are switched, rather than the number of businesses involved.

The new market for enabling businesses to change their water and wastewater suppliers is run by Market Operator Services Limited (MOSL).

Chris Scoggins, chief executive of MOSL, acknowledged that the process of encouraging switching was still in its very early stages.

"While it is early days, we are already seeing some positive developments, with customers of all sizes engaging in the market," he said.

"That's great news, but there's still much to do."

Read more: BBC

Media

Taxonomy

• Water Supply
• Business Strategy
• Integrated Water Management
• Water Supply
• Consumption
• Infrastructure
• Privatization
• Water Resources Management
• Privatization