Utility Week

20 | 7TH - 13TH SEPTEMBER 2018 | UTILITY WEEK Operations & Assets Analysis T he water retail market opened in April 2017 and, since then, it has continued to grow and evolve. As of 1 June 2018, there were 747 active contracts between wholesalers and retailers. However, there is no standardised method by which retailers and wholesalers should communicate. This is adding complexity for retailers, which find they have to deal with 20 different wholesalers all using different methods. As it stands, market forms and commu- nications are delivered through bespoke wholesaler "bilateral solutions", meaning retailers must work with a lot of different forms. This not only takes up time and staff resources, it also costs them money. The second year of operation is now fully underway, could a cure be found for the mar- ket's Achilles heel? What's the problem? In short, the issue is that there is no stand- ardised approach to the way retailers and wholesalers interact on things like new con- nections, planned or unplanned events, and complaints. This has resulted in a diverse and complex set of portals and other techno- logical solutions being offered by wholesal- ers, which costs time and money. This lack of communication is par- tially responsible for a surge in customer complaints since the market opened. The Consumer Council for Water found, in its complaints league table, that some com- plaints were taking much longer to resolve than they should. The council put these delays down to "inefficient communication between the retailer and wholesaler". A "bilateral solution" to these commu- nication issues was originally in scope for market opening but was removed late on, and this le wholesalers to make their own arrangements for how to engage and interact with retailers. This issue has provoked a great deal of conversation among those with an interest in the market over the past year or so and, many workshops and discussions later, there has been some progress. Talking the same language Inconsistent communication has been the bane of the water market's existence since it opened more than a year ago. Now, at last, a solution is closer to being found, says Lois Vallely. Josh Gill, chief executive, Everflow We are delighted to see that MOSL is doing the right thing for customers by looking to unify operational experiences. It's a move that we expect all parties in the market to support because it's clear it is the right thing to do for the best long-term customer experience. It is a move that will reduce cost within the market, lower barriers to entry for new retailers and give customers the consistent experience they want and deserve nationwide. We would be exceptionally disappointed to see anyone push back against this move as the more the implementation is dragged out, the more cost that retailers and customers must bear. As switching continues to increase and more retailers enter the market, there's a danger that the problems will become worse – to the detriment of customers. Rutherford writes, in a column for Utility Week's sister title Water.Retail that market players must use the lessons from the first 16 months of the market to make some "step- change improvements". What's the solution? MOSL's Digital Strategy Committee (DSC) has been working on a new vision of how tech- nology could help the market with a new common solution for all trading parties to use in relation to bilaterals. This could take the form of a centralised and standardised portal or "bilateral hub". Nick Rutherford is IT programme director at Bristol Water, and chairs the DSC. He tells Utility Week that MOSL is looking at "a number of potential technology solutions" to understand how they could resolve existing problems, create new efficiencies and improve service between wholesalers and retailers. "Both process and technology improve- ments are being considered to support the existing arrangements and these are being considered using a cross-industry team of trading party representatives," says Rutherford. Much has accelerated in recent months, and in July a request for information was issued to several potential vendors in an attempt to understand what a solution might look like. This is now in full flight and at the end of August members of the DSC and the retailer-wholesaler group will evaluate the potential vendor presentations ahead of a report back to the MOSL board in September. The committee says it wants to communi- cate this activity to trading parties, so people feel informed about what the opportunity is and how it will help wholesalers, retailers and customers. Industry comment NEXT STEPS The DSC recognises that there are still a number of activities which need to be undertaken. It has issued a Request For Information (RFI) to various potential vendors. Over the coming weeks it will be undertaking a number of reviews and evaluations ahead of the MOSL board meeting in September. An outline of the immediate activities is detailed below: DSC established, Oct 2017 Engagement with RWG and commit- tees, ongoing Issued market questionnaire, Jan 2018 Questionnaire diagnostics, Feb 2018 RWG/DSC industry workshops, Mar-May 2018 Bilaterals Vision, Jun 2018 Market approval, TBC Vendors selection, TBC MOSL board, Sep 2018 Vendors presentation, Aug 2018 Issued RFI, Jul 2018 Source: MOSL

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