Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 20TH - 26TH MARCH 2020 | 27 Customers The chief executive of business water retailer Castle Water has hit out at the bewildering array of tariff charges coming into force from 1 April under PR19. In December the final determinations for Ofwat's price review announced bill cuts for domestic customers averaging 15 per cent by 2025. However, as John Reynolds explained, for business custom- WATER Reynolds: Spread of tariff charges is 'rotting rat in the sleeping bag' ers the changes are far from simple. He highlighted inconsist- encies in wholesaler charges and tariff changes, which could spell uncertainty for the non-domestic retail sector. Reynolds reviewed the vari- ations in tariffs for wholesalers and said not only were they not in line with the consumer price index of 1.9 per cent as at October 2019, but he found vast differences in the charges that come into effect next month. He called the spread of tariff charges relative to Ofwat's PR19 determination the "rotting rat in the sleeping bag" because the spectrum ranges from 12 per cent to below 2.7 per cent without adequate explanations for the variation. "The underlying logic within these changes is even less clear Sector 'falling short' on river restoration Water companies must do more to improve condition of UK's rivers, warns Ofwat chairman Ofwat chairman Jonson Cox has claimed the water sector is fall- ing "woefully short" on restoring the country's rivers to a healthy state. Speaking at Utility Week's Investor Summit last week, Cox said the issue could overtake leakage as the principal concern for the public about water company performance. "I worry that just as we get on top of leakage as the number one public issue, concern about the state of our rivers may overtake it as a source of public outrage. "This at a time when the legitimacy of the sector is still questioned, even following last December's convinc- ing Conservative win. Questions are still being asked about the appropriateness of private ownership." At the last count, 14 per cent of rivers in England (and the borders of Wales and Scotland) met the minimum "good" status within the EU Water Framework directive. The Environment Agency's target is 75 per cent by 2027. Cox said planning to tackle climate change and popu- lation growth was now a "new norm" for the industry. He praised the efforts of the water companies, in collaboration with trade body Water UK, in committing to decarbonise by 2030 as part of its five public commit- ments. However, he cautioned: "It's sobering to think we only have ten years in which to do the huge amount of work required to achieve that goal. And real progress needs to be seen in the first five of those. It's no good waiting until the last five years." Last week, Mott MacDonald and Ricardo, the consult- ants advising Water UK and the companies, set out some of the possible paths to net zero by 2030. JW ENERGY EDF takes on iSupply customers EDF has acquired the more than 190,000 customer accounts of iSupply Energy from the Swedish state-owned utility Vattenfall. iSupply Energy is no longer taking on new customers and will be wound down once the transfer is complete. Its existing customers will be moved over between April and June. Vattenfall, which bought the supplier in June 2017, warned that the roles of all 250 of its employees are at risk of redun- dancy. "EDF shares many of our values and has a proven ability to welcome large numbers of customers from other suppliers," said Cindy Kroon, vice president for customers and solutions at Vattenfall Netherlands and UK. "Our task now is to work closely with EDF to deliver a seamless transfer of customer accounts and to support each other through a challenging period in which many of us will be feeling very anxious about our future. "iSupply Energy and Vatten- fall have committed to providing a very high level of support to all employees during the transition period." The company said it took the decision to exit the domestic retail market in order to focus on its core activities of renewable generation, heating, business- to-business sales and electricity distribution. WATER Castle and Affinity for Business merge Business water retailer Castle will acquire Affinity for Business on 1 April, adding some 50,000 customers to bring Castle's cus- tomer base to around 400,000. Castle said the acquisition would build on Affinity for Business's strengths around customer service and allow more efficient billing as well as reduced administration. Castle's chief executive, John Reynolds, said: "This merger will improve customer service and reduce administra- tion for customers. Following the merger, many Affinity for Business customers will benefit from having a single supplier for water and wastewater." Helen Gillett, managing director at Affinity for Business, added that the companies are working closely to ensure a smooth transition. She said: "Castle Water has the experience and scale to build on the brilliant foundations we have established in the past three years. Not only will Affinity for Business staff bring excel- lent customer service standards to this merger, they will also be adding an award-winning, role- model business culture." The acquisition will bring Castle's total number of supply point identifier numbers to around 580,000, making it the third largest supplier across England and Scotland and the second largest in England. Cox: river pollution could become top concern when you break down the tariff basket: water charges vary from a 13 per cent reduction to a 7 per cent increase; waste charges from a 15 per cent reduction to a 5 per cent increase," he said. For trade effluent, the spread is 23 per cent. Castle contacted wholesalers to measure differences in the tariffs broken down for every service. This week

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