Utility Week

Customers UTILITY WEEK | 23rd - 29Th SEpTEmbEr 2016 | 27 Three Sixty has said it is "focused on growth", as the industry prepares for the open- ing of the shadow market next month. The firm has already secured some large contracts in Scotland – such as BT and Royal Mail Group – and further growth is important, according to manag- ing director Robert Marrill. The process of transferring WaTEr Kelda's Three Sixty 'focused on growth' as shadow market beckons the 90,000-strong Yorkshire Water business customer base to Three Sixty is under way, and will be formalised "when due process has happened". However, Marrill also empha- sised that growth isn't the only thing important to the company. "We want to be leading the market," he told Utility Week. "We want to be known for our thoughts, our ideas, our contribution. We don't need to be the biggest, but we do want to be the best. We're passionate about that." When asked if he had any concerns ahead of market open- ing, Marrill said he didn't want to get "hung up" on different features of the market. "My view is that we've got what we've got, we should make it work to the best of our This week New supplier to enter English water market Independent supplier blue business Water has been operational in Scotland for about a year A new independent water supplier – Blue Business Water – is gearing up to enter the non-household retail market in England. The company, which focuses on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), was granted a licence by the Water Industry Commission for Scotland in 2014 and has been operational in the Scottish market for around a year. Director Chris Clark told Utility Week the firm is now "ready to bring its services down to England", and stressed that it is keen to acquire the customer bases of companies looking to exit. The company will apply for a water supply and sewerage licence from Ofwat before the deadline. Clark said he doesn't believe the market in England will experience a huge amount of switching to begin with, other than from large businesses with multiple sites. "I think it's going to be a massive opportunity, I just don't think it's going to go with a massive bang initially," he said. "Our growth strategy is two-pronged," Clark added. "The SMEs are not going to be served straight away from the market, therefore to entice those customers, companies will need to offer them other products and services such as electricity and gas to encourage them to switch. "And where we can grow would be to acquire a base, or two bases, and use those bases as a platform to continue to provide water services." Those wanting to join the market before it opens must apply to Ofwat no later than 5 October. LV ELEcTrIcITY Three DNOs to benefit from FIT data Three of the UK's distribution network operators have estab- lished data-sharing agreements with Ofgem E-Serve to access records of distributed generation on their networks. The agreements, established via memorandums of under- standing, have been made by UK Power Networks, SSE Power Distribution and Northern Pow- ergrid. The DNOs will receive information about the loca- tion and capacity of renewable installations registered under the feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme to help them balance supply and demand on their networks. Ofgem E-Serve is the admin- istrator of the government's FIT scheme, which pays small-scale renewable generators to feed their excess electricity into the grid. WaTEr Written complaints rise for ten firms Written complaints from custom- ers rose for almost half of the water firms in England and Wales in 2015/16, with some reporting substantial increases. The Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) has released its tenth annual complaints report. It revealed that although the overall number of written complaints to the industry fell for an eighth successive year, the decrease was a mere 0.5 per cent. Ten water companies reported a rise in written com- plaints and five reported a rise in unwanted telephone contacts. CCWater chief executive Tony Smith said: "We have asked four of the poorest performing companies to report to us by the end of October on what action they have taken, or are planning to take, to reduce complaints." The group said it is par- ticularly concerned that the number of complaints from non- household customers is "well above" those from households in four of the five main categories, excluding metering. "Service to non-household customers is an area which the industry must put right as a priority given the opening of the retail market in April 2017," it added. EnErgY Energy bills could rise by 43 per cent Energy bills could rise by up to 43 per cent at the end of this month as 15 dual fuel energy tariffs end. Nine of the deals that expire on 30 September will result in higher bills if customers fail to switch and are rolled onto stand- ard tariffs. Two of the price rises will come from big six providers EDF Energy (£147.24) and Scot- tish Power (£183.72). M&S Energy customers will see the largest average rise in the UK, of £285.65. Three big six suppliers, British Gas, Npower and Scottish Power, have tariffs expiring that could see bills cut by up to £53.54. Broadening its horizon: firm already in Scotland abilities," he said. He added that, in time, things may need to change and the way the market is constructed is not "fit forever". "There are bound to be teeth- ing troubles as we go through shadow and market opening, but until you start playing in it, you don't know what these will be," he said. See Q&A, p7

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