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4 | UTILITY WEEK | 31ST MARCH - 6TH APRIL 2017 | UTILITY WEEK 'One in five' UK businesses incorrectly billed for energy One in five UK businesses has been incorrectly billed for energy and could be due a refund, according to Inenco. The errors arise from a range of issues including mistaken meter readings and network charges. £500m Total amount Inenco says UK businesses could be owed. £700k Amount one major supermarket found it had been overcharged due to duplicate charges. £300k Amount a food manufacturer found it had been overcharged due to inaccurate network charges. £775k Amount refunded to a property man- agement agent. STORY BY NUMBERS Seven days... National media Nuclear clean-up error could cost extra £100m Taxpayers face a £100 million com- pensation bill aer the government mismanaged the awarding of a £6 billion nuclear clean-up contract. The Nuclear Decommission- ing Authority (NDA) has agreed to settle with companies that lost out on the 14-year deal aer the High Court ruled last summer that it had "manipulated" and "fudged" the tender process. It meant the wrong company won the work to decom- mission 12 UK nuclear sites dating from the 1960s. The Times, 28 March Ireland voices concern over Sellafield plant Ireland's environment minister, Denis Naughten, has asked the UK to consult Ireland on the potential effects of a nuclear power station on England's west coast, 250km from Rosslare. The Irish government has stopped short of calling for a full environmental impact assessment of Hinkley Point C, the first new nuclear station in the UK in more than 20 years, however. Were such a study held, the Irish public could comment on the plans. The Times, 26 March Water competition will save £200m a year Businesses will save £200 million a year on their bills, according to Ofwat, as the biggest shake-up of the sector since privatisation comes into force this week. From 1 April, 1.2 million businesses, charities and public sector groups will be able to purchase their water from firms other than their local supplier. At the moment, the water industry in England and Wales is split into a collection of regional monopolies that control both the business and household markets. Ofwat says competition will cut costs and busi- nesses' administrative burden. The Express, 26 March Northumbrian and Anglian team up for business retail A week before the official opening of the non- household water retail market in England, Anglian Water Business (AWB) and Northumbrian Water's busi- ness retail unit announced they would combine their operations to create a new retailer of water and wastewater services in England and Scotland. The new business will be called Wave. It intends to become a multi-utility retailer, adding gas and electricity to its offering. The idea is that the two companies will combine their expertise to create a "highly efficient" business able to offer customers "significantly simpler management of their utility services". The deal – a 50/50 joint venture – has been struck in advance of changes that allow businesses, charities and public sector organisations to choose their water retailer from tomor- row (1 April). Wave will have more than 250,000 customers and a com- bined turnover of more than £500 million. NWG Business and Anglian Water Business will enter the new market in April as separate entities, combining to form Wave aer regulatory clearance. The joint venture is subject to clearance from the competition authorities. NWG Business had originally planned to rebrand as Wave, but said in January that it had halted the plan so as to be "more identifiable to customers" when the market opened. This is the second joint venture of its kind, aer Severn Trent and United Utilities joined forces last year to create Water Plus. LV "A fixed price cap is unlikely to address market problems and could have unintended negative consequences" Ryan Thomson, partner, Baringa Partners