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26 | 14th - 20th November 2014 | UtILItY WeeK Customers This week Landlords may have to shop water debtors Labour plans to compel landlords to supply information about tenants who do not pay bills Labour is considering legislation that would require landlords to pass information about tenants who do not pay their bills to water companies in an attempt to tackle bad debt. A spokesman for the opposi- tion party said that if it came to power next year it might opt to place a duty on landlords across England to provide details of the address along with a tenant's name, date of birth and the date they started occupancy. Labour hopes that giving these details to the water companies will help them tackle bad debt, and ensure non-payment from those who are able to pay is reduced. According to CCWater, bad debt costs water compa- nies about £1,635 million a year. Labour said: "These reforms will focus on finding new ways to support those who cannot pay their water bills and pursuing those who can pay but choose not to – this means tackling 'bad debt' or 'non-payment', which adds around £15 on to everyone's water bill." The reforms, which Labour could introduce if it was successful at next year's general election, mirror legislation currently being introduced by the Welsh government. If landlords in Wales do not provide this informa- tion they will become jointly liable for payment of water charges at the tenanted property. The reforms in Wales were originally scheduled to be introduced earlier this year, but the plans were delayed in March. MB eNergY CGI will link BG's smart meters to DCC British Gas has signed a deal with IT company CGI to connect the utility's smart meters to the Data and Communications Company (DCC). The 'adapter' solution from CGI simplifies connections to the DCC, the shared technology infra- structure that will support smart meters, before the mass rollout. British Gas has already deployed more than a million smart meters and more than half of these are supported by CGI through its Smart Data Services programme. These 'foundation stage' smart meters are not cur- rently connected to the DCC. Energy suppliers are expected to deploy 53 million smart meters across UK by 2020, with the mass rollout due to start in autumn 2015. eNergY Trust in suppliers rising, says Decc Consumer trust in energy suppli- ers has risen marginally, accord- ing to a survey by the Depart- ment of Energy and Climate Change (Decc). The Public Attitudes Tracker shows that 68 per cent of those surveyed trust energy suppliers to provide them with a bill that accurately reflects their energy use, up from 63 per cent in June. The tracker survey also revealed that more than half (51 per cent) trust energy providers to inform them of the best tariff and give them a fair deal. A third (34 per cent) of the 2,103 households questioned in September however, remain con- cerned about paying their bills. Though the number is the lowest since the survey began in 2012, it remains comparable to the level reported in June. eNergY First Utility halves switching time First Utility has met the commit- ment made by energy suppliers to cut switching times in half. It now takes customers two and a half weeks to switch to First Utility, compared with the previous five-week timeframe. The announcement comes on the back of the independ- ent supplier's Fix the Switch campaign, which called on the industry to aim for 24-hour switching. "The announcement is an important milestone on that journey," it said. All the energy suppliers committed themselves to faster switching by the end of the year aer a call from energy secretary Ed Davey for suppliers to work collaboratively to speed up the process. Davey said: "My long term ambition is still to get to 24-hour switching, but we are moving in the right direction." No one home: bad debt costs firms £1.6m a year I am the customer John Allan "The energy market is well overdue for some reform" The forthcoming reforms to the water and energy markets provide a number of threats and opportunities for consumers. So it is critical that the voices of small businesses are listened to by government, regulators, and utility companies as they plan for these market changes. Both markets are very differ- ent. The water market is newly formed out of the provisions made in the recent Water Act. It will be critical that we give it the proper foundation from which it as ongoing customer support and advice, innovative solutions, efficiency, flexibility, transpar- ency and accuracy of bills, trust and accountability. Competition drives all of these things, not just the price. A fully functioning market offers small businesses benefits that go far beyond cheaper bills. It is vital that these benefits are fully appreciated and accounted for as both the water and energy markets are scrutinised. John Allan, chairman, FSB can mature into a fair, transpar- ent and trusted marketplace. The energy market is long established and has grown overly complex and difficult for small firms to navigate. It is well overdue for some well-placed reform to restore flagging customer trust. It will be important to avoid the temptation to simply weigh the success of these future, new-look markets in terms of the respective unit costs of water and energy. In an open and transpar- ent market, customers have the ability to easily compare and contrast a variety of holistic offers made by competing com- panies. Yes, price is important. But so too are other factors such